Understanding Color

"Great information presented in a clear manner, great visuals to support it, and an extremely chill and non-intimidating style by the instructor." - Kim R.

Imagine the world without color and you’ll soon realize the importance of this topic. In art, color is often what attracts people to a painting to begin with, and it’s part of what gives the artwork a sense of emotion. In order to know how to use color, you first have to truly understand it. Using a thorough, well-rounded approach, professional artist and arts educator, Jill Poyerd, takes students through the science and history of color and then guides them through a close-up look at color strategies used by the Masters.

Once a foundation is established, students learn how to build a painting palette and select paints. The instructor then demonstrates color mixing methods, including discussions on color matching and color value. The course ends with several hands-on activities meant to solidify the concepts learned. All of this is explored through over 3 hours of lectures and multiple student activities. Topics include: What color is, how we see color, pigments versus light color modes, the experience of color, emotion and color, color strategies, strategies used by the Masters, the painter's palette, paint colors, color mixing, color matching, color value, hands-on practice, and a final painting activity. This is one of the most comprehensive color theory courses available.