orange and blue zing!

Orange Cattails, 7 x 11, pastel on paper

When orange and blue are close together, they hum and buzz like loud crickets.

next stop on the color wheel: yellow

Cattails Yellow, 11 x 7, pastel on paper

One position from Yellow Green on my Analogous Color Wheel is Yellow and all of its neighbors and complements. Still Cattails, but warmer and a bit more serious somehow.

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!