2016 #14 Contrasts and Shading {by Debs Wainwright}

 2016 Topic 14: Colour Mixing

Hi everyone Debs here.   Tonight I'd like to share with you a post about Colour Mixing to fit the current topic.

Colour is very important to me, not just in my art work, but in my life in general. It can alter mood, change the way we see things, as well as convey emotions. It used in all areas of our lives, both in the natural and man made world. How we mix these colours to form shades and tones as well as contrasts in all the above areas, plays an important role on our own senses and state of well being. 

In this piece I've shown some different colour mixing ideas, to demonstrate some of the effects you can create using colour. My overall colour scheme is with 'complimentary' colours, ie those that are OPPOSITE each other on the colour wheel: yellow-greens and pinky-purples.

Working with colours opposite is high impact (blue orange for example is another combination), BUT there is one thing you have to be aware of, if you mix  complimentary colours together while wet, you make brown...

Step One: I used Granny Smith, Rose, and Snowflake  Fresco Acrylic Paint on watercolour card with a brayer to form a pretty even layer as my base. Each colour was dried before the next as I wanted contrast, but this is optional as Fresco paint does dry particularly fast anyway being a chalk paint. For the reasons mentioned above, I really didn't want the layers to blend wet-in-wet as colours such as Pink and Green will form a shade of brown. So  it was important I ensured my colours were dry before adding the next contrasting layer.

Step Two: I worked out the composition of the page and stamped the head first, using one of Claire Lloyd's stamps from this year's release: ECL10.

This is a larger version of her lovely girls works perfectly for the kind of page I planned. I then drew in the body, giving her a glass jar of flowers, and stamped the remaining elements. I heat dried the ink to set it, and then using the Fresco Acrylic paint  in Chalk, I painted out as white blocks some of the areas where I wanted the next layer of colour to be bright.

Step Three: I painted her  face with Watercolour pencils using the darker shades on the outside and lighter shades in the middle. (You could also do this with watercolour paints or water reactive crayons/ markers) 

Shading with your paints helps to create a 3D effect. I also started the shading on her hair. I've kept the colours to similar shades of neutral browns at this stage wanting to convey a pretty scene. 

I opted for more depth in the background and so used Infusions in tiny amounts dotted around the outside of the figure and activated gently with plain water.

Step Four:  I needed more shadows and highlights on her dress as I was after a cotton look. I used the pencils around the sides of the dress, as well as in the middle panel. This added more depth and blue really complimented the green Fresco Paint. You can also see in this photo where I have used the pencils around the body and then blended them out away from the body to lighten the colour. It still acts as a contrast to the green creating an interesting effect.

 

Step Five: I continued the pink-green-blue colour scheme onto the birds, but for the clouds, I again used infusions, but this time I mixed a little Metallic Glaze with the infusions powder and used them as a watercolour to paint the clouds. 

I chose the pink to contrast with the green. Red-Violet, used for shading,  is in the same family as the pinks(warm colours) so they all sit happily alongside each other. The blues are from the cool side of the colour wheel so they add a nice contrast. I've also mixed up the values of the colours to pop and blend on different parts of the page.

Finally I painted the cup and saucer in green on the right hand side, to balance the colours on the left, as well as to contrast again with the pink.

I hope I have shown that colour mixing isn't just about physically mixing colours together to make more colours, it is also about where you can place colours on your project in different ways to create subtle or dramatic effects. 

Colour mixing can be a bit scary, but as long as you remember not to mix your opposites together eg Pink is the compliment of green, so once mixed they make brown,(unless of course that is your intention) you will be okay and go on to create interesting pieces of art.

My advice would be to invest in a colour wheel like the one below, then you will understand what to do or what to avoid in order to get the effects you like best.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog post, as much as I had creating the journal page. Take care as always hugs Debs xx.

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Ohhh Debs, you are so brave!! Pinky purples and greens are the two colours I avoid like the plague as I am so very competent at making brown! LOL but you clearly have got it sorted, and the results are so beautiful! Just like flowers in a green garden. Thanks for making that so clear!

I must remind everyone that Darcy put a load of information in this blog post at the start of the Topic about colour theory, and it is well worth referring back to as well! ~Leandra

We would love to see how you interpret this Colour Mixing topic by linking what you make to our 2016 Challenge #14: Colour Mixing, on this page HERE.

All of our bloggers love to see your twist on their ideas,  particularly if you were inspired directly by their post. 

All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. The Colour Mixing link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, Aug 7th 2016. The winner will be announced 2  hours later at 19:00.