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In Dancers at the Bar by Edgar Degas, 1888, the artist used complementary
colors to make a sharp contrast between the figures and the space. |
We all know that Impressionism heralded a new way of
painting. Material and technical advancements--metal tubes instead of delicate
bladders for holding paint--allowed artists to go wherever they wanted,
observing nature on their own terms. This was also a period when color options
for an oil painter's palette increased like never before.
The Impressionists use color distinctively in their oil paintings. Warm golden
lights against cool purples and blues are what come to my mind whenever I think
of the movement as a whole. This could be as simple as the violets of flowers
against warm summer sunlight or as involved as using those deep violets and
blues to create atmospheric effects and spatial depth in a scene.
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In Impression, soleil levant by Claude Monet, the artist uses
cool blue and violet hues to create a sense of atmosphere
and send the viewer's eye deeper into the space. |
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Exaggerating color temperatures and putting cool and warm
colors side by side intensifies pigments in a way that is very "Impressionist,"
as in Monet's sunrise and sunset scenes or several of Degas' ballerina studies. But to make the most of these oil painting techniques and
assure that you have depth and light effects while still getting those intense
contrasting effects, you have to be mindful of value and temperature.
The other thing about Impressionist oil painting art, which I realized only after
a professor pointed it out to me years ago during an oil painting lesson, is that they use a lot of grey or
"muddy" colors. Without them, intense colors can turn harsh and
garish. When I Nuance is key in Impressionist colors, and subtlety--using complementary
colors while not over-mixing or incorporating too many hues--allows for more
lush colors to stand out.
If you are as intrigued by color as I am, Color Essentials: A Painter's Guide DVD
will offer a wealth of insightful, instructive information to you. Lea Colie Wight shows you
how to push color to extremes and pull it back to make an impact. With her guidance, I now know what all the
colors on my palette are capable of and how I can use them with control and
expressiveness. Color Essentials can do the same for you!
