As I write this newsletter I am on board the Celebrity Century cruise liner. I was recently
invited to join the roster of teachers for the Celebrity and the Cunard cruise
lines. I am teaching watercolor—yes, you
read correctly, watercolor. Anyone who knows me knows how I’m not a major watercolorist.
I like to sketch or draw with a splash of watercolor, even though I enjoy the
medium. So when I was approached for this opportunity, I had to step up, take
my brush in hand and create several lesson plans for the beginner.
My first class was yesterday. I had 50 people in attendance
and only one hour to teach some basic watercolor techniques. I’m proud to say
everyone seemed to have a lot of fun. We painted Orcas breaching from the sea.
Today I taught another class on how to draw the Alaskan
state flower: the forget-me-not. What fun we all had. Everyone did great washs
and splendid texture work. Wow! It’s amazing what people can do when just given
a little direction!! Most of these folks have never picked up a brush.
I will teach two more classes and hopefully they will be as
successful as the first two. It was a challenge to design a plan, but it always
helps when you have students who are willing to be guinea pigs (thank you all)
and a PowerPoint presentation to make things run smoothly.
The Color Purple
So now on to the subject at hand: the color purple. I must admit, I always thought purple and violet were basically the same color. After all, we all played with purple crayons, picked violet flowers, sucked on purple lollipops. But alas, I am wrong. While they may seem to look alike, they aren’t. First of all, purple is a mixed color of blue and red, and I believe it is the most difficult to mix. Violet on the other hand is a spectral color; that is, it appears in the visible light spectrum: rainbow or prism.
So now on to the subject at hand: the color purple. I must admit, I always thought purple and violet were basically the same color. After all, we all played with purple crayons, picked violet flowers, sucked on purple lollipops. But alas, I am wrong. While they may seem to look alike, they aren’t. First of all, purple is a mixed color of blue and red, and I believe it is the most difficult to mix. Violet on the other hand is a spectral color; that is, it appears in the visible light spectrum: rainbow or prism.
So what does this mean? Will it affect your paintings or
color drawings? Not really. One suggestion I have read is this: violet is
usually a bluish purple and purple is a reddish violet. This may sound like
double-talk but I think it helps me visually. To achieve these colors, one can
mix various combinations of blue and red but that’s where we can run into
trouble.
I remember my first time trying to create purple. I thought
it would be easy. Just take a little red, add a little blue and voila! I would
have the color. Well, it’s not the easy. If I add too much blue to the red, I
have, what I call, a midnight blue (very dark). On the other hand, if I add too
much red, I find myself making a reddish
brown.
What’s more, I need to mix the “right” paints. In other words, I can’t just pick up any red
or any blue and get a perfect purple. For instance alizarin is a cool red,
leaning toward blue. Add this red to blue and that’s when you get that dark
blue. Pick the warm cadmium red, which leans toward yellow, add blue and the
result will be what’s called mud or a reddish brown.
So what should an artist do to create purple? I usually work
with just three colors—the primaries—but I do have purple in my palette as
well. Sometimes it’s just too much trouble to get the right mixture. So I make life easy on myself and simply go
out and buy a purple like Dioxazine purple (PV37). But if I want to mix colors
to create purple, I usually mix magenta with ultramarine blue. These two partners make a nice rich purple.
As I stated above, I usually purchase Dioxazine purple
(PV37). You can find violets already mixed under the following names:
- · Colbalt violet (PV14)
- · Ultramarine violet (PV15)
- · Maganese violet (PV16)
- · Dioxazine violet (PV37)
All of these have different light fastness, values, staining
qualities. I have a couple in my paint collection. You may want to try all of them
or some.
Next month I’d like to return to the study of artists,
beginning with Jackson Pollock, one of my favorite American Expressionists. We
just recently studied him in my acrylics class on Thursday evenings and it was so much fun!! I can’t believe what
cool paintings we created and what wonderful freedom we all felt.
Fall Classes and Workshops
The Visual Journaling class this month
is scheduled for Sunday, September 16th from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. As
always, just bring your sketchbook (90# or heavier). I supply all the collage
paper, paints, brushes, markers, glue and found items. Light refreshments will be served. $20
The balance of my classes and PCC workshops are as follows
(these are listed here but not on my website—they will not be listed there
until later next week).
Studio Classes
Fall session begins week of September 16th, ends October 21st
$70 per class, per six-week session, at my studio in Tigard
To register for the following classes, please email me at jjgoodell@gmail.com
Fall session begins week of September 16th, ends October 21st
$70 per class, per six-week session, at my studio in Tigard
To register for the following classes, please email me at jjgoodell@gmail.com
Tuesday Evenings 7
pm to 9 pm
Drawing in Living Color
Come join us while we learn about color theory while drawing in pen and ink with watercolor wash, pastels and colored pencil. Limited to 12 students, most materials supplied.
Drawing in Living Color
Come join us while we learn about color theory while drawing in pen and ink with watercolor wash, pastels and colored pencil. Limited to 12 students, most materials supplied.
Wednesday Mornings 10 a.m. to Noon
Sketch’n on the Go™
We will visit various sketching venues in the Portland area on a weekly basis until the weather becomes inclement, then class will be held in my studio in Tigard. Locations will be announced next Friday, September 14th on the class blog: http://sketchnonthego.blogspot.com/on
Sketch’n on the Go™
We will visit various sketching venues in the Portland area on a weekly basis until the weather becomes inclement, then class will be held in my studio in Tigard. Locations will be announced next Friday, September 14th on the class blog: http://sketchnonthego.blogspot.com/on
Thursday Evenings 7pm to 9pm
Paint like an Impressionist
We will cover three Impressionism artists this session, beginning with Monet. Bring your paints, canvases and enthusiasm. Supply list upon registration.
Paint like an Impressionist
We will cover three Impressionism artists this session, beginning with Monet. Bring your paints, canvases and enthusiasm. Supply list upon registration.
Portland Community College One-Day
Workshops
All workshops are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
To register for workshops go to www.pcc.edu
All workshops are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
To register for workshops go to www.pcc.edu
Saturday, September 29
Basic Drawing
PCC Campus/Sylvania
.
Saturday, October 13
Drawing with Pastels
PCC Sylvania campus
Friday, October 26
Drawing with Pen and Ink
Tigard Senior Center
Saturday, October 27
Botanical Drawing with Pen and Ink
PCC Sylvania campus
PCC Sylvania campus
Saturday, November 3
Acrylic Painting 101
PCC Sylvania
campus
Saturday, November 17
Colored Pencil
PCC Sylvania campus
PCC Sylvania campus
Saturday, December 1
Travel Sketching
PCC/Sylvania campus
