the expense of the pigment. To the
Chinese, violet signifies harmony,
because it’s a balanced combination
of red and blue, or yin and yang. In
the West, it’s sometimes associated
with sadness but more often with
extravagance or eccentricity. Not
long ago, dyeing one’s hair violet
was seen as an act of rebellion and
individuality. (How many violet
heads have you counted at the latest
gallery opening?)A BriefHistory
In prehistorictimes,theviolet
pigment wasdugfromtheearth.
Ochres, whicharemixturesof
clay and sand,canbeanyofsev-
eral hues—yellow,orange,redandABOVE
For Canyon Trails (oil on
canvas, 12x24), I used cool
blue-violets in the foreground
shadows and warmer red-
violets and cool, light reds for
the sunlit areas. Even those
that may be considered “cool”
colors, including the light red
tint in the distance, have been
grayed and cooled further to
increase the sense of distance.
LEFT
On a sunset filled with clouds,
mystery swathes the Grand
Canyon. In The Mystery
Deepens (12x16), I employed
dark red-violets and blue-
violets in the shadows to
punch up the contrast with
the one illuminated peak,
Zoroaster’s Temple. To
enhance the sense of intense
sun in the “sun spots,” I sur-
rounded each bright orange
spot with darker red-violet
and then ringed that with a
blue-violet of the same value.
This gives the effect of sunlight
spilling into the adjacent
shadow, warming it.ArtistsNetwork.com 9