High impact color and composition
Wishing you a happy, healthy and prosperous year!
Color conveys a mood - this one is soft and peaceful -- they are the colors next to each other on the color wheel plus an opposite color.
Use the opposite color wheel colors to create the appearance of life and intensity in both colors.
Opposites include various tones and shades.
Blue - Orange (baby blue and peach)(navy blue and brown)
Red - Green (pink and mint)(burgundy and pine green)
Yellow - Violet (light yellow, sand and lavender)
Composition, color theory, drawing, brush technique - all the elements of a beautiful painting - and all subject to your personal vision. They are worth studying by looking at art that you like, just google art subjects you would like to study. Also search Youtube.
Selling Art
If you follow the art auctions you will learn that there is art being sold for large sums of money that is no different and no better than the average amateur painter. If you didn't know someone put a high price on them, you would not recognize most of them as "valuable." On the other hand, some very complicated and skillful paintings are not being sold at all.
Selling art is an art. It is "good marketing" to the right audience. Finding a niche (and being original) is more important than mastering all aspects of painting.
Picaso had to find an audience for his unique work. His art was original, not realistic and not generally a painting style for adults. His audience was and is very appreciative, but they are a niche group that have made his art very valuable within that group, not the general population.
Picaso's true genius really was "marketing." He "dreamed his dreams and then painted his dreams." It has a nice ring to it.
People want "unique" art.
I'm not saying this to be critical, Picaso proved art is about proper "marketing."
That means your original art can find a niche also.
That's why you shouldn't throw away your paintings. In some cases, the more odd it is, the more it will sell for. I know many artists are wondering why some of their art sells but the works they actually like - don't sell.
And nobody knows.
The painting is "seen" when the story is understood, even if what is understood was not the artist's original intention.
The story is its unique selling point.
Painting
One of the best things about painting is that you get to develop a technique and then compose paintings about subjects you appreciate in the form you would like them to be.
Some things are very difficult to capture with paint. If you love horses, you will often be in awe of seeing them in person or in a brilliantly photographed image with perfect light. A prancing horse with a well lit mane and tail can be so stunning that they are almost impossible to capture in a painting because lighting dramatizes their form.
Portraits of dogs are also among the most difficult to paint because the personality doesn't easily translate to paint.
A violet purple tree and blue leaves with orange and green highlights and a peach sky are opposites on the color wheel (blue and orange, peach) plus a triad (violet, orange, peach and green). This color scheme will appeal to many people who like art simply because the colors are unique and surprising - even if the painting itself is relatively simple.
This is one reason photographers have embraced Photoshop, in spite of criticism by amateur photographers who don't understand how color affects a photograph. You almost never get the colors and lighting you want by taking a photograph. And you can remove eyesores from the image.
Materials
The best materials for you are dependent on your skill level and the goal of your paintings.
If you paint out of the tube, many experts will find the more expensive colors are recognizable.
If you mix colors, people would most likely be hard pressed to know the price point on most of the colors you use on a painting.
High priced colors are expected to retain their color much longer (lightfast) on most (but not all) of the expensive tubes.
Price also does not indicate level of transparency of watercolors. Transparency is appreciated because it allows the texture and whiteness of the paper to show through.
High price is sometimes indicative of the high level of pigments, special colors and costly materials.
Some colors of blue and red, which are very beautiful, are not available at lower price points.
If you don't really know much about composition or color theory, you are probably not going to be happy with your paintings regardless of the materials you use.
If you can't draw - expensive paint will not improve your drawing. Practice drawing before you spend money on expensive paints.
You need practice just to learn how to hold a brush. You should get a few different size and shaped brushes (inexpensive), not a one size expensive brush.
Color mixing is also a challenge. You can purchase an excellent variety of inexpensive paints in many premixed colors.
I paint dry on dry which works well with both inexpensive and expensive paints. I use inexpensive watercolor paints, brushes and paper. I paint for scanning into a computer, from which most prints and designs are made.
Paintings destined to be scanned do not require archival, premium paints or specialized paper. They can be done in a sketchbook.
I use watercolor pencils and Tonbow markers - they are water media, which spread like watercolor paint using a wet brush. They are also easier to control than painting directly with a brush.
If you are selling your art originals - that is the place for using expensive materials, they respond differently and are in most cases the colors are more archival.
If you aren't selling your paintings yet, you should be having fun which makes it easier to create, and not feel guilty about the cost of your materials.
You can have fun learning. In reality, you are going to be an amateur for awhile and not be thrilled with your paintings, but don't throw them away. Sometimes you can revisit a painting and see an obvious improvement you can easily make.
Too much or too little contrast or a lack of an attractive center of interest are things that can be fixed with gouache on a watercolor painting.
I use gouache paints because it is an opaque watercolor, which nicely covers regular watercolors. I prefer having lots of premixed colors at a relatively low price.
Gouache also allows you to add lighter color elements at the end of your painting instead of having to mask off the whites at the beginning.
Gouache is now considered part of the approved watercolor family for painting at all levels.
Watercolor mistakes - you can dab a little water on a mistake, let it sit for about 10 seconds and blot with a paper towel. Repeat as necessary. Then paint over it with gouache.
I paint dry on dry. I keep the paper dry to control the paint. It also limits the amount of water on the paper, which keeps it from buckling.
Expensive paper allows you to use special techniques - using a lot of water will allow the paints to run free for a beautiful and surprising effect. Heavy water makes it almost impossible to control and the expensive paper needs special handling.
You can create drawings with waterproof ink to give a form and shape to freeform watercolor washes.
Paintings for sale as original art, such as a commission, should be created from high quality materials with paints marketed as being lightfast, meaning the color is expected to be extremely stable.
Center of interest
A painter might find charm and cleverly portray man-made elements while attempting to recreate an outdoor scene - like power lines, poles, cars, or hanging laundry. A photographer will work to take them out. They can be painted in an unobtrusive way that adds to a painting - but usually they do not add to a painting, especially in the middle - unless they are essential to the story.
The area with the strongest contrast will become the center of interest, whether you want it to be or not. You can accidentally make an eyesore - in terms of lack of charm, design, color or power - to be the center of interest.
Yellow, orange and red will almost always become the center of interest. Too much of them is hard to look at. But they can be pleasing in varying degrees of light, dark (values) and desaturation.
Strong contrast can occur with light and darks.
A neutral color like black, gray or brown will enhance and promote any color next to it.
Strong contast frequently does occur using highly saturated and opposite color wheel colors.
A center of interest on one side can be balanced and supported by a large attractive, but noncompeting area on the other side, bringing focus back to the center of interest.
A center of interest is usually not placed in the center, although there are times it is appropriate, as in portraits of animals and people.
Composition
Curved lines are always more attractive than straight lines. Try to avoid straight lines. They don't add to a design, especially in the center of a painting.
A straight line will add stability and strength to a rendering of a tall building. Buildings are more attractive if the straight lines are covered by plants, trees, flowers, people, signage, window awnings, etc.
A road should have curves and be surrounded by trees that have curves.
An S curve is always more attractive than a straight line.
Curves have rhythm, one of the most important elements of design.
Three circles are more attractive than three squares - it is actually hard to find things that are square.
A tree is always more attractive than a man made object. A tree should not be a straight line up and down with straight branches. A tree should bend gracefully and have wavy branches with dabs of color for leaves applied in a rhythmic but unequal pattern. And all the trees should be different. A tree can add grace to an otherwise boring composition.
Three points of color in a triangle (color repeats) are more attractive than the four points of a square.
A composition with one point of a three point triangle (color repeats) in the top part of athe painting, not necessarily in the middle, will have a balanced, comfortable feeling.
If one point of the three point triangle is in the bottom part of a painting, while two points (color repeats and not at equal levels) are in the top part, it can create a sense of movement.
Dominant colors
Yellow, orange and red in a
saturated form make a better accent color (small area).
Yellow, orange and red are extremely and universally appealing in unsaturated plus lighter and darker shades and tones of varying degrees - and can be used freely.
Learn the emotional meaning of colors. The dominate colors in a painting will create the mood.
People who love blue, green and violet generally don't buy things that are bright red, bright orange or bright yellow. But small points of red, orange and yellow will usually enhance blue, green and violet by bringing them to life.
Uplifting color - an overall light and medium shade painting has a much more pleasant, uplifting impact than a dark, moody painting.
Color opposites on the color wheel can be blended together to produce a neutral gray or desaturated color or used fully saturated.
Fully saturated colors are dominant, and are enhanced by neutral colors. Neutrals such as brown, sand and gray add "realism" to a painting so they are valuable assets used in the right place.
A painting should have a white point and a black point, even if they are not completely white or complely black, and they can be very small in size. A painting should also have varying degrees and light and darks (values).
Dark and moody are not good sellers. 'Starry Sky' by Van Gogh is not a dark moody painting even though it is a night painting. It is also so unique that it is an acquired taste. However, history has shown that some people will buy dark paintings, as well as the bizarre and depressing.
Look at the dominant colors and assess the mood of the paintings. Mood is almost as important as subject.
Nature is most appealing in her daytime colors, especially with a warm glow as seen at sunrise and sunset. That warm glow is illustrated with accents of soft colors of pink, peach and lavender.
Brushes
When you use the same brush to paint colors that are opposites, you will mix them and produce dull, desaturated colors, which may be unpleasant.
Some artists keep multiple inexpensive brushes on hand and frequently change them while painting to keep colors fresh and unmixed.
Research is key. Look carefully for the colors that dominate the painting and those used to create the center of interest.
You will learn more on Pinterest, Youtube and Facebook about art than almost anywhere else, and they are free. Nobody can explain painting to you. It has to be seen.
High impact colors
Colors opposite each other on the color wheel can produce a high impact.
Two sets of color opposites can produce an even higher impact, especially those equal distance from each other.
Colors placed next to black will also have a high impact.
High Impact Double Opposites
Red - Green - Yellow Orange - Blue Violet
Violet - Yellow - Blue Green - Red Orange
Blue - Orange - Red Violet - Yellow Green (seen here)
Peaceful
Triads
Primaries - Secondary - Tertiary
- Red, yellow and blue are the Primary Triad - quite popular - and used to some degree by most artists.
Secondary Triads
Orange, green and violet are the Secondary Triad. They are the colors created by mixing the primary colors with each other. They should be stretched to include various tints and shades of each them, rather than just one shade seen on a color wheel. It shouldn't be ovious that your painting is a triad exercise of orange, green and violet.
Tertiary Triads
- The Tertiary Triads are the remaining colors on the color wheel created by mixing the primary and secondary colors.
- Tertiary - Red-violet, Yellow-orange, Blue-green
- Tertiary - Red-orange, Yellow-green, Blue-violet
The Secondary and Tertiary Triads sometimes seemed "forced" when used as blobs of each color, since they are not colors usually seen in nature in those configurations.
Subtle additions of a few other colors are generally beneficial, such as tints and shades of colors on the color wheel that are adjoining the dominant color.
