Category Archives: Color Theory

Paint Beautiful Shapes. Paint Beautiful Colors.

Two simple phrases were passed down from teacher to student who then became a teacher to other students. These two directives actually take a lot of contemplation and deep thought. Paint Beautiful Shapes. Paint Beautiful Colors. These are good “filters” to access many works of art. Do they please the eye? Is it a feastContinue reading “Paint Beautiful Shapes. Paint Beautiful Colors.”

Vibrancy in the Shade

“In some spheres the shadow condition is the condition of greatest growth.  The beautiful Indian corn never grows more rapidly than in the shadow of a warm summer night.  The sun curls the leaves in the sultry noon light, but they quickly unfold, if a cloud slips over the sky.  There is a service inContinue reading “Vibrancy in the Shade”

Autumn Colors Inspire Art

 Well Fall is in the air!  As much as we long for summers here on the North Coast because we have such an abundance of rain, still, we tend to greet Autumn with great anticipation as well.  There is something about new beginnings, a change in the weather and students going back to school.  InContinue reading “Autumn Colors Inspire Art”

Values in Color, Values in Life

Some of our days, or seasons of our life, can be like dramatic contrast in a painting.  There are portions of brilliant light juxtaposed by deep dark shadows – the peaks and valleys of life sometimes run close together.  In my work in ministry there were weeks when we would both prepare for a wedding, withContinue reading “Values in Color, Values in Life”

The Joy of Mixing Colors

My painting teacher, Jim Faber (who was a wonderful colorist) said is that “in light there is all colors.”  So when we paint we can attribute color to places that we know, scientifically, are there even if we don’t wholly see them with our limited eyesight.  For example, we may see only a light yellowContinue reading “The Joy of Mixing Colors”

Family Love Through Generations

Motherhood…I am in the generation that is blessed to have both a mother who is still with us (now 89) and a grown daughter who is a mother of a five-year old.  This painting which I did many years ago is of my mother and daughter when she was a just an infant.  Artistically, although itContinue reading “Family Love Through Generations”

More About Color Theory

In my early twenties I was taken back by learning that someone with whom I had attended High School was studying color theory for an entire year at his chosen university.  I shook my head and could not comprehend that one could fill a whole year’s studies on color!  Yellow and blue make green, right?  How could there beContinue reading “More About Color Theory”

Color Theory Comes to Light in the Shadows

Around 1987 or 1988 I began studying with a very talented and knowledgable colorist painter named Jim Faber.  He explained to us the Impressionistic theories of color and light. The Impressionists brought about a new way of looking at art and life.  These artists came out of the studio into the light of day andContinue reading “Color Theory Comes to Light in the Shadows”

Color Theory Through Generations of Artists

When I first viewed the paintings of a local artist named Jim Faber in the 1990’s, I was impressed by the stunning beauty of his canvases.  I knew he knew something that I didn’t know about painting, and so I asked him to teach me.  What I soon found out was he had a greatContinue reading “Color Theory Through Generations of Artists”