Mastering Color

[Richard Robinson]

Anything to do with the Mastering Color course goes here. Post your images up or ask questions - anything!

[Richard Robinson]

:-) Good on you Peta, I hope you get a lot of good learning out of those exercises.

Peta Zeller said:

Hi everyone - you must all be very busy doing this course and have no time to continue the discussion on your progression as there has been no activity here for a while.  Hope all is going well.

I have just finished making all the cubes and have bought a shelf container to keep them in as they took so much time and patience to make and look fantastic all together I am now a bit precious about them.  We had loads of fun last night building all sorts of combinations of value and color pyramids, buildings etc - no harm in a little incidental learning for the kids!!  Kids have a short school day today so tomorrow I will get started on the activities.

[Carolyn Brunsdon]

This forum seems to have gone dead in the water. Is there anyone else who is preparing to work through "Mastering Color"? I have painted off and on for some years and had some success...and a LOT of frustration! I've always loved color, quite an "ah-ha"! moment to realize that mixing color is at the root of my frustration. Richard's work is amazing. I've previewed the video's, printed my cubes, in the process of assembling them now and was hoping there would be another traveler on my journey. Anyone out there??

[Peta Zeller]

Hi Carolyn,

I agree things seem to have gone very quiet here. In the twelve months since I purchased the Masterclass I have to admit I have had a couple of false starts as our family is going through a really rough time with my Father and his battle with cancer.  I have nearly finished putting together all the different cubes, cones, cylinders etc as I have found they are very portable and good therapy.  I see it as once I get started I will be all set up and can just roll with it.  I would love to hear from others as well.

Carolyn Brunsdon said:

This forum seems to have gone dead in the water. Is there anyone else who is preparing to work through "Mastering Color"? I have painted off and on for some years and had some success...and a LOT of frustration! I've always loved color, quite an "ah-ha"! moment to realize that mixing color is at the root of my frustration. Richard's work is amazing. I've previewed the video's, printed my cubes, in the process of assembling them now and was hoping there would be another traveler on my journey. Anyone out there??

[Carolyn Brunsdon]

Hello Peta, thank you for the reply. So sorry to hear about your family situation. I know how hard it is to get motivated and stay focused when such things are happening. It is the structure of Mastering Color that makes it possible to get back in the game in small steps, at least for me. Many diversions, but committing to one small task at a time makes for the foundation to build on, so here I am, and there you are (I'm in Arizona, US, where are you?) My take will be progress of some kind daily and call it success while adding to it as the days go on. I've always dealt with "the big picture" instead of those very important details that are the building blocks. My confession for the day! Hope your priorities will allow you a few minutes a day to start on that journey too.

[Peta Zeller]

Hi Carolyn thanks for the kind words and encouragement.  I am located in Perth, Western Australia.  My Husband and I have travelled through Arizona. Unfortunately before the days of digital photography, and all our camera equipment and rolls of film were stolen in Yosemite, so we have none of our memories on hard copy of most of our time spent in the US.  Good excuse to go back and do it all again - next time with easel and paint.  Not before finishing this Masterclass though!

Carolyn Brunsdon said:

Hello Peta, thank you for the reply. So sorry to hear about your family situation. I know how hard it is to get motivated and stay focused when such things are happening. It is the structure of Mastering Color that makes it possible to get back in the game in small steps, at least for me. Many diversions, but committing to one small task at a time makes for the foundation to build on, so here I am, and there you are (I'm in Arizona, US, where are you?) My take will be progress of some kind daily and call it success while adding to it as the days go on. I've always dealt with "the big picture" instead of those very important details that are the building blocks. My confession for the day! Hope your priorities will allow you a few minutes a day to start on that journey too.

[Carolyn Brunsdon]

Hi again Peta, Life is a bit of a jumble at the moment. We have several wildfires going here in Prescott and tragically, lost 19 members of Prescott's "Hot Shot" crew Sunday afternoon. A terrible loss for our community and for the nation, since there are/were only 100 member's of this very courageous and elite group of defenders. I have been trudging on with my painting forms...the dodecahedron cutouts are making me nuts! Today I will create the 9 value scale and see what else might be possible. Hope all is well with you and you are about ready to move forward.

Have a great and creative day. ( I think you are about 16-17 hours ahead of me in your time zone.)
 
Peta Zeller said:

Hi Carolyn thanks for the kind words and encouragement.  I am located in Perth, Western Australia.  My Husband and I have travelled through Arizona. Unfortunately before the days of digital photography, and all our camera equipment and rolls of film were stolen in Yosemite, so we have none of our memories on hard copy of most of our time spent in the US.  Good excuse to go back and do it all again - next time with easel and paint.  Not before finishing this Masterclass though!

Carolyn Brunsdon said:

Hello Peta, thank you for the reply. So sorry to hear about your family situation. I know how hard it is to get motivated and stay focused when such things are happening. It is the structure of Mastering Color that makes it possible to get back in the game in small steps, at least for me. Many diversions, but committing to one small task at a time makes for the foundation to build on, so here I am, and there you are (I'm in Arizona, US, where are you?) My take will be progress of some kind daily and call it success while adding to it as the days go on. I've always dealt with "the big picture" instead of those very important details that are the building blocks. My confession for the day! Hope your priorities will allow you a few minutes a day to start on that journey too.

[Peta Zeller]

Hi Carolyn. 

Here in Australia we also live with the constant threat of bushfire throughout summer and I feel dearly for your community on the loss of so many.  Our prayers are with you.

I also struggled with the dodecahedrons and found that the fold lines are very hard to see especially on the darks so I used the ones I could see and overlaid them before cutting them out and used a blunt pointed darning needle to impress through to the one underneath.  Works really well if you have them lined up correctly and makes putting them together easier. I would not like to have overly large fingers doing these either.  Quite an engineering task Richard set - maybe that's why people have not contributed - they are still doing the dodecs!!

[Rhonda Mann]

I bought all 11 of your videos but haven't gotten too them.  I have all the time in the world yet I don't know how to schedule it all in... I am also trying to do VAA and actually paint some things.  I feel it necessary to also practice drawing.. I would love suggestions on how to get myself organized.  I find there is also so much on line and programs on editing and such to learn.  UGH  HELP PLEASE!!  It took me days to find a posturizing program for one of VAA"s assignments.  I don't know where or how to store my pics.. I just built a shadow box to do some still life's and have made quite a mess of the first one.  I went to a workshop with Trisha Adams to San Miguel, Amazing place, and she said I have tons of potential but no confidence and that comes from painting and drawing.  I am really lost here. My mind is painting all the time even in my sleep but I can't seem to get going.  How do I make a schedule and what should be on it???   

[Roena King]

Bless your heart Rhonda.  You are normal and many other artist express the same frustration as you have voiced.

I suggest you "pretend" you have a job and schedule the time you "have to go to work".  If you dont work, you will get fired!  If a friend calls and wants you to go play, then schedule that fun at a DIFFERENT time than when you have to go to work.

I had no confidence after a long lay off from art myself.  Was sure I could not draw!  I did all the exercises in Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards.  I highly recommend that book!!!!! You can buy it on Amazon in the used book part and buy a workbook too for less than the cost of a book new at a art store. 

Have a look at where I have come from (no confidence to draw) to where I am now using the concepts I learned in that book!  http://thecompleteartist.ning.com/photo/photo/listForContributor?sc...  This is my gallery here on TCA. 

The nice thing about graphite is you put the pencil down, and walk away.  Time to draw again, pick up the pencil and in 5 seconds you see someplace to start and just start.   

After your work time that you set aside to draw every day,

then make another slot of time for each of RR (Richard) videos.  Watch one, then watch it again and stop the video and do what he did, play the video, and stop and do.  

The point is that you are doing something every day.

I once home schooled our son for the 7th-9th grades.  You remember how thick a history book is?  Well it is not so intimidating when you count the pages and then do a few every day.  At the end of the year, you have finished the book.

So for art....make a plan and work the plan an at the end of a year see your progress.  Art is a forever learning thing, and you never stop learning.........little bits at a time produce great results.

Best of luck to you.  Roena

[Richard Robinson]

Take one of these and call me if symptoms persist:

http://thegoalwheelforartists.com/

Rhonda Mann said:

I bought all 11 of your videos but haven't gotten too them.  I have all the time in the world yet I don't know how to schedule it all in... I am also trying to do VAA and actually paint some things.  I feel it necessary to also practice drawing.. I would love suggestions on how to get myself organized.  I find there is also so much on line and programs on editing and such to learn.  UGH  HELP PLEASE!!  It took me days to find a posturizing program for one of VAA"s assignments.  I don't know where or how to store my pics.. I just built a shadow box to do some still life's and have made quite a mess of the first one.  I went to a workshop with Trisha Adams to San Miguel, Amazing place, and she said I have tons of potential but no confidence and that comes from painting and drawing.  I am really lost here. My mind is painting all the time even in my sleep but I can't seem to get going.  How do I make a schedule and what should be on it???   

[Sharon Bray]

Yes, I too have a problem with values but your demonstrations for making value sketches and seeing the shapes and planes has really helped a lot...still a work in progress.

Richard,

I purchased the DVD on Mastering Color plus several others, and did the exercises.  But here is my problem.  I'm confused about how to use the Gamut Mask.   I'm using my reference photo that I did a watercolor painting of in cool colors and now I want to paint it again using warm glowing oil colors using the Gamut Mask. I did the value sketch and I found the value range I want to work with then found some of the golden colors I want to use.  Now what?  What tubes of paint to use? Without a doubt I need more practice, but I don't understand how to use the Gamut Mask to select my colors.  You make it look so effortless when you are demonstrating.

I'm using oils right now, but my usual medium is watercolor.  Using watercolor, I select no more than four colors and make a chart of the colors that I want to use.  Is this the same method?  Sharon Bray

[Richard Robinson]

Hi Sharon, yes sounds like you're doing the right thing choosing only a few colours. Basically you want to be able to mix the range of colours found in your gamut mask that you've made for the painting. It usually pays to start by choosing your tube colours that are closest to the corners of your gamut mask. See what you can mix with those first and then add any tube colours you might need to get the full range of colours shown within the mask.

Sharon Bray said:

Yes, I too have a problem with values but your demonstrations for making value sketches and seeing the shapes and planes has really helped a lot...still a work in progress.

Richard,

I purchased the DVD on Mastering Color plus several others, and did the exercises.  But here is my problem.  I'm confused about how to use the Gamut Mask.   I'm using my reference photo that I did a watercolor painting of in cool colors and now I want to paint it again using warm glowing oil colors using the Gamut Mask. I did the value sketch and I found the value range I want to work with then found some of the golden colors I want to use.  Now what?  What tubes of paint to use? Without a doubt I need more practice, but I don't understand how to use the Gamut Mask to select my colors.  You make it look so effortless when you are demonstrating.

I'm using oils right now, but my usual medium is watercolor.  Using watercolor, I select no more than four colors and make a chart of the colors that I want to use.  Is this the same method?  Sharon Bray