Design and Color Harmony

There are three basic shapes within oil painting that must be rendered; the triangle, square and circle and these must be placed within the painting . It can be ordinary and boring or unusual and exciting. In my art class at Lincoln Hills, we discussed these shapes and how to explore moving them around to optimize interest. Also, color harmony was discussed and I presented poor harmony and good harmony so students would understand each one and correct it if poor. Analogous are those schemes whose layout upon the color wheel are adjacent to one another. A second type of harmony comes from complimentary, either with primary or secondary colors. The former being red, yellow and blue while the latter being green, purple and orange. An example of unusual shapes and harmony can be seen the painting to the right. (Casino from Bell Tower, 12x16). Notice large simple shapes, not tons of detail and the harmony is primarily orange blue with tinges of green purple. A similar harmory color scheme can be seen in my favorite impressionist of early California, Franz Bischoff. Being a student of art history can be rewarding in many ways; you don't have to reinvent the wheel every time you paint. Learn how William Wendt or Edgar Payne handles a certain subject matter. Note the shapes and colors. You simply have to put a contemporary twist and your own style into the painting and bang--you are done. The best paintings use simple shapes and have just one idea. Ask yourself, what is it you are trying to say and say it loud. Most people need street signs in viewing a painting. Have a lead in, middle area that is interesting and a sky area or other neutral where the viewer can rest. Next discussion, abstraction as a way to view art work.