Friday, November 27, 2009

Snow Camp 2


Here are a couple more shots I took the other day at the Sunset Hill House

I have had a long day. I visited my little sister and her husband for Thanksgiving and we ate and ate . We had turkey (did you know there is a chemical in turkey that makes you thankful?) and stuffing and three kinds of pie. I took my own Moxie as I knew I couldn't count on them to have it. Now I am exhausted. So tonight's post is going to be a plug for snow camp and then, maybe I can find one small thing that I can say to be useful to those of you who are unable to come. Every night when I write the blog I always ask myself, have I said something that will be useful to the readers?

The details of the inn package are worked out and on the page for reserving the workshop, that's here.
The only thing I missed before is that the inn is including a three course meal for all of us in a private dining room that Sunday evening. When I do workshops, if I can, I like to do a total immersion thing. That is, paint all day and then get the whole class together for dinner so we can talk art and experience the camaraderie of the other artists. I think it is possible to squeeze a lot more in that way. So when I do a workshop we generally eat, sleep, and breathe art for the entire time. Being in an inn up in the mountains is the perfect way to do that. I was up there again the other day, scheming with Nancy the innkeeper about how best to do the workshop and I think I have really broken the code this time. It is just such a perfect setup. The class is half filled already, so if you want to sign up , now would be a good time. I think it will fill quickly as I am deliberatly limiting it to ten students.

Now lets see, something useful, but not too ambitious, How about this...........

Opposite colors, or compliments as they are called, have opposite effects depending on how they are presented together. They can either make their opposite brighter, or more grave, here's how. If you mix two compliments, you get a gray color, but if you put two compliments side by side, they each look their brightest. So always be aware of whether a colors opposite is already, or should be, introduced into a passage to accentuate that color. Conversely if you want to keep a color from speaking too loudly, and hold its place in the choir, rather than sing a solo, you add its compliment. So a colors compliment is the key to making it both brighter or grayer!

Watch that you are managing compliments intentionally rather than having accidental compliments control your color for you. Color is a great servant but a lousy master. There.

4 comments:

billspaintingmn said...

Stape, you just explained something
so helpful to me I'm excited!
Color is fun, but like a horse the rider should be in control.(if
that's an analogy!?)
This bit of info has me eager to
put brush to canvas. Thanks!

mariandioguardi.com said...

Another thing to add to complimentary colors. To me colors have a "weight" . Red has a weightier presence than green. So to make colors balance visually, in a painting, when you want each to receive an equal amount of attention from the viewer, you need more green to balance red. Also if you want to neutralize a red, the green you choose will also make a difference.

Stapleton Kearns said...

Bill:
Go straighten them horses out!
.............Stape

Stapleton Kearns said...

Marian;
I usually think in terms of weight distribution on the canvas too.
..Stape