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Principles of Color: Wk 7:
Complements and Split Complements

Written: Sep 13 2005, by Donna Young

During week six my daughter painted comparison boxes to compare what happens to a color when it is next to its complement and when the color is next to its split complement.

Example: Compare how bright blue is when next to orange as opposed to how bright blue is when it is next to yellow-orange.

This week she is looking at art and reading about artists who used color effects or lighting effects in their work. The purpose of this blog entry is to give you an idea of what to do to complement the comparison painting that is done during Week Six.

Below are two examples of how combining certain colors can give an effect to a painting.

Works below by Vincent Van Gogh

The first work was inspired by Jean-Franois Millet's engraving of peasants.
Noon: Rest From Work
1889-90
Muse d'Orsay, Paris
Primarily painted with blues and oranges, this is the complementary example.
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Irises
1890
This is the split complementary example since it is painted with blues and yellow-oranges.
Attached Image