19 October 2009

Using complimets to work for each other...



An example of using blue and orange (compliments)to work for each other. The ocean water is ultramarine blue, dash of cobalt blue and a dash of cadmium orange to tone down the blue.

The waves are titanium white with a tiny dash of cad orange. The blue sets the stage for the orange tinted white waves to stand out. If you want a yellow highlight to really stand out, then surround it very subtly with its compliment... purple. See Where I'm going with this? Tone down bright yellow with a dash of... purple. Tone down bright purple with a dash of yellow.

I suggest practicing 'setting the stage' for compliments to work for each other. Experiment with this! you will learn soooooooo much from practicing this!

3 comments:

  1. Thanks Franko, that was the first of 30 plein air paintings I did when I arrived in Victoria, Vancouver Island. This scene overlooks Fiscards lighthouse, near Langford about 15 minutes drive from Victoria.

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