WORKSHOPS
"A DEEP DIVE INTO COLOR"
WITH DEBRA KEIRCE
3 Day Workshop, March 4 - 6, 2026 • 9am - 4pm
We will explore the three main attributes of oil color. This class will be a wonderful experience for students at any skill level. While color can be extremely complicated, it's also one of the basics and artists at all skill levels, working with varied media apply these principles.
Day 1
Let's talk about value and all its nuances. Surprisingly, we'll walk away with two finished monochromatic paintings this day, created using different techniques. We'll learn about nailing a likeness, and how sometimes we need to make changes to strengthen the realism of an artwork. For example, when we have multiple light sources on a subject, we may want to use a value pattern that creates a more dramatic painting than our reference.
Day 2
Hue is a characteristic of color that we can use to add life to a scene. We'll discuss some color theory and talk about color harmonies, using discords effectively, and ways of pushing color to achieve a higher level of realism. I'll show you how to create paintings that sing louder than the photo references you work from.
Day 3
Chroma, or saturation is a very powerful color trait. We can use it to foster an aesthetic of bold or subdued. We can direct a viewer to certain parts of our painting with it. We can even use it as a cornerstone of our signature style or brand. On this day, we will combine value and hue along with chroma, to paint eye popping art that demands your attention.
Tuition $450
Includes lunch each day
Space Limited
Register online now or call 830-896-2553
Debra Keirce
REQUIRED MATERIAL LIST
https://www.dickblick.com has all of these supplies available online. These are the supplies I personally use, and I am not as familiar with the thousands of other products on the market. You are welcome to bring your own supplies, as long as they do not have an odor that will distract the rest of the class. Please, only bring non volatile products.
Support:
***Gessobord by Ampersand Flat, 1/8" thick, approx size 11”x14" LINK to purchase at least four panels about this size. Also, we will be doing some exercises and if you want to save your panels for the actual paintings, I'll be using a pad of canvas paper. HERE is a link for that.
Please note that if you bring a different support such as canvas or a different type of panel, you may struggle as the absorbance and adherence of paint varies quite a bit between products.
Medium: Solvent Free Gel medium by Gamblin - LINK to purchase a tube
Brushes:
A set of synthetic brushes - There are a lot of student grade brush sets available on Amazon dot com that work just fine. If you really want to spend more money on brushes, a brand I like are the Select 3750 line by Princeton, and they are available online at Dick Blick Art supplies. Bring several flat and round shapes, 1/8" or smaller, and rounds with good points on them. Beyond a few larger stiff and soft brushes, this set with links below should be all you need:
Size 2 Chisel Blender - LINK to purchase
Size 2 Filbert - LINK to purchase
Size 6 Filbert - LINK to purchase
10/0 Liner - LINK to purchase
Size 2 Liner - LINK to purchase
3/0 Round - LINK to purchase
Size 3 Round - LINK to purchase
Tools:
A palette. A styrofoam plate works too.
Palette knife for mixing
Sharpened graphite pencil with good eraser for drawing
Ballpoint pen and notepad for taking notes!
Paints:
For the oil paints, I like Gamblin artists colors. You can create pretty much any color using these:
- Phthalo blue
- Quinocradone magenta
- Hansa yellow light
- Titanium white
- Burnt umber
Cleanup: You can just use a mild soap like Dawn dishwashing detergent that the museum will have available. Please do not bring any solvents that have an odor, like lavender spike oil or maroger.
Paper towels for wiping your brushes. I like the blue shop towels.
