Transform Your Art with Color

Complementary colors are the yin and yang of color combinations. To find a color's complement you must travel all the way to the opposite side of the color wheel. I like to use the Munsell color wheel shown here, but the Traditional Triadic Color Wheel can also be used. An example of complementary colors on the Munsell color wheel, would be the opposite of green is red/purple. When you take those two opposite colors and use them together, they cause a vibration which your eyes detect. In color, as in nature, opposites attract.

As a landscape artist, so green is the color that is predominant in many of my painting. Making green interesting and achieving color balance in a landscape can be a struggle. How can I introduce warm colors into my painting when most of the painting is made up of cool colors? One way is by using the complement of green, which is red/purple for the under-painting. In the detail from my painting Morning Hits the Rocks at the right, I have used complementary colors for the first layout. Starting out, the painting looks pretty odd. It can make you ask if I know what I'm talking about but......

Here are the same trees painted green on top of the red/purple under-painting. Notice how the intensity of the green is enhanced by the complementary colors underneath. Make sure you don't cover all of the under-painting. Let some of those complementary colors show. Richard Schmid credits his wonderful greens to the red he lays down first. This technique is used by traditional and modern artists alike. Click on the image for more details.

How do you get life into those dark shadows? With most paintings, shadows add depth and form but they can also help your painting stand out by adding color. Infusing a complementary color into your shadows is another way to create punch and interest to your work. In my painting "Hidden Garden," the lavender color in the shadows on the wall provide a welcome relief from the green leaves of the surrounding foliage. The color of the shadow also takes on different intensity depending on how far away you are from the painting. The Impressionists understood the importance of the three viewing distances of a work of art. From across the room the shadow looks neutral, almost gray. Closer, about 6 feet, the vibrant lavender in the shadow is revealed. Up close you see the under-painting of red show through. The painting engages the viewer at all three vantage points.

Take a closer look at my painting Light Through the Passage 2. There is nothing wimpy about the colors I used. The painting sings with a full range of complementary colors. Now look at the detail of the left river bank. From far away, the use of complementary colors over each other allows the eye to combine all the colors and read it as a rich neutral. Up close, all the wonderful colors emerge and separate, engaging the audience to take a closer look (click on the picture for more info).

Article by Doris Glovier from Empty Easel shows how three artists use complementary colors to make their paintings stand out. Oils, pastel and watercolor are the three different medium used by these artists. Each has a very different technique and way of using complementary colors. To read the full article click on the painting "A Friendly Sail" by Leslie Saeta.

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