Color Ways

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Raspberry, lime, eggplant, lemongrass -- notice how many foods give us color names -- so what would be something fun to do with that?

Friday night my new El Cielo "Field Guide to Color" workshop debuts, the first that has included a Friday night get-together pot luck. In researching exercises and approaches I found virtual rainbows of color theory, color quizes, color lore. Just a few sites I stumbled across:


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www.wetcanvas.com/ArtSchool/Color/ColorTheory/
This site has lots of good information, including a 16-part series of lessons on color, most applicable to painters but with some nuggets for fiber artists.

http://www.livelygrey.com/
Very cool color blog with interactive games and other very interesting posts. Check out Igel Asselborg’s posts on saturation, hue and brightness.

http://www.rit.edu/~rkelly/html/04_cou/cou_col2.html
Artist and teacher Rob Roy Kelly  teaches a mini course on color. Good exercises from someone who studied with Albers.

http://www.sensationalcolor.com
Professional color consultant’s site with lots on verbal color lore.

http://www.sherwin-williams.com
Color Visualizer tool can be helpful way to find coordinating colors for a project, even if its not a room.

http://www.colour-experience.org/
Virtual color museum with broad scope of information

http://www.colorcube.com/play/play.htm
more cool interactive color games, there are some really challenging ones dealing with saturation and value.

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What a timely investigation it's turned out to be -- I have been designing a large art quilt to send off to the FASA juroring and managed to pick myself a quite challenging color palette -- one that is using cool colors to approach and warm colors to recede -- though the green/yellows are on the cool end of the cone for that hue. Anyhow, I love the composition, but I am not sure the color values work as well as I would have liked. Doing the reading on these sites, reminded me: IT'S THE CONTRAST NOT THE COLOR. If you don't have the bones down in your compostion using value, then, making the color work is always more difficult. This piece has a ground and figure, that while they are different in hue, are very close in value, so now I wonder if it holds together. Here's a couple of details in progress only, in case I  decide to hold this one as one of those " it can't ever have been published or shown before you enter it" pieces. (How does one decide?)

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And, speaking of workshops, for those of you even thinking about attending my next El Cielo workshop November 4-5 -- "Text on the Surface."  -- this weekend's event is the second one to completely fill and have a waiting list. So if you are interested,  check the description on the link and email or call. If you don't have my contact information, leave a comment and I will forward the complete brochure. We are having a fabulous time out here in the country. (And, yes, I know it is THE Quilt Festival weekend -- so come to Texas, go during the week, and let the crowds have the show on Saturday and Sunday, come to the Hill Country for the weekend -- that's what I'm going to do.)