Week 1 – Primary Colors & The Color Wheel

• Learn about primary colors in modern color theory: cyan, magenta, and yellow — the true base colors for mixing all others.

• Project: Paint a CMY color wheel using watercolor and the wet-on-wet technique for smooth, beautiful blends.

• Practice mixing directly on paper to see colors merge organically.

Week 2 – Tints, Shades & Tones

• Discover how adding white, black, or gray changes a color’s mood and depth.

• Medium: Acrylic paint for vibrant opacity and layering practice.

• Project: Create a gemstone painting in one color, using its tints, shades, and tones for a sparkling, dimensional effect.

Week 3 – Color Relationships

• Learn analogous colors (neighbors on the wheel), complementary colors (opposites), and warm vs. cool colors.

• Medium: Oil pastels — perfect for blending and layering color relationships richly.

• Project: Paint or draw the same simple scene twice — one using warm colors, the other cool colors — or create an abstract design emphasizing complementary or analogous harmony.

Week 4 – The Final Color Challenge

• Create an original artwork in any subject using only cyan, magenta, yellow, plus white and black.

• Medium: Kids may choose any medium or mix of mediums they want — acrylic, watercolor, pastels, collage, etc.

• Present the work and explain:

  • Where complementary colors appear

  • Where analogous colors appear

  • How tints, shades, and tones were used