PATTERN.COLOR.TEXTURE

One look inside my wardrobe and around our home will let you know that pattern, color and texture are three of my favourite things!!

Maybe you get a little excited about the same three things?

Join me in this fun six lesson online art course to learn a diverse array of approaches and techniques, to explore tantalising textures, vibrant color and playful patterns! I’ve created these video tutorials to spark your creativity, activate your imagination, and give you the tools to make brave and unique moves with your art!

Do you find yourself getting overwhelmed, unable to make the next move in your paintings for fear of ruining it all?

  • Want to loosen up and really begin to feel confident with your creative choices?
  • Are you ready to learn to layer with sass and allow yourself to be okay with learning curves and making mistakes because you KNOW that THIS is how you will improve?
  • If you’re looking for a fun class to help you become a more relaxed artist, to help you see the possibilities even in the ones that don’t work out, this one is for you!
Pattern Color Texture

Pattern.Color.Texture

$65.00USD

Pattern Color Texture~ For just $65 you will receive approx 4 hours of video (plus additional notes) covering six diverse projects, yours to keep forever and revisit as many times as you wish!

Purchase now for just $65

I'm ready to paint! >

Here's what I want you to know...

When you take an online class with me it’s not even just about the art. It’s about the whole shebang – Art as a metaphor for life. It’s about loosening up, enjoying the process, not taking ourselves too seriously and staying in the moment!

It’s about focusing in on the sweet spots instead of dwelling on what’s not working, giving ourselves permission to play and exploring possibilities with curiosity rather than fear.

In this fun and varied course it’s all about bold and subtle, the language of layering and the ways in which we can convey emotion in our work through the use of pattern, color and texture.

I love the tapestry of creativity on this planet, both in nature and humanity and I know you do too! See you in class!

Tracy <3

“I had so much fun playing! Thank you Tracy Verdugo for helping me out of my comfort zone! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the process.”

- Norma Cherry

What will you be creating?

Here are just some of the lessons!

What's inside Pattern.Color.Texture?
What's inside Pattern.Color.Texture?

Lesson one

Time to play, warm up, experiment and have fun making marks- with freedom, curiosity and spontaneity! A great warm up exercise to free ourselves up, make some fun mark making tools and go with the flow!
We’ll be experimenting with making marks with no attachment or idea of outcome, diving into the wonder of using nature inspired tools or opening your mind to the possibilities of an old thing you have laying around AND being open to whatever comes is a fantastic way to loosen up and be inspired!

Lesson two

In this lesson I have used torn pieces from the mark making exercise, magazine images, patterned paper and gauze bandage, intuitively moving pieces around the board each move responding to the last. Together we will explore ways to open yourself up to any emerging narrative and move towards it.

“Sometimes we need to sit with a piece for quite a while to understand the story it holds for us.”

Lesson three

In lesson three we keep it simple with implied texture in charcoal and acrylic paint. Here I want to show you that we can work with pattern, and texture in more subtle working from an image I took of a wild horse in New Forest, England, and have uploaded the image to an abstractifying app. The New Forest Wild Horses are a pretty magical experience so I am looking for something to compliment the emotions I felt there as well as bringing in some subtle patterning to go along with the theme of this class.

Lesson four

In this project we will explore color and form together with some inspiration from two Australian artists I greatly admire, Ken Done and Fred Fowler. We will also use inspiration from the gorgeous handcrafted alebrijes of Oaxaca Mexico! Together we will explore color choices and interactions as the piece evolves, with an emphasis on simplified form and pattern.

Lesson five

In lesson five I go big on canvas, painting a large self portrait that gives me a multitude of challenges which I happily and transparently share with you because it aint always easy! In copious amounts of vibrant hues and exaggerated colors we’ll look at simplifying and breaking down shapes, changing tack as we go and retaining a sense of humor as we work. The most important!

Lesson six

In our last lesson we play with color again and using inks and fluid acrylics in more transparent ways to imply both texture and emotion. As this a painting of a memory, it is more than the image I am trying to describe, but also the experience and personal sense of the place. Working in this way will allow you to access those deeper expressive channels.

“I'm SO glad I enrolled in the class last year! Tracy's painting exercises, techniques, composition advice, personal flair, open sharing of her secret methods, recommendations of materials and energetic presence in her online groups made it a fun, transformative experience.  I rarely feel stuck anymore because there is always something I can try, and my art is selling.  DO it!”

- Vanessa Preston

Frequently Asked Questions

What supplies do I need?

We don't want you stressing too much about the supplies for this course. Many lessons can be adapted to be worked with whatever you have at hand. That being said, here are a few things Tracy uses throughout these lessons:

Please note that for most exercises you will be able to work with what you already have at hand and that it is not absolutely necessary for you to run out and purchase it all.

  • Substrates:
    • Plywood: 30 by 30. A pad of
    • Watercolour paper (I used Strathmore 140 pounds , 18 inches by 20 inches)
    • Canvas: 30″ by 30″ (76cm by 76cm).
  • Feel free to work on whatever you have lying around; mixed media, sketch paper etc as these projects will lend themselves to many surfaces.
    • Regular cartridge paper or any old sketchbook for practicing ink techniques
    • Scratch foam board for creating stamp ( Optional- you can also use any stamps or stencils you already have )
    • Piece of  brown cartridge/wrapping paper
    • Some different types of paper for collaging; try national geographic image, scrapbooking textured paper, patterned serviettes
  • White gel pen
  • Various brushes:
    • A wide flat brush
    • Watercolour brush (no.11)
    • White nylon big brush
    • Bamboo skewers
  • Kneedable eraser
  • FW Daler Rowney acrylic Ink  29.5ml 1oz:
    • White and various colours
    • My latest faves are flame orange, antelope brown, paynes grey, marine blue, burnt umber, olive green, prussian blue,  silver moss, scarlet lake, sepia  but really I LOVE them all!
  • Golden Fluid Acrylic paints
    • My faves ~pthalo turquoise, green gold,  Quinacridone magenta, paynes grey, pyrole orange, Quinacridone nickel azo gold, cobalt violet.
  • Oil paints ( optional)
  • Gold oil pastel stick
  • Collage ephemera
  • Rock salt
  • Rubbing alcohol
  • White gesso
  • Heavy bodied acrylic white and heavy bodied acrylics in the primary colors; Yellow, red and blue.
  • View finder; made by cutting two L-shapes into paper or cardboard
  • Wax medium (I use the brand Dorlands’)
  • Baby wipes and a roll of paper towel.
  • Roller, Old brushes, gauze and various found objects for creating mark making tools.
  • Stabilo pencil Derwent watercolour pencils
  • Piece of thick charcoal White oil pastel & white chalk
Notes for each project will include suggested brands and types of supplies used.

How long do I have access to this course?

You can purchase these classes at any point in time as as a self-paced class. Once purchased, all lessons will be yours forever! The videos are downloadable for offline browsing or you can stream via our class website.

Are there captions/subtitles?

Yes! The videos in this online course currently have English captions and Spanish subtitles.

We suggest using Chrome to view these videos if you wish to view captions or translate them into another language. There are live caption and live translation settings automatically built into Chrome.

For a full tutorial on how to do this, here's a video!

Is this course suitable for any level?

Absolutely!! I have been teaching my in person and online classes around the world for the past nine years! Both beginners and more experienced painters have enjoyed epiphanies in creative process, shifted perspectives and enjoyed learning new techniques. Mostly though I have come to realize that what I am teaching is about how to see the creative possibilities inherent in every moment and then to learn ways to process and translate those moments in our own artistic voice….AND to FREE UP and not be STUCK!!

Can I exhibit or sell the work I create in this workshop?

One of the main intentions in my courses is to help you find ways to connect with a style all of your own. So, with this in mind, I’m happy for you to show and sell original, innovative work created. If, however, you feel that you want to follow along more closely and produce pieces very similar to those within the projects that is all good, but I would ask that you don’t put those pieces out to exhibit or sell if they are close copies of my work. I trust that your heart will tell you what is too close. We also ask that you understand that these are Tracy's copyrighted techniques and may not be taught or packaged as a class by any individual other than Tracy without express consent. ♥

Can I get a refund?

We're happy to offer a 7 day change of mind policy if you have not yet logged into your account. Login details for this class are sent automatically after purchase. As all the lessons are downloadable, we are unable to offer refunds on purchases if you have already logged into your account. Please ensure this class is for you before purchase, any questions before committing can be directed to [email protected] 🙂

I want it now!

Example student works~