Experiencing Joy Through Art

7/9/2014 11:56:24 AM

How to Use Analogous Colors No. 2

Jason Walcott / Comment on this

Good day to you! I am happy to be here again on this sunny summer morning. In a previous post on room design and color mixing, I discussed how to use an analogous color scheme. Today I thought we’d take a closer look at that.

Analogous colors are those that appear right next to each other on the color wheel. For today's purpose we will use a twelve-color artist’s wheel for demonstration.

Analogous colors are a good scheme to choose because they are easy to coordinate. Their close placement on the color wheel automatically eliminates some of the pitfalls of using colors that are really different and trying to harmonize them.

Another great tip for using analogous color is to pick a dominate color and make the other one or two colors subordinate. This way your design and color scheme for your painting will still harmonize, but also have a clear and intent structure. Having exactly 50/50 of anything can muddy perceptions and make it hard for viewers to know what to focus on. Choosing a dominate and subordinate color(s) can really make a huge difference in the success of your design and art.

The Yellow-Orange/Yellow/Yellow-Green analogous color scheme has always been one of my favorites, because the yellow green starts to incorporate just a little cool color (blue) into the mostly warm colors. This offers a nice balance without being overt. I used this color scheme to design the guest bedroom in my own home which you can see in the photo below.

I choose a clear hierarchy of colors here which is what helps the design work. The yellow-green on the walls is the dominate player, with the gold (yellow) being second in command. Then, as an accent I brought in the oranges to round things out. This is a deliberate use of dominate snd subordinating colors.

My recent “Orange and Egg” painting shown in the photo works well with this color scheme and is available for your room or interior design. Try using analogous colors in your next design or art piece and see what you can do with it!