Making Color Sing! Color is Everything
“Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment!” Claude Monet
This quote by Monet, the master colorist himself, proves that all artists must have challenges with color! It’s a life long practice and source of inspiration and study for all of us.
Detail of my painting in process
Color is Life. It is emotion, energy, mood, a reflection of refracted wavelengths, a phenomenon of light. Understanding color as artists allows us to use it with intention and we can revel in it’s infinite variations.
Color does not exist in a vacuum - it must be in constant dialogue with the world around it. Complementary colors, when juxtaposed, set off an optical dynamic dance. Tonal colors and neutral palettes can calm our jittery overstimulated nervous system. One wash of blue sweeps us away on a heaving ocean. A slash of red might activate our adrenals. A field of green conjures summer memories. Each color has personal associations that evoke emotion and recollections.
Recent Painting using saturated complementary colors for punch.
When we really understand how color works, we can approach it with intention and desire. The key is understanding that color is always in relationship. It doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It is always interacting with the colors around it. How you layer, juxtapose and mix color is, I would say, how you do anything. The best approach is with curiosity, openness and a willingness to learn.
Playing with color, line, imagery and other ways of mark making.
Color is a science at it’s core. It is predictable in it’s properties, and always behaves accordingly. Even understanding basic color theory will help you in creating palettes that energize and inspire, or soothe and calm the spirits. Learning how it works can take much of the guesswork out of it.
Really knowing the properties of color can elevate and enhance your painting experience. You can create your paintings with intention to excite or soothe, to seduce or delight. We express who we are through our color choices and get to know ourselves better as a result.
My 3D painting on a wooden block - using complementary colors of aqua and orange/red. ©Amy Guion Clay
What is evident in reviewing my paintings over the years is my own personal color bias. It took some years to find my color voice through staying curious and honoring the colors I love. And as some of you know, my motto is: love what you love. That’s the path to authenticity.
Join me in my upcoming July 25-27, 2025 Color Workshop in Boulder, CO. Click the link below for more info!