Friday, July 15, 2011

Cattails -- featuring Yellow Green

Yellow Green Cattails, 7 x 11, pastel on paper
Probably like you, I have strong color preferences. When in doubt, I will reach for yellow orange and blue. Even if I have no doubts, I reach for these colors. They have become comfortable in my hands, easy on my eyes, and my good friends.

Not that there's anything wrong with that ...

But, I think it has left me weak with other color harmonies. Challenged. Uneasy. Sometimes I even experience "stranger danger" with other color combinations.

So, find a problem, figure out a solution, right? I took out my trusty Analogous Color Wheel, and dialed in a less-familiar main color: Yellow Green. And I worked the rest of this painting around the analogous and complementary colors. Not what I would normally choose, but it works. And I loved the challenge of putting together colors in a new way.

I just might have to do this again!

6 comments:

Casey Klahn said...

I love the "wash" of YG you have in the upper area.

SamArtDog said...

And just look at what it did for those violet bass notes!

Jan Yates, SCA, Canada said...

you need to present this alongside your hay bales-both are sublime-as well as your gorgeous lush pallet and mark-making i am so liking the dark green shadow as the shape emulates a horizontal cattail -brilliant composition!

Katherine van Schoonhoven said...

Casey: I have been surprised by how luscious the yellow green is in the "sky" area.

Katherine van Schoonhoven said...

Sam: you are so right! The yellow greens make the violets sing.

Katherine van Schoonhoven said...

Jan: you cheer my heart with your comments. Thank you so much!