Choosing the Right Colors

I bought myself a new set of Derwent Drawing Pencils.  The natural colors and high quality are what drew me to them (and the fact they were on sale).  I've been looking for more colors from nature.  I always seem to reach for colors that aren't in my box of pencils.

The day they arrived, I got out white and tan paper and swatched the set, noting in my mind where I had seen each color out in nature: the earthy red of the blueberry twigs, the olive green of winter grass, and the sage green of lichens on fallen branches.  Everywhere I walked, I saw the colors of these pencils repeated in nature.

Overall, these colors are more muted than most of my colored pencils. 

Here's a close up photo of blueberry twigs, a lovely match for the autumn red pencil.

And here's my sketch of the twig and some opossum tracks in the snow.

Opossum tracks always charm me with the little thumb sticking out at an odd angle.

I stopped by my neighbor's house, and got to meet her charming horse, Axle.

The earth tones --woodland, chocolate, apricot & ruby earth-- mixed with white and black expressed the wintry scene and beautiful Axle.

When I can't find the exact right match for a color in my kit, I look for two or more pencils that come close and mix them by coloring one over the other(s).  

Repeat this process until you get the color you're looking for. I mixed Prismacolors in poppy red, Tuscan red, Crimson red & white to try to match Derwent's autumn red (the color at the very bottom). 

When you feel like you want to create but don't have the energy or time for a full drawing, swatching the colors you see is a great exercise.  Simply pick a couple of colors you see around you or in a photo, and try to replicate them with your colored pencils.  

A perfect match is not the goal! 

Exploring is.  

Experimenting with colors will move you ahead in your observational drawing skills.  You will begin to notice nuances in the colors you see around you.

Happy Creating!

New Watercolor Swatching Video

I'm looking forward to teaching a Nature in Watercolor Workshop for Beginners for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.  In preparation for the workshop, I created a short video on getting to know your watercolors and brushes through swatching. 

The workshop registration is currently full, but the video is publicly available on my YouTube channel.  I hope you'll check it out, and paint along with me.

If you'd like to join Osher at Carnegie Mellon University to have access to a wide variety of wonderful classes, you can follow this link:

https://www.cmu.edu/osher/about/index.html

Happy Creating!

Getting Back in the Groove

Sometimes, life takes us away from our art.  Busy schedules can interrupt your artistic flow.  How do you get back into creating?  I've been away from painting for a couple of weeks, and have found these methods helpful to restart my creative engine.

Tidy up

Cleaning up your creative space --whether it's a desk, a room, or simply a knapsack of materials you carry from one place to another -- puts you back in touch with your supplies in a friendly, no-pressure way.  As you sharpen your colored pencils, you see new ideas.  As you sift through old sketchbooks, you're reminded how much you enjoy painting outside.  Simply having a clean space to create is inspiring in itself!

Color Swatching

Are those lovely supplies you just tidied up appealing to you, but you don't know what to do with them?  Start with color swatching.  

Testing your supplies out feels low-pressure, and gets your hand moving again with a brush, a pencil or a pastel stick. Take a sheet of paper, write the name of each color, then add a dab of that color next to its name. You've just made a great reference for your next artwork.  When you are in the midst of a composition and not sure which blue to use, you can refer to your color swatches to make your decision.

Color Mixing Studies

Often, when I'm painting, I find myself looking for just the right green, or trying to find a mellow shadow color that doesn't overwhelm the composition.  Testing out your paints or colored pencils by mixing them together is an important study for any artist.  

You might even start a color diary with a page each dedicated to greens, blues, or shadow colors.  Here are some recent color studies I made with phthalo blue watercolor paint.

What if you used one page to mix all of your blues with all of your browns, one pair at a time?  

What if you mixed all the greens you could with phthalo blue?  I'll give you a hint:  you can create a deep pine green by mixing phthalo blue with burnt sienna. Try it!

Try mixing color opposites: green + red, blue + orange, purple + yellow.  

Testing Out Sample Packs

When you purchase art supplies, you can often get sample packs of paper-- watercolor paper in different weights and with different surfaces, a variety of card stocks for drawing, etc.  It's great to have these on hand to play with.

A sample pack is an invitation to create!  Make doodles. Play with mark making.  Your only "job" is exploring a new paper.  

Sketches & Studies

You can sketch anything that interests you, and there's no pressure to make it "good" or accurate or anything but experimental.  Try sketching things you love to look at.  Or even boring things like a pencil or a coffee cup.  Sketch anything.  It's a start and will lead to creative ideas & inspiration if you stick with it.  Pretty soon, you're back in your art groove.

Making New Goals

Write a list of creative projects you'd like to try -- from painting your cat to starting a nature journal, to trying a new medium. Here's a list I made last spring with my old Sears typewriter.

Place it where you can see it.  I found that I only completed one of these goals this summer, but that this list of goals led to more painting and to fresh ideas.

Take a Class

Start your creative engine with a class.  You'll have a set time each week to dedicate to your art, and guided instruction to help you develop new skills.  The routine of making art builds momentum and generates new ideas.

As a bonus, you get to meet other artists and make new friendships!

I hope these suggestions help you start your creativity rolling, or simply move it in a new direction.  

Happy Creating!

Fall Color Walk Map

The autumn colors have washed into the landscape.

Late blooming meadow plants like goldenrod and ironweed create pops of saturated color among the grasses.

On a recent walk, I mapped the colors I saw with notes about the plants and animals on my route.

The bold crimson of Virginia Creeper leaves stood out against surrounding green foliage.

Moth Mullein (below) had gone to seed, leaving these beautiful stalks.

These asters (below) smelled like buttered popcorn in the afternoon sunlight.

Red crabapples had fattened in the summer sun.

 The chestnuts were ripe and falling on the ground.

I hope you'll take a walk in nature notice what nature is doing.

Simply swatching the colors in your nature journal can be a simple way to record what you see.  

If you want to create a color map like mine, you can simply print out a Google map of your walking route, and add color notes.

You can find every color on the color wheel in nature!

Copyright 2023 Betsy Bangley, Betsy's Bliss Art Blog