Color: Joy and Torment

Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment - Claude Monet

Color. It can be an artist's friend, or worst enemy (trying to mix a color you see in your head but cannot replicate, for example). It can make - or break - a painting. It is often cited as the single most compelling reason a buyer will choose a painting. Many artists are known for a particular palette, or set of colors they return to over and over. Think of the subdued greens and browns of the Hudson River School artists, or the bright primaries of Matisse. What makes an artist gravitate toward certain colors? The answers are as varied as the different paint shades and range from personal preference to the rules of their game.

 

"Pink Sky Over Marsh" oil by Rebecca Croft

Some artists use the colors they are continually drawn to in life. "Bright colors make me happy. I’m not drawn to subdued colors," says Gallery member artist Rebecca Croft. "I’ve never liked fall colors like yellows/oranges/browns and don’t buy clothing or decorate with those colors either. I just prefer the pinks/purples/blues/greens."

Member artist Sybil Bedner-Ostrowski says she is more drawn to an analogous palette, or three colors that are next to each other on the color wheel, with one being the dominant color, which tends to be a primary or secondary color, and one on either side of the color. For example, red, red-orange, and red violet. "I think my favorite mixed oil color is terra rosa and Naples yellow, that emulates lamp light and the afternoon sun," she says.

"Almost Home" oil by Sybil Bedner-Ostrowski

Iconographer and Gallery member Laura Clerici also prefers brighter colors, but her palette is largely dictated by the icon art form. 

"I find myself using the same colors, because the palette is relatively limited by tradition. EVERYTHING in an icon has meaning, including color," she says of her work. "Canonically, certain colors are generally associated with different figures. The Archangel Michael's outer robe is usually a bright red, rather than maroon or blue-red. Jesus always wears an orange-y or gold ocher garment -- because it is supposed to represent "cloth of gold" which is associate with Jesus as the King. He is only shown in white twice, in the icon of the Transfiguration (where the text says his garments were bleached whiter than anyone could make them) and in the Resurrection.

"Lady of the Sign" by Laura Clerici

"You can vary it a bit, but it has to be intentional - what are you trying to say about the figure? For instance, in a Madonna, Mary always wears an outer robe which is largely red, but it can be purple-sh, cherry red, maroon or a brownish red. Each color says something different about who she is. The more blue/purple talks about her close association with the Divine; the more red the color makes a statement about her humanity, and by association about Jesus' nature." 

In addition to being influenced by the art form, color is also influenced by the medium. "Now I am using acrylics more and more, says Bedner-Ostrowski. "And it is wonderfully satisfying to experiment with the oddest color combinations and then just cover it up with another combination until I'm happy."  

Any gallerist will tell you that there is no predicting what colors will draw customers in. This bright abstract by gallery member Nan Morrison, hung near the front of the gallery one month, caught the eye of everyone passing by. Conversely, our solo artist Nihal Kececi's subtle palette is similarly packing them in. 

"Moulin Rouge" acrylic by Nan Morrison; "H Street" acrylic by Nihal Kececi

On the sixth day, God created the artist, realizing no doubt that He had far from exhausted the uses of color. - Robert Brault

~ Sandi Parker, Gallery Underground Co-Director