The modern primary colors are Magenta, Yellow, and Cyan, and with them you can actually mix both Red and Blue, although I would argue that doesn't make Red and Blue secondary colors...
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One of my favorite watercolor tools is the color pyramid. Painting one is an enjoyable way to quickly put a few colors through the paces - and it leaves you with both a pleasing painting and a useful reference tool.
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I am pleased to announce a limited set of dates for Summer 2020 in beautiful Boulder, Colorado! I will be teaching both a Foundation Watercolor Workshop and a Next Level Watercolor Workshop, offering both during each set of dates.
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In this post I'm going to lay out a few key points that revolutionized my understanding of color and helped lead me to the "aha!" moment of really understanding color temperature - and, most importantly, allowed me to enjoy color mixing and accomplishing it with ease.
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By changing our language we can change the colors we see. And by truly examining the colors around us we can learn to see past the language we've learned to describe them. In this blog post we'll explore how words influence perception and go over an exercise to help transform the colors in your palette.
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If you happen to find yourself in this lovely place - whether while attending one of our Watercolor Workshops, while passing through on a road trip, or while on vacation, I invite you to dig in and immerse yourself. Here is a list of Matt and my favorite Boulder experiences...
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One of the biggest fears I've heard about watercolors over the years is that they cannot be erased, that mistakes are irrevocable. Hearing this never fails to send me to my soap box to passionately defend my favorite medium because it simply isn't true!
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This post will walk you through the basics of watercolor brushes so that you will have a better idea of which ones are right for you. We'll start with the different parts of the brush, then go over the main component variables, talk about quality, and lastly we'll go over some of the various manufacturers.
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Here's a painting project idea that you can file away for a rainy day when you're at a loss as to what to paint -- or to help get you painting today. You can make this project casual - a fun little painting exercise - or you can plan to make a formal finished painting to hang on the wall.
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Before I gross you out, let's start, briefly, with why watercolor and ox gall are even a pair. When browsing the watercolor section of the art supply shop, you've probably noticed a line of little bottles with relatively vague information on the labels. Ox gall is usually in one of these bottles, sold as a watercolor additive.
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At the beginning of this year, I went on a sketchbook odyssey of sorts. I wanted to find the perfect match for my style and methods. I poured over different offerings online, and visited art shops all over the country. I touched, felt, smelled, and generally sized up every sketchbook I could find.
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