The Rest of the Cove

Here's the other side of the cove across from my inn here in Rockport. 

Tomorrow, Motif #1.

Rockport, Massachusetts

Here's the view from the big common balcony outside my room here in Rockport.  What a treasure trove of art is here!  My sketch book is filling up!

On The Road Sketch

Lenox, Massachusetts......

Split Complementary

A split complementary choice is a palette that is made up of 3 analogous colors (side by side on the color wheel) and one contrasting (complementary) color.  For example: yellow orange, orange, and red + blue. The contrasting color provides an emphasis in the focal area.  In this painting, the contrasting color is on the shadow side of the boat and repeated in a more neutral hue in the buildings. 

Split complementary color schemes provide a feeling of harmony and unity.  Choose your own combination and try it!

Blue Orange Complements

Here's one more version of the same Ocean point scene.  This time I used fewer neutralized colors, making the side-by-side complements even more vibrant.

More Complementary Colors

Here's another take on the subject, this time using red and green complements.  These are only studies, but they should remind you that placing complements side by side intensifies them, and that mixing them on the page by glazing or wet-in-wet provides a neutral relief.

Complementary Colors

I decided to try another painting using the complements of violet and yellow.  As you can see in the sky and the rocks, combining complementary colors wet-in-wet produces a beautiful neutral gray.  That leaves the lightest area around the focal point with the purest colors.  Contrast of complementary colors and neutrals and pure colors adds interest and punch to a landscape.

Complementary colors

Beginning with this post, I'm going to paint the same subject with different complementary colors.  This first painting uses yellow and violet.  On the island I used pure color while the sky and foreground were neutralized colors which leaned either to the warm or cool color.  Painting in a series with a particular focus, like experimenting with color theories, reminds us all of the important things about painting. 

The "L" Shape

Squint your eyes and you will see several "L" shapes in this painting of a feed store near Kimmswick, Missouri.  The light values of the buildings form an "L".  So do the background trees on the left.  And the sky that leaks into the feed store forms another "L". 

People wonder why Motif #1 in Rockport, Massachusetts is so named.  It's because the building is a natural "L" shape, making it an easy compositional choice.