Red

I have been working with red. Deep red, crimson red, Cardinal red, glitter icy red, rose red. I have almost completed the red things I will be using for my Queen of Hearts project.

I am making my own hearts and having to color them (crackerbox cardboard) also I am playing again with the fake crepe paper. I take my coffee filter (cone shaped type) and put some red acrylic paint on it. I want some different reds so I have been mixing different nuances of red...a drop more of blue here, a bit more orange for another color red.

Taking the coffee filter, I layered on several different reds, after a quick water wash as the first layer. I painted more red, different reds then waited for it to dry and topped with unthinned coat of red all over it - so several layers give an intense saturation and depth of color.

This is a very effective way to study color theory. I have always disliked the color theory part in art class or books and would blase over it. This way, mixing color and painting my own red hearts instead of purchasing ready made hearts makes color theory real and usable and definitely memorable.

I am going to be picking up crepe paper (a search for it led me to the local party supply store for the streamers) but it is nice to know I can use coffee filters in a pinch.