Color Theory Crash Course with Sadie Griesmer, August Session

Color is the most powerful tool in an artist's kit — and one of the least understood. In this four-week course, we'll demystify the principles behind confident, expressive color choices and give you the tools to apply them in your own work, whatever your medium.

Through a series of short lectures, live demonstrations, guided exercises, and individual feedback, you will explore:

• How the color wheel works, and the relationships between hue, value, and saturation

• Reading your paint tubes and understanding the pigments in them

• Building harmonious palettes and understanding how to deploy color schemes intentionally

• Brief histories of pigments, developing color theories, and materials 

Participants are welcome to work in their medium of choice:

• Acrylic paint

• Watercolor

• Oil paint

• Chalk pastel

• Oil pastel

This course is intended to meet you where you are. Whatever medium you work in, and skill level you are, this class is intended to help you make the kind of work you want to make as an artist. By the end of four sessions, you'll leave with a stronger understanding of color theory and the ability to make bolder, more intentional choices in your art. All skill levels welcome.

Sadie Griesmer is a multidisciplinary artist working in watercolor, acrylic paints, and ceramics. She is an arts educator presently teaching children in grades 5-8 in Haverhill, MA. Known for bright colors, playful imagery, and collaborative practices, Griesmer has the ability to question, explore narrative, and find inspiration in the everyday, which is evident in her practice. The artist/educator is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, with a concentration in Art Education and a minor in Art History, as well as coursework at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

The Cape Cod Museum of Art is committed to making Art accessible to everyone in the Cape Cod Community. The Museum School Scholarship Fund provides tuition assistance to qualified, year-round Cape Cod residents ages 6 and up. Click here to apply.

Image credit:

"1B: 6 - 21", 1994, David Kupferman, Acrylic on paper, 25" x 34.5" unframed. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alan Rosenfield, Cape Cod Museum of Art Permanent Collection.

Cancellation policy: CCMoA must be notified 1 week prior for refund.