in the mix

 
Over on the Street Team we are paying close attention to the mix that occurs when we work with paint.  Sometimes you start with two colors but end up with a whole range in between.  While we look at those blends we are also noting how much fun it can be to observe color naming, and will attempt to claim a few names of our own.  Hop over and see the creative mess I made on the living room wall trying to find the right color, with supplies from my studio.   Come over and play!

 

With color mixing on my brain I decided to pull out some old work - from college!  I had this phenomenal teacher who taught me so much - not only about the properties of color, but of perception.  It really was theory and practice*.  She required that we mount our work on gray mat board, type the objective and analysis, insert all in plastic sleeves and present in a three-ring binder.  It seemed like a pain at the time but I am so happy to have these past assignments.  Thank you Ms. Fargo.  She also made us use gauche vs. acrylic, and we had to purchase sable brushes ($$$ for a college student) so we would leave no evidence of strokes in the work.  I appreciate having learned that discipline but love bending the rule now - the strokier the better!  I want my work to look like a person made it, textures and all.  Why try to make a perfectly smooth swatch of painted surface that could easily have been cut from colored paper?

Here are some of those assignments....This first one had a limitation that we choose a hue on the opposite side of the color wheel than our favorite.  My old fave was red so I went with green.  That began a new love affair with green.  It lasted for nearly twenty years until I went back to red.

 

Then there was this one - created from magenta, yellow, cyan, white and black.  You should have seen my work table.  Hundreds of scraps of painted stripes of color and then heaps of cuttings and retired exacto blades.

 

And this...the Chroma Bridge...such a fascinating exercise to blend two hues to find all the middle steps.

 

I faked out the Chroma Bridge below with photoshop.  A few steps of hitting gradation between two colors then isolating into rectangles.  It is a quick cheat...but like I said earlier, I really appreciate that I had the opportunity to learn the rules the real way first.

 

I have to name 2 through 8 for Crusade No, 53.  Any suggestions?  Take a stab at it.

Thanks for all the kinds words regarding my articles in Art Journaling and Somerset Studio.  I will be talking more about it soon - so stay tuned.  Have a good weekend.

* in theory and practice may sound familiar....it's part of the subtitle of the recent HIM album ;)

Comments

[maggie]

I love your work. But I have to say I got the biggest kick out of "Valo's Eyes" While reading your post and before even knowing what you named your new mixed colors, I said to myself I bet Michelle named one of them after Valo or the band. I should have been a psychic. Great color mixes.
hugs,
Maggie

[TJ]

Wow your old color assignments remind me of tessellations! They're amazing.

If I'm honest, I feel completely out of my league when it comes to color. Deep down I might have even skipped the last crusade (and blamed my trip) because it's just over my head. Too lame! I'm going to have to try at least...

Your photoshop bridge gives me hope. I think I can try something like that. I've always thought that naming fingernail polish would be my dream job. So for the naming alone, I've got to get on the ball here.

#2 Looks like german sweet mustard
#3 Looks like pea soup
#4 Looks like lime wedges
#5 Might be green tea or aloe vera
#6, #7, & #8 all look the same to my untrained eyes!

It must be lunch time here, since I'm referencing food!!
Best wishes, tj

[Maj Carita]

I claim No. 4 as "May-green"
Great asignment, you "Mad Scientist" you!
Hope all is well!
xoxo

[Chris]

Hi, Michelle. I told you I would let you know when I got my Michelle Ward Summer 2011 Periodical Collection! I just went out and got both the issues you posted about! I really don't have the luxury of buying many magazines any more. But as you may know, I'm working my way to being a Michelle Ward Completist. I love what you've done with the poppy pods from your article, and the way you refined the idea of making something your own.

Of course, the portfolio of your work, which is in the current Art Journaling, is filled with inspirational Ward! Not only the images, but the words! You have a singular style, even in speaking and writing. So I'm really HAPPY that my local barnes and noble had both of these issues and I can savor them now, as I go to the cafe, the beach, the grocery, work, the dentist, the doctor, the petrol station, the construction site... wherever I regularly hang out!

I have to go now. I haven't finished scanning all your images and making them my own, yet...

xox
Chrissy

[Chris]

names from my vast experience with Naming Things:

2. Curious Mellow
3. Moss Cartwright
4. Lime After Lime
5. Kirstie Algae
6. Not Quite Kelly's Heroes
7. Evagreenescence
8. Veridian Blue Persuasion

[iHanna]

I have painted squares with awesome colours myself, but I suck at naming them. The suggestion you're getting are great though.

[cindi]

awwww. 'valo's eyes'. you knew i'd have to comment on that didn't you?! lol *waves*

[Cath S]

I agree with TJ; they do look like tessellations. Astounding. 'In theory and practice' took me a moment yet I sing along most mornings in my car on the way to work.

[Michelle Brown]

Oooh! These two colours are tricky - I wonder if that is due to where they fall on the Chroma Bridge. Here are my nominations:-

No 2 - Summer grasses green

No 8 - Summer skies blue

(can you tell I'm dreaming of warmer weather?)

[Suzanne McCarthy]

I thought this would be easy - but it's not! Nos. 5 and 6 were the hardest, by far. Here's my list:
2. Coriander
3. Split Pea
4. Ginkgo Leaf
5. Kiwi
6. Sweet Woodruff
7. Spearmint
8. Lagoon
I love Chris's suggestions - Curious Mellow, et al. Those are great! I think I was trying to be too literal in finding names that "matched" the colors. This color range is tough for me, because lately I've been working with fabrics in the orange-hot pink-fuchsia-magenta families. This was a creative stretch, but a good one!

[Suzanne McCarthy]

P.S. When I saw your color grids, I thought, "Ooh, look at all the Flying Geese and HSTs (half-square triangles)!" Can you tell I'm really into quilting these days? Any of your color exercises would make a great quilt!

[Lena]

Well, this looks great and i have to admit that I got" patchworky" thoughts as well. No 2 for me is definately mustard seed and no 7 is tumled glass. And then of course I have to give up... so many colours and sooo many names to chose from!

[Pam Holladay]

I remember doing those color excercises. Nothing like trying to glue down those tiny squares with blurry late night eyes.

Being from the Pacific Northwest, colors #5, #6, and #7 remind me of that really cool color that the Ferry stirs up in the water when backing away from the dock. What do you think of sound swirl, Churned Puget, and ferry flow?

[QuinnCreative]

For some reason, I love this color challenge. And I love those color bridges, which I've seen but I thought were carefully crafted without technological help. Chris is a genius who should work at OPI.
Let's see what I can come up with:

#1: Not on the rug!
#2: Aquarium Alarm
#3: Churn up
#4: Is that a . . . shark?
#5: Safe on the shore
#6: Opal's essence
#7: How Teal is my Valley
#8: Base hit and tealing third