Blogging Update

Every now and again I will post this reminder. I no longer post to this blog on a regular basis.  Because there is so much useful information on this Creative Color blog, I am keeping it live on the internet and will link to it on occasion.  I now post to my blog on ExploreWithChrisCarter.com where you will find fabulous online courses, free videos and a plethora of great information about watercolor techniques, travel sketching, living a creative life and seeing the world as an artist.

To view my art, visit ChrisCarterArt.com.

Recently, I’ve added Mini courses to the online options.  These short classes, that also present a project for you to create, are available on both Skillshare and ExploreWithChrisCarter.

Anything specific you would like to know more about? … a technique? … a tool? packing light for travel?  Please let me know.

Happy sketching, drawing and painting!

Chris Carter

 

 

 

 

Cicadae Still Singing

The cicada I sketched didn’t last too long after I returned it to the wild.  The next day I found its wings in the driveway.

The cicadae mating song can reach over 100 decibels, the loudest song known in the insect world.  “The adult male cicada possesses two ribbed membranes called tymbals, one on each side of its first abdominal segment. By contracting the tymbal muscle, the cicada buckles the membrane inward, producing a loud click. As the membrane snaps back, it clicks again. The two tymbals click alternately.”

Here is the ink drawing shown in the last post …. now painted using an analogous with one complement color scheme.

17 year cicada

Finally, after far too long, I am offering online critiques and private lessons….. visit my website for information and sign up.

I hope, within the next month, I will be able to offer The Color Workshop as an online option.

Thanks for your patience.

Images:  Drawn first with ink using a fountain pen, followed by watercolor.

 

Two Day Workshop in New York City!

Coming up soon!  Both The Color Scheme Game Workshop and the Color Value Workshop is being offered back to back at the National Association for Women Artists in New York City on June 18th and 19th.  Call the N.A.W.A. office to register (212) 675-1616.  Space is limited to eight students.

Raw Sienna, Cadmium Red Deep and Ultramarine Blue

Since teaching the last workshop at N.A.W.A. I have had several personal breakthroughs with color, experimenting with more neutralized primaries and discovering gorgeous palettes.  I also attended a fabulous workshop with Don Andrews.  Again, I experienced several important breakthroughs regarding maintaining strong color when working with color value.  I’ll be sharing these breakthroughs at the upcoming workshops in New York City.

Seashells, Westmoreland State Park, VA

Seashells No.3, Myrtle Beach, SC

Blue Crab Belly

Click here for more info and materials list.  Please Contact me if you have questions.

 

Three Ladies Sitting at the Bar

I’m coming up for air….. just for a moment….

Hat City Kitchen … Listening to the Blues

I’ve been happily lost in the world of live music, art exhibits, travel adventures and learning how to make my own online tutorials.

The Bad Hands – 4th Annual Blues Bash

To top it off, it’s getting warmer and I’ll be back to drawing in my garden within weeks!

Happy Spring!

Paintings: drawn first in ink with dip pen followed by watercolor, painted during live performances.

Video: demonstration of creating a color wheel for the color scheme game using raw sienna, cadmium red deep and ultramarine blue as my primaries.

 

Abstract Design from Traced Objects

When teaching workshops focused on a variety of watercolor techniques, I present the students with a project that allows for experimentation and encourages a playful, curious attitude.

Abstraction From Traced Objects

Why don’t I set up a lovely still life for the students to work from?  Because a still life requires drawing skills that many students have not yet acquired.  By the time the students are ready to add paint to their drawings, half the class is over and the students are already discouraged.  The poor results are blamed on watercolor being a difficult medium.

One cannot be either good nor bad at tracing objects.  By placing and tracing objects in a variety of positions on the paper, numerous overlapping shapes are created from which the students can easily extract an abstract design.  Within half an hour the students are still excited about painting and are ready to begin the adventure of playing with watercolor.

On January 14th I will present this exercise on the “Tools and Techniques” blog of my website.  This is just a sneak preview.

Sketchbook Image:  Watercolor  illustrating various watercolor techniques – Wash, glaze, splatter, adding salt, lifting, and wet in wet.

Color Scheme:  Extended Analogous with one complement

 

Weekly Exercise No. 1 on New Website Blog

Last night while making cookie dough I created the samples for Exercise No. 1 on my website blog. Check it out!

Eggs in Cardboard Carton

The goal is to draw, draw, draw, without concern about the drawing being masterful.  This exercise will strengthen eye/hand coordination.  The foundation of a strong painting is strong drawing skills whether the work is realistic or abstract.

Sketchbook Drawing: Eggs in Cardboard Carton – drawn in three minutes with a fountain pen before breaking the eggs and adding them to the cookie dough batter.

 

Time For a Change

Old York Cellars, En Plein Air Watercolor Painting

My new website is now up and running ….. and along with it, a new blog that will focus on tools and techniques for both drawing and painting as well as weekly color exercises.

I will continue to post on this blog, with less frequency.  The feedback I receive from all of you who follow this blog inspires me to continue my journey deeper into the world of color and to create even better Color Workshops.  Thank you!

Please visit the website at ChrisCarterArt.com and let me know how you like it.  If you wish to sign up for the Website Blog on Tools and Techniques click on the ‘Blog” link at the top of the page and subscribe.  Please let me know if this is an easy process for you…. or not.

Painting:  Old York Cellars – En Plein Air Watercolor Painting.  I had forgotten about this little gem that I found when going through folders for image files to upload to the new galleries.

 

Color Mixing with Spinning Top

My favorite toy was a spinning top like the one pictured below.  Eventually, from too much use, I bent the rotating helical screw blade that turned the gears and caused the three discs to turn.

Spinning Top

When my daughters were born, I hunted everywhere to find such a top and could only find tops with four discs, not three.  They didn’t work to create the illusions of the secondary colors radiating out from the center as the top spun.  Fourteen years later I finally found the top in a specialty toy store and bought all that they had.

While glancing about to find what the subject of my next ‘Family Treasures’ drawing would be, I saw the spinning top.  In an instant I realized that I have learned a great deal over the past year having played The Color Scheme Game every morning of every day. I had always wondered why the orange, green and purple that appeared on the spinning top were so muted.  As I glanced at the yellow, blue and red on each of the discs I heard myself laughing aloud.  Hah!  Mystery solved!

What a joy it is to arrive at a point where the study, the exploration, the experimentation …. results in assimilated understanding and knowledge.  Try it….. you’ll like it …..

I thought my iphone would be able to capture the radiating secondary color mixes.  It did, but barely. I should have turned my phone in the other direction.  At least I learned how to upload a video to YouTube.  Link to Spinning Top Video.

 

Glass Inkwells No. 5, Analogous with One Complement

The second throw of the die gave me yellow-green as a dominant color.  Rules are meant to be broken or re-interpreted.

Glass Inkwells No. 5

The first throw of the die gave me an analogous color scheme with one complement.  That means I use three colors adjacent to one another on the twelve hue color wheel plus one complement of any of those three hues.  The traditional interpretation of that color scheme with yellow-green as the dominant color would be: Yellow-Green and the two colors on either side of Yellow-Green which would be Yellow and Green …. plus either Red, Red-Violet or Violet.

When I looked at my ink drawing I kept seeing the two large rectangles as Yellow-Green, almost a yellow.  I didn’t want to use the colors on either side (yellow or green) in the painting.  Instead, I used my dominant color Yellow-Green as the complement of the analogous trio Red-Violet, Violet and Blue-Violet.  The rule that I try not to break is the rule of Being Flexible.

When I teach the Color Scheme Game Workshops, I am reminded that it is difficult for many people to break the rules.  I encourage you to do so!

I have listed below the variations possible, and totally permissible, that I could have chosen when I threw the die this morning.

1. Traditional Combination …. Yellow, Yellow-Green, Green with either Red, Red-Violet or Violet

2. Yellow-Green, Green, Blue-Green with either Red-Violet, Red or Red-Orange

3. Yellow-Green, Yellow, Yellow-Orange with either Red-Violet, Violet or Blue-Violet

4. Red-Violet, Red, Red-Orange with Yellow-Green

5. Violet, Red-Violet, Red with Yellow-Green

6. Blue-Violet, Violet, Red-Violet with Yellow-Green

Remember that the purpose of playing the game is to sharpen your tools so that when you are painting your more ‘serious’ work, you can craft it more masterfully and have more confidence (and more fun) doing so.

Sketchbook drawing: Glass Inkwells No. 5 – drawn first with fountain pen filled with Noodler’s Black Ink followed by watercolor using a limited palette of Yellow-Green, Red-Violet, Violet and Blue-Violet.

 

Always a student of color

For the last three years, my focus has been on understanding and experimenting with color.  Even so, I’m always open to new paths and methods to make that journey even more pleasurable than it already is.

Playing with Color Using the Color Scheme Game

For my own morning wake-up exercise I invented The Color Scheme Game and have been sharing it on this blog for about a year. In spite of the limitless possibilities using my game, I find it helpful to break the habit and try another artist’s approach.

I recently stumbled across Mastering Color by Richard Robinson in New Zealand, which is a great video painting course for any painting medium – oils, acrylic, watercolor etc – it’s all about how to see color properly and translate it to canvas. It covers lots of in-depth material in a way that’s really easy to understand. I totally recommend this for all painters who need better control of their color – and lets face it, most of us do! Here’s the link to the website:

Mastering Color Course

Oh, here’s the chapter list too:

1. Color Theory
2. Seeing Color
3. Describing Color
4. Value
5. Mixing Color
6. Manipulating Color
7. Color Harmony
8. Light Effects

You can watch the first chapter for free on the site:

Mastering Color Course

Morning Painting, gift for an artist friend who is always inspiring me to become a better artist ( I have posted this image before, but felt it was appropriate)  Where would I be without other artists to nudge and shove me along when I get into a rut or feel as if I should burn my brushes?: Drawn first with fountain pen filled with Noodler’s Rome Burning Ink, followed by watercolor.