Level: all

May 15 - June 26, 2024

Wednesdays

2-5pm

7 weeks

Instructor: Jill Harrington Nichols

Instructor's website

Fee: $265

THIS CLASS WILL BE OFFERED ON WEDNESDAY EVENINGS IN THE FALL.  You can email education@rowaytonarts.org or call 203-866-2744 (x-2)  if that would be of interest to you.  

In this class, Jill will reveal color’s mysteries in a playful and explorative approach. Students are encouraged to work at their own pace in the medium of their choice, including oil, acrylic, casein, gouache, or watercolor.

This class will be taught through presentations and exercises that will inform students about color interactions, palettes, value, temperature, saturation, intensity, definitions, and placement in composition, color theory, science, and cultural and psychological meaning. Students will take away an enhanced working knowledge of color, handy reference materials, and nuances of color mixing that can be applied to future artwork.

This class is appropriate for artists of all levels as well as students who have taken this class before.  It’s a wonderful primer for the beginner as well as a good exercise for more advanced artists who would like to refine their use of color.

Suggested Supply list:   Note that most of the supplies below can be conveniently purchased from the lists that I’ve set up at Dick Blick online at:Color in Rhapsody: Blick Art Supply Color Exploration List

For Our First Class: Bring an 11” x 14” wet media (watercolor) pad, with yellow, red, and blue paints, with other essentials listed below.

Paints:

Basic Colors- All Mediums 

  • Yellows: Cadmium or Hansa Yellow Pale (light or lemon yellow) and Cadmium Yellow Deep
  • Reds: Alizarin Crimson (Magenta), Cadmium Red Light
  • Blues: Ultramarine Blue, Cerulean Blue (Manganese), Cobalt
  • Earth Tones: Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, (or Transparent Red Oxide), Burnt Umber
  • White: Large tube of Titanium, Opaque, and/or Titanium/Zinc mix (more transparent)
  • Black: Ivory and Paynes Gray

Optional/Alternative Colors:

  • Secondaries: Green – Sap, Chromium, Earth, or Viridian / Orange – Cadmium and Transparent
  • Primaries: vermilion, red lake, Prussian, cobalt blue, Phthalo blue, gamboge, azo, Indian yellow

Essentials:

  • Rags, Viva, or Blue Shop paper towels
  • Palette- larger the better
  • Quality Brushes: Think of it as a good investment, as decent brushes will provide enjoyment for many years to come. Round – #2 #4, Filbert – #8, #10, #12, Flat or angled– #2, #6, #10, #12, 1” and 2” flat, Small bright

Oils:

  • Paints: Budget: Daler-Rowney, Georgian, Lukas/ Good: Gamblin, Utrecht, Grumbacher/ Intense pigments: Old Holland, Williamsburg
  • Container for solvent-metal with a closable lid works or clean jars, Palette Scraper, Gamsol mineral spirits or Chelsea Classica
  • PRIMED Canvas or panels – 11” x 14” good to start
  • 2 Palette Knives -metal with wood handles
  • Gloves and/or barrier cream to protect hands
  • Wax paper or plastic wrap to keep paint fresh and for transporting painting

Acrylic

  • Paints: Golden or Liquitex paints
  • Masterson with a disposable pad
  • Two containers for water
  • 2 Palette Knives
  • PRIMED Canvas or panels – 11” x 14” good to star

Casein/Gouache/Watercolor

  • Palette -deep plate, white enamel tray, plastic
  • Paints: Winsor Newton or Turner tubes, dried paint colors will be less saturated but can be reactivated
  • Brushes:  Sables are the best and most expensive option, Oxhair, squirrel, or soft nylon or a blend of natural and synthetic hairs will work.
  • Brushes to start: #12 round, 7 round, 00,0 or 1 round, 1”, 8 filberts, ½” flat, Japanese calligraphic brush
  • Paper is a large part of the outcome of a watercolor painting. A pad of inexpensive paper, such as a Canson Watercolor Pad will be fine to begin if you’d like to take it to the next level try Arches or another quality paper. If you use a lot of water washes, you will want to use thick cold press paper (300 lb.) rough.
  • If you use very little water and like to draw then a hot press, smooth paper works best.
  • Board with tape to stretch paper

Helpful Materials: 

  • Roll of Masking Tape, Small scissors, 9 x 12″ (or similar size) sketchbook or notepad with blank paper,
  • Black Sharpie, Pencils HB, 2B, Sharpener, Erasers, Gum kneaded eraser
  • Nutcracker- or pliers to open stubborn tubes.
  • Oil: Gamblin non-toxic safflower gel medium
  • Acrylic: Retarder to slow down the drying, Gel medium
  • Watercolor: Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, natural sponge

Note that supplies can be conveniently purchased from the lists that I’ve set up at Dick Blick online at: https://tinyurl.com/2p8c9t6x.

Materials are also available at Jerry’s Artarama.

About the Instructor:

Jill Harrington Nichols grew up in coastal Connecticut. Her paintings explore both the earthbound and outer expanses of our divine cosmos. Her keen sense of color has developed over her many years as a commercial artist and painter.  She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Colorado, Boulder, trained in oil painting at the Art Students League in NYC and earned her MFA in painting at Western Connecticut State University.

Her commissioned painting of Washington D.C. appeared as a backdrop for James Comey’s interview on “Face the Nation” while another appeared on Showtime’s “The Comey Rule” mini-series.  Her artworks Phi, and Juno, which embrace the divine feminine are installed in the Vatican Observatory Museum.

Jill has received awards from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, and Connecticut Office of the Arts. An active participant in the art communities throughout Connecticut, Jill has served as vice president for the Connecticut Plein Air Painters Society and Valley Arts Council and exhibited at the Rowayton Art Center*, Silvermine Gallery, Lyme Art Association, Carriage Barn, Greenwich Art Society, and Lyman Allen Museum.

Accustomed to teaching students at all levels, Jill has a way of instilling confidence and encouraging students to take risks with exceptional outcomes. She teaches painting at the Silvermine Arts Center, the Rowayton Arts Center and leads painting workshops locally, abroad, and online. She also has a few videos on YouTube.