Opposites attract.
Yes we’ve heard it all before but none the less it’s true. Working with opposites will help you lead your viewers through your artwork. It might look random but if you have a thought about it before starting out you can actually decide what the viewer will see first, second and so forth. You can hide and surprise details, you can be blunt and bold, you can overall make a more thought through impression.
Example: If you have a dark warm saturated colour which you would like to enhance, you could add its opposite, in this case a cool unsaturated colour in its proximity. It will make the first saturated warm colour pop and you can by doing so GUIDE the viewer through your artwork. Paint what is most important with lost of opposites in contrast, colour, warmth and value and less important things with less opposites.
Complementary colours adds depth.
Also. Try adding a bit of complementary colour in your shadows and dark parts. (The complementary colors are the colors that are directly across from one another in the color wheel.) Make sure the complementary colour is a colour you have already used in your artwork. These will then appear related and will add harmony to the overall feeling and enhance the cohesiveness of your piece. Bild.
Composition
Don’t be lazy with composition. If your artwork is well balanced it will look harmonious. So if you want to attract the viewers attention to a certain part of your art you could try to make something slightly askew, unbalanced or off in value. Placing the part you want to highlight where the eye would naturally rest is also a good trick and then use your lines or the direction of your brush strokes to direct the eye towards that area, you’re also helping guide the viewer to the important part.
Alrighty roo. That’s all for now!
If you’d like to read more about colours and how to use them read this blog post.
And if you want to have a look at how I use colour, check these paintings.
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