Getting Out of a Color Rut

Sometimes we get into a bit of a rut, using the same palette of colors over and over again. When this happens it's time to shake things up a little by trying out a palette of colors you rarely use. Venturing beyond our comfort zones expands our skills, provides a fresh outlook, and often leads to new creative possibilities.

Last week, feeling a little bored, I challenged myself to try something different. I randomly chose three colors just to see what I could do with them. Being neutrals, they were quite unlike my usual bright and bold palette of saturated reds, yellows, greens and blues.

The three were: alizarin crimson, Payne's grey and Titan Buff. To those three I added the essential Titanium White and Carbon Black to be able to create a full range of values. This little experiment resulted in two small paintings, one 6x6 inches and one 8x8 inches. Here's the 6x6:

©2015 Lynn Edwards

If you've read my last post, you know I'm not a fan of decor that's predominantly grey. But art that's mostly grey, used along with black and white, I do like. Go figure.

In this piece I kept the alizarin crimson rather understated. I used it mostly full strength, but when it's diluted with water or clear medium, it produces a hue I can only describe as a soft, rosy blush. (You can see traces of the blush color in the two lower quadrants of the painting.)

I found the alizarin crimson to be somewhat tricky to use. It went on unevenly so I had to modify it with acrylic medium to get it to behave. But its beautiful color made up for the minor frustration. Age may have been a factor in this. My container of alizarin crimson was several years old and -- until last week -- had never been opened. (Hey, when I said to use a color you ordinarily avoid, I meant it!) 

The 8x8 isn't quite finished yet, but when it is I'll post a photo here on the blog. 

I did learn a thing or two experimenting with this unlikely (for me, anyway) color trio. I found I really liked the warmth of Titan Buff against the cooler Payne's Grey, which is actually dark blue. And I learned that the tiniest drop of the alizarin crimson when added to the white or the buff resulted in a much stronger tint than I expected. So restraint must be used when adding it to other colors.

This exercise has me thinking I'll use this color combo more often in the future. I like the contrasts it presents, and the way the colors work together. These are discoveries I would not have made had I stuck with my usual color choices. This simple exercise has been a fun, yet effective way to escape an all-too-comfortable color rut. I'll definitely use it again!

©2015 Lynn Edwards











Appealing color combos can be found everywhere,

Surprises in a Paper Stash

Today I tackled the Big, Bad Box -- a massive carton containing all my hand painted collage papers. My plan was to sift through them, cull out the ones I'd never use, then file the rest away by color groups in the five drawer basket storage unit, 2011's Most Useful Purchase.

It was tedious work. There were many more papers than I remembered creating, and of course they were all jumbled up, colorwise. The task was time consuming but it had an unexpected upside: I found papers I had completely forgotten about, which sparked a flurry of ideas for combining and/or using them in new projects.

Some tissue papers I had washed with color, adjoining opaque papers with stamped designs, produced startling color combos I wouldn't have thought of putting together. Like the magenta tissue which, placed over violet paper stamped with light green spirals, produced a wildly vivid purple with spirals of a hard-to-describe but very interesting hue.

I even came across a folder holding papers I had gathered for an Asian-themed piece I planned to do at one time. The folder had gone missing months ago. Over time I had completely forgotten it existed. When I rediscovered it today, it contained everything needed to create a nice little collage, including a vintage found image and materials corresponding to that focal point. So now it's on my list of pieces to work on next week. I should rummage through my paper stash more often, making a point to dig down to the very bottom of each pile. The TV commercial is right: it pays to discover!