Here's a fun experiment for you.
For it to work, you need to take a deep breath and
relax into not trying. Just let whatever happens happen. One other suggestion, slow down.
For the best results, you should see only one square at a time. Cell phones and androids should zoom until the other squares are out of sight. Computer users, either cursor until only the square you're working with is in sight, or use your hand to block the others. Here we go.
Focus on the color with the square below for six seconds without looking at the disk in the center, then glance at the center. What color is the disk?
Here's another. First, close your eyes for about ten seconds to rest them, then look for six seconds at the color within the square, glance at the disk and name its color.
And another, same instructions.
Now, one more.
Here's the same disk that appears in all four squares. Even though the computer says it is neutral, it will probably appear more blue-purple because of the color of be background.
Tip: How a color reads to the human eye is determined by the colors surrounding it. You might think you have mixed the perfect color only to watch it change in front of your eyes when you stroke it in place. Rather than remixing, try neutralizing that color a bit in order for it to work.
An effective way to create any nuanced color is to use a neutral because it will take on the complement of whatever colors surround it.
To see how effective this principle works, examine the neutrals within the shadows of colorist Camille Przewodek's "In the Garden" on her homepage HERE.
So, what colors did you see in the disks? Most likely, the first one was red-violet; the second, orangish; the third, greenish and the fourth, blue. All take on the complement of the color within which they reside.
Happy painting,
Dianne
P.S.Join us on the Facebook forum where a new challenge appears each Wednesday.
