Jul_19 A Shift to Embracing Darker Color . . .

In my earliest paintings I focused totally on bright, joyous colors. This is partly because they appealed to me the most but also because the act of painting was such a joyous one. I needed to used those colours to express my experience. Here are several of my earliest, paintings, showing my attraction to the brighter colors.

Bursting Forth

Joy

Frost

Frolic

Golden Sunrises

I had an interesting challenge presented to me. A neighbor who said he enjoyed my paintings very much was interested in purchasing several, but found the bright colours didn’t match the brown wall that he had. He casually mentioned that if I ever changed my palette, he’d be interested in something that worked with brown tones. I took this on as a personal challenge. I mixed some browns and proceeded to create three paintings. I enjoyed the process. I even liked the resulting paintings, but I hadn’t shifted towards loving brown tones. I did, however, feel a new respect for a range of colors that I had ignored until now. My neighbor did purchase "Light Through Trees" and "Subtle."

Forest

Light Through Trees

Subtle

Recently however, I have noticed an attraction to browns and darker colors and shades. I find them fascinating in a way I never did before. This could have something to do with my own aging process and feeling my own mortality. It could represent a shift in my painting style after exploring joyous colours so completely. Whatever the reason, I am now experiencing this new draw to the darker palette!