Celebrating Color

The latest news from Carol McIntyre's studio...

Why Paint a Series?

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Have you ever thought about painting in a series? If not, why not? …And what is it?

A series is a cohesive collection of paintings whereby the viewer has no doubt the same artist has created each piece. A series communicates a common thread that connects the paintings. Every painting can standalone, but together the visual impact is greater.

The series’ common thread can be established in a number of ways, including: technique, color palette, subject, medium, size, etc. This theme or thread is stated and restated in different yet interconnected ways. This facilitates the viewer’s ability to understand more easily what the artist is saying visually.

One of my first series, back in the early 1990’s, incorporated musical instruments and flowers. They were painted in watercolor and each was a full sheet or 22″x30.” Notice the unique edge on each piece and that the flower’s petals are strategically placed as if they are playing the instrument. There were 12 in this series. [Read more…]

How Do You Mix Gray with Purple?

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Learning how to mix various grays, is important in our painting world. We need de-saturated or gray-like colors give our eyes calming places to rest. These wonderful colors also help to make our more intense or saturated colors sing.  What do I mean by GRAY?

I am referring to grays that carry a hue, such as a green-gray or a blue-gray. I am also referring to a gray that either leans toward a warm gray (carries a titch of brown) or a cool gray (carries a titch of blue.)

It is important to note that none of these grays are created by mixing white with black. By the way, I never mix gray using black and white because it is dull….it has little life to it.color mixing, how to mix grays with purple

When I begin to mix grays, I always ask myself, “What is the color opposite of my base color?” As you know, the opposite of purple is yellow. There are basically two yellows available to us. They are a green-yellow and an orange-yellow. Which yellow will yield the gray I am looking for? Watch the video below for the answer.

Please pass the vlog along to others who may be interested.

Gratefully and colorfully yours,

Carol

color mixing, how to mix gray using purple

What are the Major Lines in Art?

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When was the last time to the lines you use in your work or in someone else’s? What are the major lines in art? What do they convey? Try to name the five types of lines in art before reading further.

I confess, I hadn’t consciously thought about it for a long time until I was in the early stages of  creating my latest series entitled Colorscapes.

Early in 2020, I began this series for a solo show that was to happen in 2021. (As you may know, it has happened! Visit my portfolio page). After I had completed a couple of paintings, I saw a horizontal line continue to show up. This got me curious to learn more about this line to bring it further up into my consciousness. Below you will notice this horizontal line employed a few different ways in “African Winds,” yet all in one area. There are additional lines incorporated as well.

lines in art

What are the Five Major Lines in Art?

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How to Mix a Bright Purple!

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You want to mix a purple, so you grab your red and blue. Correct? But then you mix your colors and it is not the purple you want. Why?

I have heard many  artists – no matter the medium they use – complain that they do not know how to mix a bright purple. There are three main reasons, IMHO.

  1. Painters are not consciously aware of the color bias of their reds and blues.
  2. Too many painters have alizarin crimson on their palettes.
  3. Painters do not know the significant role complementary colors play when mixing all colors ….it is not embedded into their brains.

What Does Color Bias Have to Do with How to Mix Bright Purple?

[Read more…]

Painting Out of My Funk – Mixed Media Demo

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How do you get yourself out from under emotional challenges? Do you use your creative outlets and/or something else?

As most of you know, starting late summer I took a sabbatical for several months because I needed to Prevent a Train Wreck. This time was followed by our much anticipated vacation to Barcelona. Unfortunately, it was rudely interrupted by the theft of all of our luggage from inside of our rental car as described in Thieves Among Geniuses-Miro and Gaudi. As a result of this traumatic experience, I have been experiencing periodic mild anxiety attacks. This was a surprise me and continues to confound me. Consequently, I have not been inspired or motivated to paint, much less anything else work related.

I had intended to return from our European vacation all charged up and ready to get back to work. Ha! My psyche wasn’t ready, so I have been patiently listening to my body and trying to take care of myself. Meanwhile, what about my art? As I mentioned in my last blog post, I asked a good art friend to push me to start a couple of paintings. I did and that was Okay, but not satisfactory.

mixed media demo

This week, after a few mornings of mild anxiety attacks, I decided that I needed to do something different. Painting has almost always served as an emotionally grounding activity for me, but I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to paint! This is not a common phenomenon for me. Feeling lost like this indicated that I still needed some healing time. However, sitting around watching the snow fall (quite the snow storms this week in Colorado), wasn’t working for me.

When in a conundrum such as this, I often pose challenges for myself. I decided that I would use existing painting materials and try something I have only watched on YouTube. I would paint multiple paintings on one sheet of 22″ x 30″ watercolor paper. Here is the step-by-step process of my mixed media demo. [Read more…]