Color. It seems simple enough. Add it to anything and it changes the vibe instantly. Color creates a mood, evokes emotion and puts a visual dialogue in motion. Wait. That sounds more complicated. Can color really do all of that? Now, that’s intimidating.

I must admit, as a designer, I struggle with color. The choice of combinations is overwhelming. You can begin to narrow your choices by using basic color theory – primary, secondary, analogous, complimentary, monochromatic, achromatic…Wow, where to begin, indeed. Isn’t there an easier way? I want something unique. Something that isn’t just the latest trend but a color palette that makes my art sing. Where can I find that inspiration?

Above left to right: Van Gogh's 'Starry Night', Monet's 'Water Garden and the Japanese Footbridge' and Seurat's 'A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte'

As a long time admirer of the Impressionist art movement, I often look to those artists and their work for color inspiration. I feel that they interpreted nature and their surroundings with amazing compositions of light and emotion. It’s hard for me not to be drawn in to their work and immediately begin to feel the summer breeze on my face or the chill in the air after an early morning rain. It is because of this movement that I will never see a field of grass as just green or brown. I will always see the rich reds in the highlights of a wheat field or the cool blues and purples in a shadow under a tree. (more…)