Pastel Journal - USA (2019-08)

ColorDecoder

VioletinAction

Forme,violetisa lusciouscolor;

I feela frissonofdelightwhenI seea

passageofvioletina pastelpainting.

I wanttousethecoloreverywhere,

butI’velearnedtomoderatethat

impulseanduseit onlywhereit

makessense.Forexample,I use

violetasa contrasttogreen.It’sa

bettercolortocontrastwithgreen

thanpurered.Red—thedirect

complementofgreen—hasnohue

incommonwithit andcancreate

a jarringjuxtaposition.Greenand

violet,however,dosharebluein

common,whichmeansvioletisa

near-complementandmakesfora

moreharmoniouscolorscheme.

Violetisavailableinwarmand

coolversions,whichcancreatea pro-

gressive,subtletransitionbetween

warmerandcoolerpassages.For

example,I mayusebotha red-violet

(warm)anda blue-violet(cool)to

easethetransitionfroma warm,

brightlyilluminatedmountainside

toitscooler,bluer-shadowedside.

I mayplacea stripeofred-violetclose

tothesunlitsideanda stripeofblue-

violetclosetotheshadowedside.

ABOVE

In Hazy Morning (12x16), I used

intense blue-violets in the shad-

ows and sky. For contrast and

to emphasize the sunny effect,

I applied rich greens and oranges

in the foregound. I even put a hint

of red-violet in the sky and water

to increase the sense of heat.

OPPOSITE TOP

I loved playing the rich, warm

greens off the strong red-violets

in the trees and river bottom in

Hues of Spring (9x12). To me,

early spring always has a back-

drop of red-violet against which

to see the new greens play.

“For me, violet is a luscious color; I feel a frisson of delight

when I see a passage of violet in a pastel painting.”

12 Pastel Journal AUGUST 2019