Molly Hargarten Art

Cut Ups Watercolor & Fused Glass Jewelry

admin — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:12:33 +0000

Watercolors 2011

admin — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:57:52 +0000

Hard-wareable Art

admin — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:45:52 +0000

Yes, I use hardware to make art. I have to confess that I LOVE the nuts and bolds section of Home Depot. There are so many interesting shapes and textures. I have used hardware to make jewelry. I call it ‘Working Women’s’ jewelry. I have used it to embelish items made from re-purposed watercolor paintings such as Wall Flowers. AND, I have used it for the purpose for which it was made.

Slide into Creativity

admin — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:44:47 +0000

Recycle, re-purpose, re-use…..whatever you call it, it is good for the planet and be can be an experience in creativity. I look at stuff all the time and wonder what I can make out of it. Here is my latest discovery. Now that we are in the digital age, I have found that I am stuck with a box of slide frames……..you know those things that we used in film cameras that captured images of our artwork. Well, I have incorporated them into some of my paintings. I have glued them to a canvas, painted over them and then glued an object into the center of each frame. I call this piece ‘Junk Drawer’. I have also glued them in various designs on other canvases and used them as the basis for an abstract painting of rocks. Here is a painting that I did of one of my cats. I used slides to give the piece texture and an unusual look. What other uses can you think of for slides?

Color Mixing

admin — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 19:16:11 +0000

If you are a ‘real’ watercolorist you will mix your own greens vs. using them right from the tube. Wha?…….you might say. What’s up with that? Well, many artists feel that green from the tube is too intense and not found in nature and won’t look good in a painting. Many times mixes of yellows and blues will give more ‘authentic’ greens or at the very least, adding another color, such as yellow or blue, to a tube green will give you a more genuine green. It is fun to experiment with different recipes. When you find greens that you like make a note of them so that you can use them again.

You can mix your colors right on your palette which will give you an even color or mix them directly on the paper. Mixing on the paper is called ‘mingling’ and will give you beautiful variations and gradations which will be pleasing to the eye and add interest to your painting. Using palette mixed colors work well in a painting, too. A way to add interest when mixing like this is with every brush stroke, dip your brush into a different color. Viola! More interest!

Here are a few of my favorite recipes……..thioindigo violet plus ultramarine blue…..LOVE the purple. One more, thioindigo violet plus burnt sienna….beautiful brownish color but much more interesting than regular brown.

Color Context

admin — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:29:23 +0000

I bet we have all experienced the color of a shirt looking different in different light and next to items of differing colors. This is called color context. The fact that color behaves differently when placed next to other colors and shapes is a complex area of color theory. Notice the effects of different color backgrounds for the same red square that I painted. Red appears brighter against a black background and duller against the white background. When placed next to orange, red appears lifeless; in contrast with blue-green, it appears brilliant. The colors that I used to paint these squares are Cadmium Red Medium, Payne’s Gray, Benzemide Orange, and Cobalt Turquoise. For white, I used the white of the paper. This is an important concept to keep in your mind when planning and painting your next piece.

Color Schemes

admin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:45:11 +0000

There are several color schemes that artists can choose from. We will talk about the 2 most common schemes. Using a color scheme in your paintings makes it easier to achieve color harmony and cohesion in your completed pieces.

Analogous colors are any three colors that are adjacent to each other on a 12 part color wheel such as orange-yellow, orange and red-orange. It is common for one color to predominate.

Complementary colors are any two colors which are opposite each other on the color wheel, such as red and green and red-purple and yellow-green. If you were painting a flower and using red and green, you could use several variations of these colors to create the maximum contrast and maximum stability. The image that you see here using mostly complementary colors.

Color Harmony

admin — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:03:58 +0000

Harmony is more than a Barber Shop Quartet. It is defined as a pleasing arrangement of bits, whether it be music, poetry, color, or even chocolate truffles.

In 2D art (painting), harmony is something that pleases us when we look at it. A painting that possesses color harmony creates an inner sense of order for the viewer or a peaceful, balanced visual experience. Paintings that are not harmonious can be boring, chaotic and very forgettable. When a piece is boring, the viewer experiences very little and does not engage with the work. On the other hand, when a painting is chaotic, the viewer experiences discord and cannot stand to look at it. Either way, the brain rejects the experience…..it is not enjoyable. As artists, it is our job to present a painting that holds together. Color harmony helps us with this. It helps delivers visual interest and a sense of order.

The Color Wheel

admin — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 16:58:40 +0000

Color Wheels that are based on 3 basic colors have long been used in art. Did you know that Sir Isaac Newton developed the first color circle in 1666? I guess there was more going on in his head after being bumped by a ‘red’ apple. Since then, many other formats and hues have been used and there has been much debate over the validity of each. Basically, it boils down to this….any system where colors are arranged in a logical manner is useful and has value….get it?…value…one of the design principles. Here is my version of an apple.

Drawing on Your Patience

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:15:20 +0000

I have to draw more. I have to draw more. I have to draw more. How many times have I said this to myself? About a million. This is what I have been doing. I have a small sketch book in my purse and I take it out and draw while I’m waiting at the airport, in a doctor’s office or any other place where I have time. This is such an important skill for painters! A high tech version is the Brushes app for IPads. It is great fun to use and you can use your finger or a stylus. I have an example here. I have to draw more……..