painting color schemes: create harmony in our paintings

The chosen color may be modified by adding a neutral dark to create different shades of the original color. We may also add white to create various tints.

This orangutan is basically orange. It's the closest thing I have in have to a monochromatic painting.

It was painted with Quinacridone Sienna. The addition of its compliment, Ultramarine Blue made the black and neutral shades.

Doing a monochromatic painting is an excellent way to learn how to use values in our paintings.

The complimentary color scheme is probably the most commonly used color scheme.

Compliments are any two colors directly across from each other on the color wheel.

Complimentary colors can be used for high contrast paintings.

Mixing compliments together makes darks and other neutral colors. Adding white makes pleasing tints.

This painting used yellow-green with its compliment red-violet.

They were mixed to create the darker green leaves and the various muted colors for the background.

Mixing compliments together is how we create dark colors such as black, brown and greys.

The mixed neutral color was softened with white for the colors in the roses.

Some artists call this a rectangular color scheme.

A double compliment color scheme adds more variety to the painting.

Compare this scheme to the compliment scheme above.

The addition of yellow and violet makes bold a statement and adds some lovely nuances to the painting.

Here I used the same two compliments as the rose painting.

But for more variety, I added a color next to each compliment giving me the double compliment scheme.

Adding yellow gave me some brighter colors for the highlights.

The addition of purple, violet gave more depth to the darks.

The split compliment scheme uses the colors on each side of the direct complimentary color.

These examples usually include yellow. This is just to make the examples more consistent.

Any of these color schemes may be turned around the color wheel to include different combinations from the twelve colors.

The idea for this fun painting came from the Bluebirds bathing in our backyard.

Here I chose Burnt Sienna and New Gamboge with Ultramarine Blue.

Mixing blue and orange made the darks to darken the feathers, his beak and eye.

Yellow was used for the highlights on his chest with a little in the water.

An analogous color scheme is made of three or more adjoining colors anywhere on the color wheel.

The set of colors may be warm or cool or a combination.

With a lighter set of colors like the ones pictured here, it can be harder to mix dark colors.

If the set of analogous colors are dark, they can be lightened with white.

Analogous colors are automatically harmonious because they are joined together on the color wheel.

This sea shell painting was done from actual shells. Their natural colors are in perfect harmony.

Burnt Sienna was used for the orange with Permanent Rose for the red.

Permanent Rose is the closest red to primary red.

The triad painting color scheme uses three colors spaced equally around the color wheel.

A triad scheme always creates a balanced painting.

The most common set of triads are the primary colors.

This painting used the primary colors red, blue and yellow.

We can of course turn the color scheme around to any other three colors on the color wheel.

The greens and dark colors were easy to mix from the primary colors.

A semi-triad scheme includes three equidistant colors on half of the color wheel.

The two colors directly across from each other are always compliments.

Complimentary colors are excellent for mixing the dark and neutral colors.

Permanent Rose and the blue-violet, Ultramarine Blue were excellent colors for painting the azaleas.

If we use single pigment colors, our mixed colors will be good for mixing more clean, clear colors.

Selecting the best colors for your palette.

Complimentary colors are any two colors directly across from each other.

To get a compliment + one half right color scheme, move two spaces to the right of either complimentary color.

The third color adds more interest to the painting. And it provides more variation in the mixed colors.

This color scheme is very similar to the scheme in the wren painting below.

Here I used Peacock Blue which is my favorite watercolor blue-green.

Burnt Sienna was used for the orange.

Moving right one half brought us to the highlight color, a warm Gamboge yellow.

The compliment + one half left color scheme is the same as the above, except we move to the left two spaces from either compliment.

My favorite painting color schemes are the Compliment + 1/2 left and Compliment + 1/2 right. The other scheme I often use is the Split Compliment scheme.

Orange and blue were mixed to create the browns in the wren.

The yellow and blue made a variation of greens for the leaves and background.

White lightened some of the greens and orange subdued some of them.

It's easy to mix more colors.

Why did I start using color schemes? I was in a dilemma.

The solution was a three-step plan that got me ready to use a color scheme for each of my paintings.

What process do I use to select a scheme?

Using the turtle painting as an example, see how I choose colors for a painting.