"Close Harmony"

($40.00.....6" x 6"....Water Soluble Oils on Gessobord)

"Close harmony is always pleasing."  And it applies to so many things. Close harmony in music, in relationships, and in art is soothing to the soul.

This piece was inspired by a reference photo taken in North Carolina. We simply do not have too many of these type of brilliant yellow/green trees in Central Texas. I was drawn to it because of the close harmony and so, of course, it is an analogous color scheme (two to four colors adjacent to each other on the color wheel).

I've always loved yellow/green with a deep blue/green. And it is not as visible on your computer screen, but it is a stunning combination. My encouragement today is to make full use of your color wheel and increase in your knowledge of color. There is a lot of information packed onto that wheel which is extremely helpful in identifying the root color of any color you see, remembering that all colors originate from the twelve colors on the color wheel.

You will notice that I did not call the blue/green by its common name which would be turquoise. It is important to begin calling colors by the name that appears on the color wheel because it is a more accurate description of where to start mixing. It also gives you the basic color schemes and the tints and shades of all of the root colors.

There are slight variations in color from brand to brand so it is also useful to mix the colors from the brand you particularly like and use that as a reference for yourself. Nothing will help you more than creating a painting and mixing all of the colors you need from a limited palette. 

The first painting class I ever took, we were required to mix all of our colors from Cad. Yellow Light....Ultramarine Blue, Cad. Red. Medium....and White. There are artists who still work that way. It's a great discipline to get under your belt which is another reason you are seeing so many oil paintings on this blog. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about. 

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Black and White" (unavailable)

(unavailable)

"Black and white plus one or two other colors works every time it's tried." The same way this quote works in the realm of color, there are other things that work every time they're tried. For instance...serving an audience of one. People may come and go in our lives and say or do things that please or displease us. But only caring about what God thinks about our behavior works every single time it's tried. More than likely, attitudes that please God will also give you peace with God, yourself, and others.

Horizontal bands of color as a means of dividing up design space is also something that works every time it's tried. Of course, the down side of doing this is too much harmony. That can be alleviated by introducing gestural marks and edges that are not absolutely straight. Erratic lines and "fluid" edges will offer up a strong contrast.

The color choices selected for this piece would have worked with any other two colors placed next to white and black, but it does help the "wow" factor to choose two complementary colors. By choosing complementary colors, the contrast of warm and cool is also settled since warm and cool colors are also opposite colors on the color wheel. In essence, you are "killing two birds with one stone." (so to speak) Just something to think about.

"Mood Lifter" ($60.00)

(adjusted price....$60.00....mounted on a 1.50" depth clayboard)

"Simple and beautiful form is a mood lifter." The power of artwork to comfort and bring joy is the best motivation for spending the time, effort, and energy it takes to create it and to continue improving skill levels. When people are in pain, they do not need the "bizarre" that is often seen in the art world. They need beautiful form that communicates...everything will be all right in my life again. It's a stabilizer.

Color is a powerful communicator. And a person does not need to understand it to enjoy its power to transform a mood or living space.

The artist, however, needs to make it a life long study. Even when you do that, there will be deeper levels of understanding on the horizon. In this piece, I had a good background of analogous colors.(next to each other on the color wheel) By using my knowledge of color, I was able to make it more compelling by adding purple which is the complement to yellow. You might be looking closely to even see purple, but it's there. The reason it is not obvious is because it was painted over yellow which "grays" it down into a rich neutral. It is in the darker parts of the background as well as the gourd. The lettering is also done in purple (Perylene Violet Gouache...WN)

This type of color sense is learned by doing . Even if you make a decision to simply paint a color on blank dry paper...allow to dry...glaze over with other diluted color, it is a valuable exercise to expand your knowledge of that particular color. Just something to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.