I Can't Stop Mixing Green Paint
I started mixing some shades of green that I was really in love with back in 2021. I wrote a workshop that changed my life around that time period called, “Expanding on Color”. The workshop pushed me to start creating very complete color harmonies. In-depth mixes soon evolved into more complex abstract paintings for me and I have not stopped since!
Currently, I am still mixing greens and experimenting with shape and composition. I have a detailed record of every painting that I have made since I wrote that workshop and I can easily take a trip down memory lane. Want to take a tour with me? I’ll show you some of my favorite green paintings.
“A personal favorite” is written on the pages for this piece in my journal. I took a walk in a regional park near my house before I painted this piece and there was beautiful light filtering through the trees near a creek at the bottom of the trail. Every time I see this piece, I am reminded of that day on the trail and how happy I was.
The next batch of greens would not leave my mind while watching “Emily in Paris”. I remember the fashion in the show being so vibrant and colorful (unlike the all black wardrobe that has become my uniform as of late) and thinking about how I could incorporate a handful of colors into my art instead of my usual monochromatic and minimalist palettes. Once I mixed the green, I wrote, I knew immediately what the painting would be named. That does not happen very often. Usually, I jot some ideas for the title of each piece while I paint. The title for “Parakeet” was a very strong message and the colors and shapes developed accordingly.
My Card Club program challenges me to come up with an important topic to share every month. I write a painting lesson and paint a 3.5x5” card of the lesson to mail to over a hundred people all over the world. Painting that small is often difficult, but I love it! At the time, this lesson was my favorite and it inspired me to carry the lesson a little larger onto these 5x7 wood panels. I can’t tell you how many times I have mixed this same palette to work with since it debuted in “Card Club”.
“In a Roundabout Way” is one of the few pieces I have completed thus far in 2024. I have been striving to incorporate more shape into my abstract paintings, but I have been fighting with the “softness” of the shapes. This piece is the closest I have felt with accomplishing that discovery. I used a wood panel to make this painting and subsequently, I feel there is a lot of energy captured here.
The greens bring a sense of calm to me more so than any other color I mix at the moment. I find myself looking at the images for these paintings frequently throughout the day and I dream about new combinations of green that I can work with. A long time ago, someone told me that I painted too many blue paintings. I remember that really hurt my feelings at the time. It is with my growth as an artist, I can confidently say that I mix whatever color I want to and feel really good about it- and that feels really really good.
The “Expanding on Color” workshop remains one of my most recommended classes of all time. Click here to take a look at the information regarding that workshop and to see the two paintings (class samples) that spawned my mixing frenzy and changed the way I paint forever.