Dear Artist,
Why is it that some paintings reach out, grab you, and feel just perfect?
Why is it that most of us can paint our whole lives and still feel like something is missing?
If you were to study the best paintings in museums to try and understand why they look so perfect, you probably still would not get it, because you may not know what to look for.
You see, there is one thing most artists never get — one thing you won’t see in a painting when you stare at it. And yet it’s a technique most great artists finally discover, sometimes after a lifetime of painting.
That one thing is color.
I’m not talking about blue plus yellow equals green or basic color mixing. I’m talking about how to create harmony in your painting by using color as a tool.
Color harmony is about a combination of things … how you mix color, how you represent light and shadow, where you lay down certain colors to make other colors stand out or make them vibrate, and how the painting captures a mood and a feeling based on understanding color dominance. It’s also about how to see color and represent it so it captures the feeling you want to portray.
Would you believe us if we told you color harmony doesn’t have to be complicated? Yes, there are people who make it complicated and confusing, but it does not have to be. Well, keep reading because we’re about to tell you all about it … and we’re going to let you see it for yourself!
This is going to be a serious turning point for you because you’ll now be the boss of your painting!
Soon, you will be identifying the actual colors found in your scene and then mixing just the right paints to capture that color and to create harmony across your painting. You’ll be able to do this with less and less effort, until it becomes second nature to you.
What’s the secret? It all starts with understanding color, learning how to see it, and predicting the light. Know this, and you can plan for anything — what’s the real color of that fence? How can I create the right shadow to make the color harmonize?