These are my color matching assignments. I teach students how to mix a color and then paint it on their reference which is laminated, covered in acetate, or covered in clear packing tape to ensure that their mixture is the same color as their reference. There are three assignments and they get to choose one to pursue.

1. Color Matching- Criteria & Objectives
• Students will have a choice between three projects of varying degrees
of difficulty, the projects are as follows: Color grid, Close-Cropped
painting, and the Comic book collage Painting. Each assignment’s
primary concern is color matching.
• Students must match the colors of their subjects with 100% accuracy.
• Students must make a representational depiction of their subjects.
• Students must follow the criteria and objectives for each respective
assignment.
• The objective of this lesson is to match the colors of the student’s
chosen reference.

2. How to match colors
Color to be matched Artist’s first guess based on previous knowledge

3. Looks like the color’s a bit too warm

4. There we go!

5. Color Grid Close Cropped Comic Collage

6. Color Grid- Criteria & Objectives
• Students will create a small painting of a photo using only colors and a grid.
• Students may find and print a photo of anyone or any animal online. The
photo must be appropriate.
• Students will use tempera, watercolor, or any other colored
media, painting supplies, a sheet of 12 x 18 in. sheet of paper, with a 3/4
inch grid.
• Students will try to match each color in the photo reference grid with the
color of paint. The grid on their portrait will be a half inch grid.
• The objective of this assignment is to match colors using a grid system.

7. Chuck Close – Kara – archival watercolor pigment print, 55-1/2″ x 44″ (2012) work & detail

8. Student Work

11. Close Crop Paintings- Criteria &
Objectives
• Students will Take a picture and crop in very closely around an
interesting area to paint.
• Students will match the colors of their photographic reference as
close as they can. Students must try to reproduce their source
material in a naturalistic/representational manner.
• Students will use magazines, scissors, glue, pencil, acrylics, paint
brushes and other supplies on tag board.
• The objective of this assignment is to be able to technically match
colors from a photographic reference and create a well balanced and
semi abstract macro composition from a larger source.

13. Georgia O’Keefe

21. Karen Kitchel

27. Christian Flynn

31. Robert Cottingham

34. Ben Weiner

35. Water Lillie Study

39. Comic book collage painting-
Criteria & Objectives
• Students will create a small 1 in. x 1.5 in. collage and refer to it for a 12 in. x
18 in. painting.
• Students will stretch and gesso their own canvas.
• Students will use acrylics, water, brushes, paper towels, and graphite for an
under-drawing. (optional to use paint markers once the paint is dry to add
details)
• Students must make the collage using comic books I have provided for
them or they can provide their own imagery via the internet. The collage
must be in color and the collage must be abstract, if parts are recognizable
they should be school appropriate.
• The painting will reference the collage, part for part, color for color.
• If a student so chooses they made do an advanced version of the
assignment where in addition to the collage reference they may collage
found works into their painting.
• The objective of this lesson is to create an abstract collage and reproduce it
on a larger scale. Students will learn to analyze and replicate the exact color
of their reference point, translate between different scales, and
comprehend various proportions in an abstract composition.

40. James Rosenquist, I love you with my Ford, 1961 and Marilyn Monroe, I, 1962

41. The Stowaway Peers Out at the Speed of Light (2000)

43. David Salle

48. Jeff Koons

51. Aaron Noble

57. Greg Lamarche

62. Joram Roukes

67. Michael Steele

72. Ai Kijima

80. Ben Frost

85. Tim Diet

90. Nathan James

95. Juan Travieso

101. David Bayus