Colleen Reynolds, Artist Blog

Well I had a few scraps of 90-lb watercolor paper leftover from a card making exercise. Never one to waste paper, I just started playing with analogous color schemes. That turned into an obsessive need to paint all possible combination of 2-color and 3-color analogous color schemes around the color wheel, using primary and secondary colors.  Basically, I made two-sided beee-a-u-ti-ful bookmarks, then decided I needed to keep them all to make an “Analogous Color Harmony” reference for myself and my watercolor classes.

What do you think? Fun or work? I would appreciate your feedback. I did learn a lot about color in the process.

See… you can make the collection into a Color Wheel.

Soft Side “Analogous Color Harmony”

Vibrant side “Analogous Color Harmony Wheel”

The process? Here are the “simple” steps:

1. Cut 2″x6″ paper strips, 90lb-140lb watercolor paper
2. Paint two pieces of 2″x6″ paper with each color scheme (I did six 2-color and six 3-color analogous color schemes)
3. Let dry
4. Iron the painted strips if they are all “warpy”
5. Spray with UV Acrylic semi-gloss varnish; 2 coats, let dry at least 1 hour between coats)
6. Spray with UV Acrylic matte varnish; 2 coats, let dry at least 1 hour between coats)
7. “Glue” the two matching strips together. I used Acrylic Gel Medium Semi-gloss for my glue (archival and permanent). This was the most complicated step, I will warn you.
8. Let dry overnight
9. Glaze again with Acrylic Get Medium or Cold Wax medium. One side at a time, let dry between layers at least 6 hours. 9a. If you use Cold Wax medium, buff out the wax after it dries.
10. Use slicer or edger to cut uneven edges.
11. Round off corners
12. Punch hole at one end of each “bookmark.
13. Arrange color swatches in color wheel order and attach with center hardware.

Whew! Quite a project. Now I want to do “Triadic Color Harmony” and “Tetradic Color Harmony” wheels. I may have to go buy some more of that “scrap” paper.