Hues of Happy

Here’s a poppies color study from my sketchbook

I discovered some of my Holbein paints in a drawer and decided it was about time to breathe some new life into them! They are so bright and colorful. I love the way they pop on the page! I love to play with color.

I always keep a separate paper for my color studies. It really helps me see the colors and how they sit together. Pinks, corals and turquoise hues have always been a part of my go to palette. The colors make me feel happy and remind me of sunsets or long summer days by the beach.

Color is one of the easiest ways to add interest to your work.

Pro tip: Try painting your subject matter in non traditional colors!

If you’re not feeling confident in color, start with one color and just try using it with varying shades of light to dark. Now that you’ve played around with one color, try adding in a second color. This could be an opposite color on the color wheel or an adjacent color. Play around with how you can add your second color by sprinkling it in without overwhelming your first color.

What this does: It creates a dynamic relationship between your two colors, and makes your artwork standout. You can try this with flowers, landscapes, pets, anything really. Give it a try!

Some of my color explorations.

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