I don’t paint from a premixed tube of paint

We all make choices to upgrade how we feel. Some people run, some have a beer after work, some make their home into a place to regroup. All of those things help us recover our balance.  We get drained by stress, work, and just going through our day. How do you recover? How do you become productive again? Looking at art can be another tool you use. Have you noticed how seeing artwork makes you feel?

Franz Marc studied the impact of color on emotions. He knew that each color he used in his painting would trigger an emotional response in his viewer. That really resonated with me. I use color to create an experience in my art. I have my favorite primary colors and brands that I can rely on to create my vision.

In addition to those primary colors every color I use on my canvases is hand mixed. I have extensively studied color contrasts, compliments, shades and tints. I don’t get color variations from a tube. I spend a lot of time choosing and mixing every color that goes into my artwork. It is a large part of what I do to create.

If I want a joyful feeling, I will choose bold primary colors. If I want to shift the mood I will mix those primary colors to create a different feeling. Red is bold and strong. Green is a part of nature. Blue is soothing, but I often use very vivid blue colors or deep shades to evoke different moods. Yellow feels like a beginning color – the beginning of a day dawning and the vibrant color expressing life in animals. Purple gives other colors contrast, shadow, and depth. Combining of those colors to make new options gives more subtle nuances in feeling. The more color you mix or paint in an image the more complex the feeling becomes.

Take a look at my gallery and see what emotions you feel when you view different pieces of my artwork. Tall Horse and Cowboy aren’t just about horses. They use shades of blue and brown. How would you describe the feeling you get seeing those two? Bold Lion, King of Hearts, and Journey have the full spectrum of primary colors in vivid hues. Do they lift your mood? Do they give you positive feelings? Rams, Predator, and Tortoise each have a color scheme. There are varying shades and tints of similar colors on each of those canvases. What mood does that create for you?

You might have noticed the recent trend is to have artwork as focal points in the room. What artwork would you choose to influence how you feel in your home?