Comparison of Arizona and New Mexico Architecture

Mauves, sappy greens, taupe, grey, cream, white, sepia, burnt sienna, burnt umber are various colors that I see in these churches.

You may use my photos to draw from, and if you do, please comment and send me a picture or link. I will drool I am sure to see your work.

I love my photos but am biting at the bit to sit down and work on some drawings.

Pastels, charcoal, watersoluble oil pastels, , goauche, sepia stick-conte crayon would be wonderful to use. I don't believe I would use all of the mediums together and yet as I am thinking about it, maybe I will. I have recently learned about using oil pastels and regular pastels with water or mineral spirits (for the oils) and I could perhaps use base colors with the regular chaulk like pastels and then do the oils on top. Perhaps I could lay some rubber cement on my drawing so that nothing will touch that spot, and then use the conte crayon or another medium when I rub off the rubber cement. Oh,I am getting so excited but going to the beach today. I get distracted trying to paint at the ocean because I love laying in the sun and doing photography. We'll see what happens.

I do have a little pack that I have various supplies together so when I want to go out, I can grab and go.

Colors of Early Summer

Be inspired when you are looking at the colors of early spring, early summer and early fall. Just the colors themselves can give you ideas for new pieces of art. You don't have to paint the flowers themselves. Pull out these colors from your stash of paints or papers; mix paint on your pallete, cut random pieces of color from your scrap book papers and glue away.

Years ago, we had what was called color aid paper in art school. We would use this paper to learn about all of the hues, their values and intensities. Today, we have papers galour to play with from textured papers, shiny gold and silver papers, home-made papers, oriental style papers, flat or shiny papers; you want it, you can find it!

Take a piece of bristol board (a paper that is somewhat thick with no tooth to it) and paint different spots with your acrylic paints. Let it dry and then cut out shapes and glue the shapes every which way you would like on a piece of wood, on a canvas board, or even a piece of drawing paper. Get a feel of the colors.

We are so used to making sure colors match in our wardrobes, but when we see the lillies of the fields, and the herbs in our grasses, we see combinations of wonderful colors like the yellow and peach in the lilly, and the burgundy and mauve type pink.

When you are taking a drive, do you ever look at the colors of the weeds and wild plants on the side of the road. I have seen what looks like purple in the lime green colored grass. I am sure that the purple was not purple but brown. But, with the light and shadows, that brown was purple. So,paint a picture with purple and green instead of brown. Our minds trick us into thinking something else when we really see purple. Color is alot of fun. Play, Play Play with your colored paints!