Cooking with Color.....Color Recipes to Try

'My Happy Place'             12x15             pastel         ©Karen Margulis
painting available for purchase $165

Choosing a color palette for a painting is one of my favorite parts in the painting process. Most of the time I choose my colors based upon the colors I see in my subject. I take into consideration the effects of the light but lean toward using realistic colors. I take my chances that these colors will be harmonious and result in a pleasing painting.

Wouldn't it be a great if we had recipes for color palettes?  

We do and they are known as Color Schemes. These are tried and true arrangements of color based upon how they relate to one another on a color wheel. The most common color schemes are monochromatic, complementary, analogous , triadic and square (tetrads). These are pretty straight forward.  It gets more interesting when we expand and combine these basic schemes. How about split complementary or cross complementary tetrad?  They sound complicated but with the help of a color wheel and making color notes it is easy to use these schemes to help choose a color palette.

There are many good books on color theory and color that address color schemes and how to use them but here are a couple of my favorite resources:
Book: 'Confident Color An Artist's Guide to Harmony,Contrast and Unity' by Nita Leland

my reference photo 

Using new color schemes can help us expand our knowledge of color leading to more intuitive color choices. It can also help us from falling into a color rut....using the same color palette for every painting. I love to challenge myself occasionally by choosing a color scheme and applying it to my subject. For the best learning experience I choose a color schemes/colors that force me to choose colors I DON'T really see. I rely on the values and not the local colors. The color scheme gives me the recipe and the colors provide the fun!

Tip: When trying a new color scheme use a color wheel and choose your dominant color first. Use a test trip to make color notes so you can keep track of the colors in your scheme. I will also often do a quick color study to work out possible arrangements of colors.

test sheet with color studies

Painting Notes:  I used a TERTIARY TRIAD for today's painting. I chose Red Violet, Yellow Orange and Blue Green.  My paper was a yellow orange piece of Pastelmat.