Exciting show coming in December

Artists and audiences have long been fascinated with the appearance of luminosity – an inner glow, or sense of light emanating from a painting. This quality is what has made paintings by Impressionist painter Claude Monet such favorites over the years. Yet few artists are able to achieve this effect reliably. It is usually an…

Valerie’s stepping stones

At Dick’s request, Valérie Richter shares words and images from a year-long exploration of luminosity.

Dick says, “Every artist for whom color is important must see and read this account, for it provides a guide and inspiration for us all. I am so very proud of Valérie’s mission and her support group, Karen, Holly, Craig and her classmates.”

Color Relationships 1, Spring 2016 week 5

The fifth and final session of the Color Relationships class for Spring 2016 was held on Wednesday, May 4. The class shared the results of their last assignment, heard from guest artist Valérie about her color explorations, and watched a video that demonstrated how color, pattern, and viewing distance are all important considerations when creating a work of art. See the full post for class materials, photos, and final assignments.

Color Relationships 1, Spring 2016 week 4

The fourth session of the Color Relationships class for Spring 2016 was held on Wednesday, April 27. We critiqued the color transposition assignment, discussed the two ways to create luminosity in artwork, and enjoyed a watercolor demonstration that showed the effects of equal values, vanishing boundaries and halation. See the full post for class materials, photos, and videos to supplement our class time.

Color Relationships 1, Spring 2016 week 3

The third session of the Color Relationships class for Spring 2016 was held on Wednesday, April 20. We shared the results from the previous two homework assignments, discussed and critiqued the many examples in Josef Albers’ book Interaction of Color, and introduced the new assignment, Transposing Colors of Equal Value. This is by far the most difficult exercise in the course, and usually involves many hours of trial and error. See the full post for class materials, photos, and videos to supplement our class time.

Color Relationships 1, Spring 2016 week 2

The second session of the Color Relationships class for Spring 2016 was held on Wednesday, April 13. We shared the insights and challenges produced by the homework, discussed important questions to ask when determining the ‘ingredients’ of a color, and had a thorough critique of the first assignment. See the full post for additional handouts and videos, and the two new homework assignments for this week.

Color Relationships 1, Summer 2015 week 5

The fifth session of the Color Relationships 1 class for Summer 2015 was held on Tuesday, August 25th. Our last session for the Color 1 series was a visual delight, from viewing the range of materials and various interpretations of the homework, to our guest speaker Valérie sharing her recent watercolor explorations. We heard a philosophical take on Dick’s theory of teaching and the shared contract of the responsibility for in student/teacher relationship, discussed the value of experimentation, and wrapped up with a delicious “graduation” potluck lunch and an hour of socializing.

Color Relationships 1, Summer 2015 week 4

The fourth session of the Color Relationships 1 class for Summer 2015 was held on Tuesday, August 18th. We critiqued the transposition examples seen in Albers’ book, reviewed the homework submissions, enjoyed a poetry reading, and heard from Kit Gentry about the incredible use of value as it is employed in his paintings. We moved on to our last assignment (an exercise in freedom!), and Dick talked about considering how we might put these color concepts to use in the future.