ABOUT THIS WORKSHOP

This “Understanding Colour" workshop focuses on empowering you to use colour confidently and expressively in your artwork. Through a combination of theory, hands on exercises and intuitive exploration, this course will help you understand the principles of colour design, colour relationships, and how to effectively utilise colour choices to achieve desired emotional effects. Whether you are an experienced artist looking to delve deeper into colour theory or a beginner eager to explore, this workshop offers a fun and supportive environment to learn and experiment with colour.  While we will be using acrylic for this workshop, the principles of colour we discover can be applied to any medium.

 1: Introduction to Expressive Colour

·       Understanding the subjective nature of colour preferences
·       Exploring personal colour associations and emotional responses

2: Principles of Colour Design

·       The basics of hue, tint, and tone
·       Colour harmony: creating serenity through complementary colours
·       Utilizing contrast for excitement and tension
·       Introducing repetition and pattern to enhance colour dynamics 

3: Creating Emotional Effects

 ·       Using colour to convey specific emotions (happiness, sadness, drama, energy)
·       Selecting colour palettes that reflect desired mood and atmosphere
·       Evaluating the impact of muddy colours on overall effect
·       Balancing pure and bright colours to enhance vibrancy

4: Understanding Colour Placement

·       Guiding the viewer's eye through strategic use of intense colours
·       Creating serenity through harmonious colour arrangements
·       Exploring the effects of contrast in colour placement
·       Using gradation and balance to suggest movement and stability

 5: Exploring Colour Theory Intuitively

·       Discovering intuitively which colour palettes work for you
·. Experimenting with colour harmony, contrast, rhythm, repetition, gradation, balance, and dominace

Materials needed

Pad of watercolour paper I recommend A4 size , about 200gsm weight and a pad of about 50 to 70 sheets . We will use lots of paper as we experiment so please make sure to bring enough. If you have other size paper pads bring them along as well. Paper needs to be able to take acrylic paint so sketchbooks are not advised

Tempered glass kitchen chopping board for use as a palette. Must be smooth surface for ease of cleaning. Available from most household stores eg Dunnes, Homestore and More etc

Paint scraper (available from most hardware stores)

Selection of different shaped palette knives  (2 or 3)

A Colour Wheel

A Selection of acrylic paints 60ml tubes

Bring what you have especially any favourite colours you have. The choice of colours is very personal and it is not necessary to have all of these. These colours are my personal favourites:

Process Cyan or Cerulean Blue

Ultramarine or indigo

Turquoise

Purple

Raw Umber

Pthalo Green

Process Magenta

Lemon Yellow

Crimson Red or Permanent Alizarin

Cadmium Orange

Titanium White (2 x 60ml tubes because we will use a lot of white!)

Brushes : Large (3 inch flat), medium (1.5 inch flat) and small brushes and some old scraggy brushes with lots of character

Cotton buds and Kitchen Roll

Water sprayer (an old windolene spray bottle or plant sprayer filled with water will do fine)

Masking tape

An old toothbrush

Disposable gloves

Bathroom sponge (cheap one for cutting up)

About the Tutor

I am a contemporary Irish landscape and seascape artist

I love the outdoors and am a keen hillwalker, beach stroller and occasional sailor. I have always been drawn to wild, remote landscapes and rugged coastlines, especially our wild Atlantic coast. My art is an emotional response to the natural landscape and an attempt to capture the feelings and memories it evokes

 Over the years, I have explored a variety of media- oil, watercolour and silk painting, weaving and sculpture before discovering acrylic. I love expressing myself in bold vibrant colours. Using acrylic as a medium allows me to combine some of the most interesting characteristics of both watercolour and oil. Dilute, it allows me to create delicate washes and build up layers. Applied thickly, I can achieve lovely juicy textures and patterns. Acrylic dries quickly which suits my style. I like to work with bold, intuitive strokes so that my work has an energy and spontaneity to it.

I have had several solo exhibitions, am in many private collections and have regularly shown my artwork at People's Art on Stephen's Green and in Malahide, Kilkenny Arts Festival, Schoolhouse for Art Enniskerry and many other group shows.

 A teacher by profession, I retired some years ago to follow my passion of being a fulltime artist. I now have the space and time to be creative and have my own studio at home in Dublin.

Come join me in this fun acrylic workshop where together we explore and experiment with loads of different techniques and learn how to use them to great effect in our paintings.

testimonials

 “I took an incredible amount away from the day’s workshop with Margaret! She is not only an extremely gifted artist, but through her friendliness and encouragement she built up our confidence and guided us through our paintings step by step. We learned so much about techniques and colour palettes - we covered seascapes, skies, flowers, and still-life – and we were shown in detail how to paint these different styles. She shared all her painting secrets, and to now know how to approach certain painting styles is a gift and a revelation! We had an amazing, laughter-filled day and we were left feeling utterly inspired to continue where we left off!!!” Michelle

 “What a day- full of exploration, fun, colour, laughter and inspiration. We learnt so much and she continually guided us patiently, encouragingly and sagely on new scenes, techniques and creations. Thank you Margaret for a day of wonderful memories that I know will be the start of many more”  Siobhan