Let's follow up on last week's exercise. Most folks think of color as altogether a descriptive element: red apples, blue skies, purple people-eaters--that sort of thinking. But we artists know that color is as functional for keeping the viewer's eye interested in a painting as spices are for keeping a dish engaging through the last bite.
The more experience we give ourselves in how the components of color guide the eye rather than merely describe the subject, the more nuanced and richer our paintings can become.
Watch this experiment with hue, value and intensity:
I chose a single color, red-violet and a single abstract design using the reversed C visual path. (Note: if you've not already done so, go to the eStore at http://diannemize.com and download your free copy of my explanation of creating visual paths.)
So I could have a comparison, I made two blocks to work with. Both blocks are the same hue & value, but of different intensities.
I placed the design on each block, using the other blocks intensity so that only the intensity changes. Notice how just a change in intensity engages the eye and causes it move in a reversed C direction throughout both blocks.
To add a bit of complexity, I flipped the design and added a slight value change, keeping the hue and intensity the same.
Look how, by flipping the design, the path changes to an O. Now both value AND intensity are working together to keep the eye moving. I made one more change--the hue. Within the new hue, I kept the intensity and of the value the same as its corresponding background.
Now, even though we've kept the relationships very close, we can see how the components of color can work together to keep the eye moving in a predictable path.
The next series of video lessons is focus on Creating Visual Paths. Some of them will be in two parts because of the complexity of the subject, but I've tried to break it down to explore the concept thoroughly so that the lessons will show how exciting this visual maneuver can be.
In the first lesson of the series, available now at the eStore, I show how intensity, itself, can work to guide the eye.
Happy painting,
Dianne
P.S. We have two free gifts for you at the eStore. Go there, get your gifts and check out this week's new video lesson--Guiding the Eye with Intensity, Part 1-- where I use an old barn in a field as my model . The eStore is HERE.
P.P.S. The Facebook forum now has over 600 members, several who are sharing their studies from the video lessons. AND we have twenty-four challenges for you to play with. You can do any challenge at any time, adding even more fun to being a member.
