The Color Process by Karen Elaine

When I received the Halftone Dots Series stencil set I was tickled because I immediately thought of the halftone process and CMYK color mixing which is near and dear to my heart. For over twenty five years I have painted using only three “primary” colors plus white and black. Through trial and error I experimented with every color imaginable until I got the perfect trio of colors. Not only was it less expensive to paint this way, I never made a muddy color! A few years ago I developed Splash Ink which are the colors of my simple palette to make any color imaginable without making mud.

For today's post I decided to do a play on the halftone process using transparent colors and the Halftone Dots series stencils on Mineral Paper.

Cut the paper into six inch squares which are the same size as the stencils.

Load a stencil brush with cyan blue and apply it over the larger dots on the mineral paper. Make sure the colors dry before going to the next color. Colors on mineral paper will take longer to dry than regular paper.

Apply magenta over the medium dots on the paper.

Use the next smaller size dots and apply yellow.

Use black on the smallest dots to finish.

Depending on where the dots overlay on each other you can see how the overlapping colors make new colors.

Experiment with different brands or types of paints and inks and try to use only the most transparent colors.To determine if a color is transparent, make a 2” stripe of black waterproof india ink in the middle of a sheet of 9 x 12 or larger white watercolor paper or bristol board and let it dry completely. Apply a 1” swatch of color going across the black strip so there is color on both sides of the strip. Do this with as many colors as the strip has room and let the colors dry completely. If you see any color or sediment on the black strip after it has dried then it is not a transparent color. This is how to determine a transparent, semi transparent, semi opaque and opaque colors.

When doing this technique, use different color combinations or rotate the stencils on the paper. Apply a wash of transparent color over the dots after they have dried or use a brayer. I tried another brand of primary magenta, cyan and yellow and the colors didn’t turn out as vibrant so the black ink test is the only way to know if you have colors that are truly mixable.

Supplies:

Halftone Series Stencil Set

Mineral Paper

Niji Splash Ink, Magenta, Yellow and Blue

Black acrylic paint

Stencil brush

Makeup Sponge

Now be sure to leave a comment on this post for a chance to win a FREE set of stencils from Artistcellar! A lucky winner will be chosen May 11th, and contacted through email. If you already bought a Halftone Dots Series, you can pick another stencil series of your choosing from Artistcellar. And don't forget to stop by on Wednesday to see Shelby's post and another chance to win!

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