Unlock the secrets of vibrant, balanced color in this hands-on workshop focused on the core principles of color harmony. Whether you are a beginner or looking to refine your palette, this session will teach you how to move beyond random color choices, toward an intentional palette for a painting in oil, acrylic, gouache, or pastel.
We begin with two of the most effective color schemes in art:
- Triads: Using three colors equally spaced on the color wheel to create a vibrant, high-contrast palette.
- Split-Complementaries: Pairing a base color with the two colors next to its’ complement, offering the visual interest of contrast with a more sophisticated, neutral palette.
Participants will first construct a detailed color chart, in oil, acrylic, or gouache, mapping out the chosen scheme and discovering the range of color that is produced from just 3 tubes of paint! From there, we will explore the concept of dominance and create swatches based on learning how to apply the 60-30-10 rule—where one color leads the composition while the others provide support and accents. Using these custom charts and swatches as a road maps, artists will spend the second half of the workshop creating color studies and a small painting. Although the charts are made with liquid paint, pastelists can isolate and collect the colors on the charts to take advantage of the inherent harmony of paint.
What You Will Learn:
- How to mix triad or split-complementary color chart in oil, acrylic, or gouache.
- The role of a color chart in planning successful painting.
- How pastelists can gather pastels to coordinate with the charts and borrow the inherent harmony created with a liquid painting medium.
- Strategies for establishing color dominance to support your vision for a painting.
Sign up to transform your approach to color and bring a new level of harmony to your creative process!
Materials List: KrajcikAllison_1Day Workshop Proposal-HueHarmony .pdf
Allison Krajcik is a fine art pastelist and oil painter known for her luminous land and seascapes, still life, and florals that radiate with atmosphere and emotion. Allison builds depth through layered washes and warm underpaintings, resulting in pieces that feel both grounded and ethereal. Her subject matter often reflects the quiet beauty of the natural world – from the windswept coast to delicate botanicals – each rendered with sensitivity to light, color and movement. A Southeastern Massachusetts native, Allison brings an intuitive sense of place to her work, inviting viewers to slow down and observe the subtleties of their surroundings.
Since her reemergence in 2020, she has achieved Master Circle status with the International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS), signature status with the Pastel Society of American and the Pastel Painters of Cape Cod and has been accepted into several exhibitions with the American Impressionist Society. Her paintings have earned widespread recognition including awards from the Copley Society of Art in Boston and Dakota Pastels International Competition. Her work has also won “Best of Show” awards in international competitions with the Pastel Painters Society of Cape Cod and the Pastel Society of New Hampshire. Her work has also been exhibited at the National Arts Club in New York and the Butler Institute of Ohio.
Her landscapes have been featured in American Art Collector Magazine and Plein Air Magazine and she was invited to write about her creative process for the French magazine, Pratique des Arts, where she shared insights into the “inner glow” that characterizes much of her work. Michell Albala, author of Landscape Painting and The Landscape Painter’s Workbook, will include her painting “Veiled” in his upcoming book New Lessons in Landscape Painting, expected in October of 2026.
Additional Information:
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