Perkiomen Valley ARt

10  Top Tips to Help You Avoid the Mud

Mixing colors is an essential skill for artists, but it can sometimes lead to the frustration of creating muddy or dull hues. However, with a solid understanding of color theory and some practical techniques, you can learn to mix colors effectively and prevent muddiness in your artwork. Here are some tips to help you mix colors without getting muddy:

1. Start with a Clean Palette: Before you begin mixing colors, ensure that your palette is clean and free from any remnants of previous colors. Wipe it down or use a fresh palette to avoid any unwanted color contamination.
2. Use a Limited Color Palette: Limiting the number of colors on your palette can help you maintain control over your color mixing. Start with a primary color triad (red, blue, and yellow) and gradually expand your palette as you gain more experience.
3. Mix Colors Gradually: When mixing colors, it's best to add small amounts of paint at a time. Start with a base color and gradually introduce another color until you achieve the desired shade. This gradual approach gives you better control over the mixing process.
4. Use a Palette Knife: Using a palette knife rather than a brush can be helpful in preventing colors from becoming muddy. The flat surface of a palette knife allows you to mix colors more cleanly and avoid overmixing.
5. Clean Your Brush: Make sure to clean your brush thoroughly between color mixes. Use a paper towel or a separate container of water to remove excess paint from your brush before dipping it into a new color. This prevents unwanted color contamination.
6. Consider Color Temperature: Mixing colors with similar temperatures (warm or cool) can help maintain color clarity. Warm colors tend to be yellows, oranges, and reds, while cool colors include blues, greens, and purples. Mixing colors across temperature ranges can sometimes lead to muddiness.
7. Use a Gray Scale: Adding a gray scale to your palette can help you achieve more nuanced mixes. It allows you to adjust the value of your colors without shifting their hue, resulting in cleaner and more accurate color blends.
8. Mix Complementary Colors: Mixing complementary colors (colors opposite each other on the color wheel) can produce vibrant and balanced mixtures. Complementary color mixes tend to result in grays or browns rather than muddy hues.
9. Allow Colors to Rest: Sometimes, colors appear muddy immediately after mixing but will regain their vibrancy as they dry. Allow your colors to rest and dry before making any judgments about their final appearance.
10. Practice and Experiment: Mixing colors effectively takes practice and experimentation. Don't be afraid to try different combinations, observe the results, and learn from your experiences. The more you experiment, the better you will become at achieving clean and vibrant color mixes.

By applying these tips and taking the time to understand color theory, you can enhance your ability to mix colors without ending up with muddy results. Remember, practice, observation, and a willingness to experiment are key to mastering the art of color mixing.

Image by Freepik

We're finally here.  We, as a board, decided to create a cleaner, more efficient way for our group to communicate in the 21st century!  This doesn't preclude members from contacting each other the way they want, but this new website does so many things!  It allows each of us easy access to the site and all of the information available about our events, but it also opens a gateway of communication between each other, no matter which path we choose. 

Having a member directory allows us to send a letter or a card because we have the person's up to date information for contact address (the one we want people to use), phone numbers, and emails.  In the past, we had to take the chance that the person would be at a meeting or event and we could "catch up" with them then, maybe.  The new forum allows us to ask each other questions in a new way which allows everyone else to benefit from the conversation as well.  If I ask someone the best medium to use with acrylic painting, then someone else who had the same question can read the forum first before posting their question to see if someone else is struggling the same way. 

Of course, we can't do any of this without administrators.  As an administrator, you learn a world of information about how websites run (without TOO much detail) and have an easy way of monitoring and editing items that are redundant - like too many forum posts about acrylic mediums with the same information.

Speaking of administrators - we can REALLY use help from our members to work with the original team to do administrative tasks.  It doesn't take a LOT of time, but it is time that we "originals" can use for ourselves too.  Having other people come on board and join the fun allows us to be more flexible with our own lives.  AND, we're willing to help you learn so that we are all on the same page as far as what to do and how.  It NEVER hurts to learn new things, although we've heard some people are resistant.  I personally feel they are missing out on a great opportunity.

We're very happy to be able to speak with you through our blog posts, too.  It helps us make appeals like this that normally are voiced in a public presentation and too easily forgotten.  Blogs are a great way to remind all of you that we are here, every month, managing the organization's administrative necessities and looking forward to you joining  our team.

All the best!  Kathy Bohn

Image by Freepik

by Lori Quinque-Quinn

The 50th Yellow Springs Art Show and Sale

April 29 - May 14, The Washington at Historic Yellow Springs, 1701 Art School Road, Chester Springs PA. Several of our members are invited exhibiting artists at this prestigious show. www.yellowsprings.org

End-of-Year Student Art Exhibition

The Boyer Gallery at the Hill School, Pottstown, May 19 - 28 www.thehill.org

Chester County Artist Studio Tour

Saturday, May 20, 2023, 10am to 6pm, and Sunday May 21, 11am to 5pm, 200 artists and 79 studios. The closest location if you don’t want to travel too far is the Spring City Mill Studio, housing over 20 artists and hosting additional artists for this event. Several micro breweries and small taverns are close by. www.countystudiotour.com

The 122nd Annual Student Exhibition

at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts, May 12 - June 4. The Annual Student Exhibition (ASE) is an academic capstone event and the longest-standing student exhibition of its kind. While art exhibitions for matriculating students are common, PAFA’s show takes place in a major museum and is one of the most celebrated student group shows in the country. This is a must see and you can take the train down from Lansdale. www.pafa.org

The Art of the Miniature Snow Goose Gallery,

Bethlehem PA, May 7 - June 10. Bradley Hendershot and Katharine Krieg, prominate members of PVAC are participants in this exhibit as well as other amazing artists. www.snowgoosegallery.com

by Colleen Algeo, President

What is it about a creative work like a painting that elicits our awe and admiration? Is it the thrill of being shown something new, something different, something the artist saw that we did not? The idea that some people see more possibilities than others is central to the concept of creativity. This was truly demonstrated at our recent Member Show. There are so many wonderful creative works being shared. The reception was a brilliant success with friendly comraderie and lots of idea exchanging. Oh and great snacks! I applaud everyone who participated and am grateful to our donors and volunteers who helped it come together. I really think our founder Charles R. Gardner would have been thrilled.

As artists, I think it is part of our wiring to continually look at things from different perspectives and then to explore ways to show that to the world. The leadership team is committed to this very concept with the goal of having those new insights show us the way forward. This newsletter is packed with interesting stories and photos that show you how the team is adding their creative thinking to enhance your member experience:

• Our next presenter is a different kind of artist
• A progressive donor has altered the future
• A new easy to use website is underway
• A new date and location for our summer picnic

New offerings are abundant in hopes of eliciting a little awe and excitement from you about PVAC. Also don’t miss the recap of the 60th Annual Member Show! Enjoy. NOTE: The newsletter’s summer hiatus happens July - August so keep this edition close. The next edition is scheduled SEPT/OCT - with a submission deadline of August 15th.