Even Painting is Different in Asia

I just attended my second art class in Singapore at Fill Your Walls studio.  It is interesting that a culture that generally appreciates reserve and control when teaching art is all about your emotion and how the shapes "feel" how the colors "feel".  I've taken art classes in University years ago where I learned more classical skill such as drawing, composition, color theory and painting.  And struggled really as I was the sloppy student who was not so precise and the person whose fruit did not necessarily look like the fruit in front of the class.  However, in this class that seems to be the point!
Color theory, it is interesting to note the way that the color wheel was explained.
So as you look above the primary colors are red, yellow and blue.  Blue is considered a cold color and the way that you remember that is water.  Red is a hot color being the element fire. Yellow in the middle. The colors that you form between them are variations from warm to cold.  Even more interesting was we were asked to observe in the paintings of masters,  the focus of the light tends to use values that are in the warm spectrum and the values in the shade tend to be cooler colors!  Voila!  It's amazing.  So for example in the picture above.  The background is bright pink a hot color and the shadow is made with a touch of blue which makes it cooler.  Another thing learned is that colors that are not mixed are bright.  Colors that are mixed become muddy or dirty.  The farther away a color is on the pallette then the more dirty will the color appear. So for a shadow mixing colors is great for the white of the palette. Absolutely fabulous!  I cannot wait to learn more!!!

A New Journey

Doing something new often feels awkward.  For me, that often means that I delay and research and try to find the best answer, so in this case this is my new exploration of the power of a blog! May this journey serve a purpose beyond anything I might expect or understand.
Namaste.