Please note that you are encouraged to use the materials you have on hand. For The Love of Color Materials List

We will be making a book for our color explorations. You are free to purchase one if you’d prefer not to make your own.

Color Exploration book:

I made a book 4.5 x 6”. You could purchase one about the same size or use one 9x12” and put 4 of my pages on one of yours. Here’s the materials for what I made:

Canson XL mixed media spiral bound sketchbook - I used this because it’s OK for our application of watercolor and is the size I was looking for. Watercolor paper would be better, but this is available and inexpensive. To make the book I cut pages in half and folded then to get to the book size. I’ll tell you about that in the course.
2 pieces of chipboard or whatever you have to make the cover. (You can use the back of the Canson spiral bound paper if you wish).
Something to cover the chipboard with. I used some decorative paper. You could paint them the acrylics or collage them or …
Some string or ribbon to tie the book closed when done. (Optional)
Heavy duty thread, light string, or book binding waxed thread to sew the book together.

Paint:

We will need a warm and cool version of each primary. I used:

Lemon Yellow Light, Daniel Smith (other brands are not the same for this color) Indian Yellow,
Permanent Alizarine Crimson,
Pyrrole Red,
Phthalo Blue red shade,
Phthalo Blue green shade.
If you have those, they are a great choice. If not here’s a partial list of warm and cool primaries. It would be great if you can use what you already have, but keep in mind that different colors are warmer or cooler than others, so your results will vary. The quality of your paints can also make a difference. I lean toward Daniel Smith, Windsor & Newton, Holbein, and Sennelier. If you have any trouble with this, make a list of your reds, yellows, and blues and contact me. I’ll do my best to help you. rsturis@gmail.com

A note on cadmium colors. Cadmium is a toxic material that not only enters your body when you get it on your skin, but also is released into the air. If you still have these in your palate, please consider replacing them.

There are several companies that make cadmium free colors. I tried the Utrecht brand and had trouble with the paint repelling top layers.

Colors vary by manufacturer so color bias may vary between manufacturer in the same color. Blues are particularly close to neutral so I recommend the 2 Phthalo Shades.

Warm Yellows: Cad. Free Yellow Medium, Hansa Yellow Deep, Daniel Smith Indian Yellow (this brand is a beautiful warm yellow when applied thin.

Cool Yellows: Lemon Yellow, Cad. Free Yellow Light, Hansa Yellow

Warm Reds: Pyrrole Red, Cad Free Red (light, medium, or deep), Napthol Red, Perylene Red

Cool Reds: Permanent Alizarine, Quinacridone Red

Warm Blues: Cobalt Blue, Phthalo Blue (Red Shade)

Cool Blues: Prussian Blue, Phthalo Blue (Green Shade)

Color Wheel:

1-2 sheets of watercolor paper at lease 9 x 12”
Fastners something like these so the 2 parts can spin independently.

Color Collecting Book:

I tried out several because, to me, the right book is like the right purse. It’s a never-ending search of what works best, but the right one is just right. Here are the ones I tried. The more expensive ones have better paper, but the least expensive works fine for this. It is more about your preference.

Stillman & Brin Beta Series. Others swear by these. The paper is nice, but every one I have purchased has been over-glued, which I find very annoying.
Stillman & Brin Alpha Series. Hard cover could be handy for a field bag. It doesn’t lay flat when open but still is fine for this purpose.
Field Artist. This would be perfect except that the paper is off-white. Still works fine, I just prefer bright white.
Pentalic Traveler. Least expensive and with lots of pages. The paper is thin but takes watercolor. It will pill if you go over an area repeatedly.

Optional Items:

I found these clips to be invaluable. They hold a lot of pages and don’t brush the paper as much as binder clips.
I also used a bit of elastic cord to hold things together. Large elastic bands will work also.