Paint Nights: Thinking about Color

I've been hosting paint nights around Twin Falls, including regular events at Koto Brewing Co., private parties, and community events.

The subjects often come from the same places my own paintings come from. Idaho skies show up frequently, along with wildflowers, changing weather, and the colors that appear when the light starts to shift at the end of the day.

One thing that has surprised me is how many adults arrive convinced they can't paint. Many haven't mixed colors or thought about the color wheel since elementary school.

I spend a great deal of my time thinking about color, so it's always interesting to be reminded that most people aren't spending their days wondering whether a hill is more greenish-blue or bluish-green. Or is something more teal or more aqua, saturated or desaturated, slightly greyed or muted brown?

There is usually a point in the evening where someone is convinced that they have ruined their painting. The rest of the table is often busy admiring the very parts the painter was worried about. Nobody sees the flaws quite as clearly as the artist does.

We keep going. A little more paint. A few adjustments. A bit of encouragement from the people around the table.

By the end of the night, everyone has made something that didn't exist when they walked in the door.

And sometimes, they come back. ♥

Here are a few moments from recent paint nights.

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