Color and Impact

It happens wherever I go.  Indoor shows, outdoor shows, or in my studio (which is open to the public), individuals or couples come in with numbers floating around in their heads.  The size of the wall, the size of the piece they are replacing, the size of art they think they need.  I commend those who  take the time to measure before shopping for art.  The size of the space is important.  It is in fact the jumping off point for selecting the perfect piece.

Many things go into finding the perfect piece for the spot;  heart response to a painting being of course the biggie.  However today I want to discuss the impact of color in a room.  A little color theory:  warm colors (think fire and sun:  red, orange, yellow) are the strongest colors in the spectrum.  It takes the least amount of yellow compared to other colors to be seen from a distance.  Cool colors (think cool mountain lake:  blue, green, purple) are the weakest colors in the spectrum.  Purple is the weakest; it takes a bigger spot of violet to be seen across a room.  Want to test this?  Next time you are in a stadium look across to the other side and squint your eyes.  You will see those yellow Cheeseheads before you see the Purple People Eaters.  But I digress.  What that means to you as an art collector is that it takes less red, orange, or yellow to have an impact on a space than blue, green, or purple.

Point is dimensions of the perfect piece can be determined by the impact of the painting.  Color is not the only element that affects the impact of a piece of art.  But for now, let’s leave it at this:   a smaller painting done in a warm palette may be just the ticket, or a larger piece in a cooler palette.  Now you’re on your way to becoming an expert!

Today’s paintings:  Warm: ” East of Eden”,  20×20, $350  Cool:  “From One to Another”, 12×12 $200

If Trees Could Talk

    Here’s the story behind the painting….  I am often asked how I come up with the titles for my paintings.  The title for this piece, just finished yesterday has become a part of its story.  Thursday as I was finishing the tree along the left side an elderly gentleman walked in the studio.  As he quietly peered over my left shoulder he said, “If that tree could talk I bet it would have some stories to tell.”  That in itself touched me.  Then he proceeded to tell me about an old, large beech tree that “we had in our yard”.  Hit by lightening several times, hollowed out in the middle, and full of carved initials that his mother-in-law recognized, that tree continued to stand.

Wow!  When something I have painted triggers a response like that it must become a part of the story of the piece.  Interesting that I had been pondering the name choice as I painted just before he walked in.  Felt like a kiss from heaven.  “If Trees Could Talk” will be uploaded to the website very soon.