“Color should be a sensuous experience.” Charles Sovek
Color is an element that speaks directly to our emotions. We can feel the warmth of sunny yellows and oranges, the cool breeziness of blues and violets, the excitement generated by bright colors, the peacefulness of soft, muted, analogous harmonies, and the moodiness of darks and neutralized greys.
However, my interest in color is purely visual! I love seeing what happens when colors are placed next to each other in a painting. The results, while not always predictable, are very often magical.
With the goal of developing a deeper sensitivity to color and fresh new color ideas for my paintings, I have begun an intensive investigation into color and color theory that I affectionately call my “color project.”
In the six paintings featured in today’s post, I chose one subject and explored six different color schemes derived from the three color wheel primaries and the three color wheel secondaries. On the top shelf and moving from left to right, each painting exhibits a dominance of one of the primaries – red, yellow, and blue. On the second shelf, again moving from left to right, each painting has a dominance of one of the secondaries – orange, green, and violet. In all six paintings, I began with the umbrella, painting it a pre-chosen primary or secondary to establish each painting’s color dominance.
Two major things I’ve learned from my color project explorations are that I’ve only just begun to scratch the surface in terms of all there is to learn about color and various color theories, and that there will be no endpoint in uncovering the secrets of good color. I love that!
All six of these paintings can be seen at the C2C Gallery: http://c2cgallery.com/
Bye for now……….Donna