Challenge 33 - Neutral with Accent/Depth

Challenge # 33 - Friday, May 22, 2008

Guest Hostess – Kathy Lichtendahl

Color Concept: Neutrals with accent

Okay, I can hear collective minds all thinking the same thing; “neutrals = beige = boooring!” But please stick around just a little longer and take a look at some of the examples below. Although neutrals are often thought of as unexciting background fillers, the truth is they can be so much more. Add in an accent color of your choice and it suddenly becomes a star in contrast to the more muted surroundings. Many people envision neutral colors as being brown and grey. While it is true those two are part of this particular palette, they are but a small portion of the options available. It may be more accurate to say that neutrals are “greyed” or “browned” versions of other colors. They are in fact the colors you get when you mix two complementary colors together. They are sometimes described as being situated in the middle of the color wheel as they are made up of a combination of colors on the wheel rather than being found on the outer ring. Depending on how much of each color you use to create the neutral, you can end up with a warm hue or a cool one. Add black or white to your created neutral and you get the tones and shades with which we are already familiar, allowing for value variation even within the limited color range. So much of what is found in nature is composed of neutrals. That is one reason those natural accents, such as the brilliant red flower or the bright orange butterfly, tend to stand out with such clarity.

Neutrals tend to create a sense of calm within a work but that doesn’t mean they are boring. Take a look at some of the examples below and see just how exciting neutrals can be!

One of the masters in use of neutrals, Hollis Chatelaine:
http://www.hollisart.com/gallery_enlarged_view.php?piece_id=86&entry=1

Cynthia St. Charles often uses neutrals to create her wonderful pieces:
http://www.cynthiastcharles.com/detail.php?recordID=44

Another quilt artist I admire who often works in neutrals is Rayna Gillman. See several of her creations here:
http://studio78.net/gallery1.html

Katie Pasquini Masopust’s wonderful redwoods are created with neutrals plus an accent of green:
http://www.katiepm.com/Gallery/images/redwood-forest.jpg

See some possible combinations here:
http://www.colorschemer.com/schemes/index.php?start=10&tag=neutral

Many of the old masters of the painting world worked extensively in neutrals (although it must be admitted that much of that may have been due to supplies available at the time!) Even in modern times, there are countless painters who continue to create their works using mostly neutrals to depict their subjects. Just take a look at some of the paintings by Boucher (Madame de Pompadour 1758), Vermeer (View of Delft 1660), Bierstadt (Among the Sierra Nevada Mountains 1868), de Goya (Clothed Maja 1800), Caillebotte (The Floor Scrapers 1875), Bonnard (The White Cat 1894) and even Picasso (Guernica 1937).

Composition Concept: Depth
Creation of depth is one of the basic teachings in art. Visual depth means creating a sense of space in even a 2-D or flat surface. Students are taught that to create a sense of space within a work they must consider a number of elementary principles:

1) Placement of objects: Objects placed behind other objects are interpreted as being further in the distance.
See how the placement of the robins in Ruth Powers’ amazing quilt is used to show depth by their overlapping.
http://www.ruthpowersartquilts.com/gallery-detail.php?ID=17

2) Color: Remember there is more to color than hue. There is also saturation, value and temperature. Objects seen in the distance are usually lighter in tone and value than those closer to the viewer. Cool colors recede, warm colors advance. Items in the distance may appear slightly out of focus or to run into each other whereas those in the foreground are shaper and more distinct. The use of shadows can also help create a sense of depth.
See Wendy Butler Berns’ quilt “Trees in the Mist”
www.wendybutlerberns.com/gallery_narratives

3) Size: As we know from looking at the idea of perspective in an earlier challenge, objects in the distance tend to appear smaller than those close to hand. If we pick a vanishing point on the horizon (even in an abstract composition), we can use an angle from that spot to an item in the foreground to determine how large things should appear between the “front” of the image and the horizon. Proportion and scale both come into play in this concept.
One of my favorite quilt artists is Jane Blair. Look how well she achieves a sense of depth in this quilt by using placement, color and size!
http://www.janeblairquilts.com/gallery-details.php?RECORD_KEY%28gallery%29=ID&ID(gallery)=77

One final requirement - HAVE FUN WITH THIS!