A Unique Approach Using Color Harmony to Improve Your Paintings

This past weekend I was feeling unmotivated in the studio. I have just finished painting still lifes for the winter season and now must make the switch to painting landscapes for my summer shows. I enjoy bouncing between the two disciplines, but lately nothing seemed to inspire me.

So, here is what I did…

I decided to have some fun and experiment with color harmony or complimentary colors.
Pairs of colors that share no common elements with each other are called, ‘complimentary colors’.
Instead of my traditional palette, I chose to experiment with a revolutionary idea of painting using the 5000 year old yin/yang approach.
The ancient Chinese understood our world in terms of a balance of opposites. Everything in nature has its opposite.

For example:

moon/sun
black/white
day/night
sunrise/sunset

Every color has its opposite too! Each ‘primary’ color or hue (red, yellow, blue) is directly opposite a ‘secondary’ color (green, purple, orange).

These complimentary colors are always found opposite each other on the color wheel:

Red – Green
Yellow – Purple
Blue – Orange

When opposite colors are mixed they create beautiful, chromatic neutral grays. Using this technique, I limited my palette to the family of complimentary colors I felt were best suited for the subject being painted.
Out of the three yin/yang palette possibilities, I chose the blue and orange palette.

This is the landscape reference photo:

For the ‘orange’ pigments I used:

cadmium red light – warm orange
cadmium orange – true orange
cadmium yellow medium – cool orange
burnt sienna – softer orange

For the ‘blue’ pigments I used:

ultramarine blue – warm blue
cobalt blue – true blue
phthalo blue – cool blue

and ivory black & titanium white
You can vary the above colors with your own choices, but it is best to always have a warm, true & cool representative for each opposite color. These complimentary colors vibrate when painted next to each other and are beautifully muted when mixed. A broad range of colors can be mixed from this limited palette. The results are harmonious and color intensity can be controlled.
I was able to mix luscious greens, rich browns and vibrant autumn colors next to quieter grays. I am please with the results and plan to try painting a series of landscapes using the yin/yang palettes.

For more information I suggest reading The Yin/Yang of Painting Also, using the color wheel can help you determine color schemes balance and harmony in your artwork, web-pages, designs or home decorating.

Happy Painting – Lori