March 5, 2019
Here’s what I’m discovering. Strict analogous color composition, green, blue-green, blue, blue-violet and violet for example, results in very harmonious and balanced paintings. Let me say that I believe that in order to paint better pictures, an artist has to ask better questions. So the new question is, can I create a painting using only analogous colors that is less harmonious and perhaps on a teetering on balance point? That is to say, more like the work I love to create.
What, other than color, can I use to achieve a less harmonious, less balanced painting? I decided to try shade and tint. And it worked. It worked really well. Red, orange and yellow look very predictable next to one another. But a lighter tint of red (pink), next to the same orange, with hits of yellow thrown in, becomes visually exciting, edgy, and yes, unbalanced! The painting is immediately less harmonious and I like it better. Red orange next to yellow orange looks boring to me. But push the shade toward a deep dark blood red orange, and place it next to a pale buttery yellow orange tone, and the colors come alive for me. This may seem like a very didactic, constraining approach to choosing colors for a landscape painting, but it’s my idea and I’m having fun with it. It’s definitely forcing me out of my comfort zone color wise. And I’ve always known that forays out of the comfort zone can lead to very exciting places! If nothing much comes of it I’ve still learned something. And I’ve kept the wheels of creativity rolling. Sometimes I’ve felt pigeon holed when journalists and critics refer to my work as “colorist.” Maybe it’s time I moved out of my comfort zone and embrace the fact that, for me, often times color is what it’s all about.
Let’s keep in touch!
Marshall