April 2013 Challenge Palette

This month's challenge artwork is a lovely painting from Claude Monet. I'm partial to Monet's work, as he's the first artist I actually studied in my high school painting class. I love the Impressionist movement for being so radically different from everything that came before, not just in subjects, but in style, too. The carefree dabs of paint, the freedom of capturing a moment versus a specific person or icon - it definitely left an impression on me (bad pun aside).

What I love so much about this particular painting is that it so perfectly mimics spring where I live. Right around now, bluebonnets and wildflowers are blooming on the roadside, and tender leaves are unfurling on the trees. On a nice day, you might see people knee-deep among the flowers, taking photos and enjoying the scenery. So, this painting is very much a scene I see every spring.

As you pull color inspiration for your challenge pieces, I think the most important colors to include would be the lighter, yellower greens and the sky blues. If those shades of oranges aren't your favorite, try more of a peach shade instead. And the light grays are a great neutral to include, because pretty much every color looks good against gray.

What colors do you plan on using this month? What colors say "spring" to you?

March 2013 Challenge Palette

This month's challenge artwork comes from Franz Marc, an Expressionist painter. The abstract forms are so intriguing as a starting point, and I'm especially taken with the meanings Marc associated with particular colors, like yellow for sensuality.

From a color perspective, pretty much every color of the spectrum is represented in Deer in the Forest, offering up a ton of different directions you can go for your challenge pieces. I love them for being a return to the bright colors we see during spring, and for being so bright and saturated. How are you feeling about them this month? Are you excited for a return of the bright colors?

As far as using them, if you tend to shy away from using so many bright colors at once, pick one or two and opt for more subtle secondary colors, like the light grays and whites of the trees or softer browns in the deer. Another way to look at this month's challenge is through proportions (I just talked about color proportions on my blog this week, it's on my mind). The colors I see the most are the greens and yellows and orange-y browns, so you could start there and add in touches of the other shades - bright blues and bright reds, for example - as needed.

What colors do you plan to use this month?

February 2013 Challenge Color Palette

This month's challenge artwork, Heijinja by Toshi Yoshida, is lovely for its peacefulness and delicate use of line. On a quick glance, you might only see a handful of colors, but with a closer look, you'll see lots of muted shades - grays, blues, pinks, yellows, and taupes.

What stands out immediately is the red building; with such a strong color, how can it not be the first thing your eye sees? I love how it warms up an otherwise cool palette, but I especially love the overall color scheme. It's not something I would immediately choose, but all of the shades really work well together.

How do we use them? One way to incorporate the colors into your challenge piece is to choose a bold shade of red and keep everything else very soft and muted - the last five swatches would be a great palette. Or, if you like color, you can challenge yourself and do the top four or five swatches, working to mix in a soft yellow and light pink with the red.

What do you think of this month's artwork? How do you plan to use the colors in it?

Color Challenge Winner!

First, thanks to everyone who entered the Turquoise Color Challenge sponsored by Margie Deeb and Humblebeads.  Your creations were amazing and it was fun to see how different everyone interprets the same color palette.

Our grand prize winner is:

Lyn Foley!

Margie commented on Lyn's use of color, "The artist has made this Spring palette dance. Rather than choosing a dominant color, she splashes the entire bracelet with all the palette members. Her choreography alternates between staccato-like dots and undulating squiggles, creating a festive, playful rhythm."

Lyn has won 2 years worth of Color Reports from Margie Deeb and a $50 gift certificate to Humblebeads.com.

You can see Lyn's work on her website, http://www.lynfoley.com/.

We have two other finalists:

Gretchen Coats

Anna Lear

And they have won - bragging rights!  Congrats to our winners and special thanks to our judges:

Marcia DeCoster

Jane Dickerson

Lorelei Eurto

I created a Flickr group with all the entries, you can view them here.