Erin Lee Gafill – Intentional Color: The Power of the Palette (Online Class Recording)

Date recorded: Friday, September 15, 2023
Medium: Oil or acrylic

Many artists find that the lion’s share of the work of creating a successful painting is done in the preparatory stages. Color mixing (or pre-mixing) on the palette is one of the most powerful and time-saving practices a painter can develop. Equally as important, the practice of observing and mixing color on the palette, observing and mixing the nuances of color in hue and value, prepares the mind for the work of painting itself, serving as a kind of centering or mindfulness practice. In this seminar, you will learn how to set up and manage your palette for painting ANY subject. This demo begins with color-mixing in preparation for painting a simple subject (an apple and its shadow) and culminates with a quick 10-20 minute painting. Aspects covered will include choice and placement of pigments, mediums, the how’s and why’s of retaining a sufficient mixing area on the palette, how to use a palette knife for blending an array of colors and tones, and tips for maintaining clear vivid and intentional colors in your final painting. 

An award-winning painter and author, Erin Gafill has inspired people around the world with her inspirational art, heartfelt stories, and uniquely engaging teaching methods. Her work bridges art, craft, and community, weaving observation, intuition, and imagination into her painting, writing, teaching, and public speaking. A fifth-generation California artist, she was born in Big Sur, California in 1963, the daughter of a beatnik and a flower child. She is the great-great-granddaughter of Carmel’s first artist-in-residence. Growing up at her grandparents’ legendary restaurant, Nepenthe, a mecca for poets, bohemians and dreamers, she drew inspiration from its ever-changing cast of characters as well as the stunning and mystical beauty of the coast.

Erin is the founder of the nonprofit Big Sur Arts Initiative, and a founding member of the Monterey Bay Plein Air Painters Association (MBPAPA). In 2001 Erin was honored to serve as the first American Artist-in-Residence at the Hamada International Children’s Museum, Hamada, Japan.

In 2009, she and her husband Tom Birmingham were named Champions of the Arts by the Arts Council of Monterey County and were honored by the United States Congress for their service to the community through the arts.

Her exhibit Color Duets was the featured 2021 Spring/Summer show for the Monterey Museum of Art, Monterey, California, followed the next summer by a solo exhibit, California Atmosphere at the Morris Graves Museum of Art, Eureka, California. She is the author of a coffee-table art book, Color Duets, with Kaffe Fassett, and a memoir about life/work balance, Drinking from a Cold Spring, a Little Book of Hope. Both books are available at www.colorduets.com. eringafill.com