Introduction to Painting: Color Theory and Mixing
April 24 – May 15, 2025 | 1:30–4 p.m.
Location: High Museum of Art | Greene Family Education Center, Lower Level, Red Workshop
Registration Required
Not a member? Join today!
The registration fee includes all materials, weekly access to world-class art on view in the museum’s galleries and special exhibitions, hours of expert instruction, and additional access to a Friday afternoon open studio during the run of the class.
The registration fee includes all materials, weekly access to world-class art on view in the museum’s galleries and special exhibitions, hours of expert instruction, and additional access to a Friday afternoon open studio during the run of the class.
Using color is a central skill in painting. This class will teach you how to mix colors and define hue, value, and saturation using a primary color wheel. Through observation and practical exercises, gain an understanding of how colors are affected by the proximity, size, location, or quantity of other colors in a painting, and create a series of abstract color compositions that highlight these principles.
- Week 1: Begin with an introduction to color hue, value, and saturation. Next, mix colors using a primary color wheel to create individual color compositions with primary and secondary colors.
- Week 2: Mix secondary and tertiary colors while noting contrast and harmony in color interactions. Further examine color relationships in hue, value, and saturation, and create a color composition using complementary or contrasting color combinations.
- Week 3: Saturate and desaturate colors by mixing them with white, black, and gray to create tints, tones, and shades. Then, create an abstract color composition playing with the effects of saturated and desaturated colors.
- Week 4: Analyze how size, shape, and placement of color in a painting affects how it is perceived by the eye. Then, create your final color composition integrating the properties of color explored in previous classes. We will conclude our time together with a reflection on our color compositions and a conversation about what we learned.
About Studio Classes
Studio Classes enable you to expand your art-making skills through guided, step-by-step instruction with expert teaching artists. Over multiple weeks, you will learn alongside other creative adults and delve deeply into the artistic process, explore new techniques, and build your practice.
This is an introductory-level Studio Class; it is designed to accommodate all levels of skill and talent. If you have never taken a drawing class before, this is a great place to start. You will learn new skills that you can carry forward and build on in your artistic practice.
The registration fee includes all materials, weekly access to world-class art on view in the museum’s galleries and special exhibitions, hours of expert instruction, and additional access to a Friday afternoon Open Studio during the run of the class.
About Your Instructor
Daniel Mantilla is a Colombian-born artist with over a decade of experience teaching young people, families, and adults. In his paintings, drawing-collages, and cutouts, Daniel explores ideas of transition and instability. He previously lived in New York City, where he recorded instructional videos for public television. His art has been exhibited across the United States and internationally. He has studied paintings in museum collections in Spain, conducted research on cadmium-free acrylic paint, and holds an MFA from Hunter College.
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