Color Theory Crash Course
ABOUT THIS CLASS
A One-Day Workshop in Color Mixing and Color Confidence
Color can feel mysterious, but it becomes much easier to work with once you understand a few basic principles. This one-day workshop is about getting comfortable with color through mixing, observing, experimenting, and actually seeing what happens when colors interact.
Throughout the day, we’ll work through a series of guided exercises and small studies designed to help you understand color in practical ways you can use in your own work.
We’ll explore:
- Value versus color
• Warm and cool color relationships
• Mixing clean, vibrant colors
• Creating rich, useful neutrals
• How colors change depending on what surrounds them
Rather than spending the day trying to complete one finished painting, we’ll make a collection of small color studies and experiments. Together, they can become a series of small works, pages in a sketchbook or art journal, or a really useful color reference to return to when you paint.
This workshop is beginner friendly, but it’s also a good reset for experienced painters who want to strengthen their understanding of color and get back to experimenting.
No previous painting experience is required. Come ready to mix paint, make a few surprises, and understand color a little better by the end of the day.
Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Format: One-Day Workshop
Focus: Color mixing, observation, experimentation, and practical color studies
You’ll Leave With: A collection of color studies and mixing exercises, along with a stronger understanding of how to make color choices with more confidence.
Interested in Education Access, Teacher & Military Discounts please contact Kelli Johnson at kjohnson@academycenter.org for more information.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Instructor : Toby Penney
Toby teaches painting and watercolor with a practical, approachable focus on understanding what your materials can actually do: how paint behaves, what a brush can do, how color works, and how the choices we make change what happens on the page or canvas. She breaks those ideas into manageable pieces, building strong foundations. Whether someone is picking up a brush for the first time or returning after years away, her classes make room for curiosity, experimentation, and the confidence that comes from understanding what you’re doing and why.
Based in Lynchburg, Toby is an internationally exhibiting artist whose personal practice moves across painting, watercolor, printmaking, sculpture, photography, and book arts.
Find more of Toby’s work at tobypenney.com.
