"Lemons" (sold)

(sold)

To our surprise, the ornamental lemon tree by our back door produced these lemons last fall. So of course I wanted to paint them and that old familiar quote came to mind..."When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." This is my version.

The lemons were painted with gouache. They seem to pop right off of the page because the red orange background is a direct complement to the green leaves. Many interesting effects can be achieved by realizing that every color transition creates an edge. By stopping the branch where the yellow in the background begins creates a feeling that the branch is behind the yellow and emerged out of nowhere.

So the color scheme is actually two for the price of one. Not only is there a direct complement...there is an analagous color scheme as well. (Three or four colors used that are next to each other on the color wheel.) In this case, they are red, orange, yellow, and green. All of the basic color information is on color wheels that can be purchased at any art store. Seeing a piece and having it explained is another way to see whether or not you might like to try a particular color arrangement yourself. Try it for yourself. You might come up with something totally surprising.