Changing the Mood

The connections between color and mood

have long been a subject of debate and

scientific study.  Since I love color I

enjoy these studies and am always game to do a little

experimenting on my own.

Taking the same photo reference I have used in a couple of paintings earlier I decided to see how I could convey a different feeling using composition and color.  These were not going to be large, finished studies but quick draws to see what I could make happen in a crude sort of way.

Here is the barn, alone and on the hill.  Another sketch below moves the barn:

And yet another adds a path:

So these 3 sketches changed the composition and, I thought, already altered the mood of the scene.

On smallish canvases I started with acrylic paints to get something laid in quickly.  These are photographed together but I actually painted them one at a time so as not to confuse my own sense of where they were attempting to go.

Already you can see color differentials; upper R - light, maybe springish, sunshine, below - sense of soltitude but not sad due to blue skies and some foreground energy, lower L - darker, maybe stormy and a road which by-passes the far away barn.

Obviously I did not push the color beyond realism, some folks would get a big nothing from a purple barn in an orange field (besides, I've been there...!) I wanted to see what I could do with local color (i.e. the color as seen in nature).

I did a little bit more work on these canvas in oil, making more changes as I worked.  You be the judge as to how they affect you in ascertaining a certain mood (I think of the barn having its own feelings as does the environment; you may also think about how the scene affects your own mood.)

Above I darkened up the baby blue skies...did a storm threaten?

Here I implied a season by using flower colors, sunshine and cloud shadows on the grass, is the barn still important to the composition?

In the final iteration I worked on a pathway that leads away from the barn and darkened any detail it would have if it were lighter in color.  

All of these are a long way from a finished version, they are crude and very raw, but I enjoyed the exercise of manipulating a photograph and playing artist in creating a different feeling from the same ingredients.  Since I have answered some of my own questions there is no need to complete them...I'll file under "study" and move on.

Look at the art you surround yourself with: are there variations in the moods and colors or do you tend to one direction?  There is no right or wrong answer....it's simply a thought.  What I might hang for "healing" would not be what I would choose for "action."  Just another aspect to creating a well planned piece of art.

Colorful wishes,

Cindy

New Year New Colors

When I feel the need to change things up a bit my default move is to alter the color that surrounds me.  You know, like deciding I am no longer a "pink" lipstick kinda gal but a "red" one.  I may decide that purple workout clothes are a mood lifter or I will try painting with an entirely foreign (to me) palette.  Color does interesting things for me.

If you read this blog from your email box you never really see the colors involved on the webpage layout.  But if you click on the blog title or go here you will see what I mean.  For many years I have embraced a non-offensive range of beige for the design.  But feeling the need for change recently I hit a few buttons and voila! bright new colors for the new year.  Check it out.  I also updated the art on the page and have every intention of doing the same to my website (will alert you).

But we got into a deep color commitment recently when we decided to totally change up the concept of our home.  (It's a long story but downsizing plans didn't work out so we designed a cottage en situ!)

Isn't this gorgeous?  (artist signature illegible or I would give credit) We've loved this bowl for several years and it struck us that it would make the perfect (happy) color palette for a totally new look.  We stripped our walls of art and furniture and set about using the turquoises, oranges and yellows for a change.  And here is something important I want to share:

I was convinced that we would have to part with many old favorite paintings and quite a bit of furniture to make the look work.  But the interesting thing is that we found that when one tends to enjoy certain colors, they have a way of appearing and reappearing in many things that you own.  Perhaps not in the same saturation but definitely in the hue.

Total new look of the dining room based on the bowl colors....but look, see that painting in the background?  A beautiful landscape by Barbara Millford.  Doesn't it look as if we planned the room around it?  Nope, Luck.  We had the table in another room and a little yellow paint made a huge difference.

Now check out a corner of the kitchen...I had bought that wonderful painting several years ago because I loved it (not because I had a place to put it!)  Fritz van Eeden always makes me smile and even without framing it I couldn't wait to introduce it to the room.  Again, we did not plan the kitchen around the piece, it was a happy coincidence.

Finally I will share our little corner for "Hour of Charm."  We fell in love with the smaller chair one rainy day in Boston and made a crazy rash decision to purchase and ship.  Who knew it was destined to fit right in?  See the big blank wall behind the chair?  We still have not finished curating our currently owned art so who knows what will get this place of honor?  And you note the bowl on the floor...not where it belongs but where it ended up in the Christmas-pack-up process when I took the photo.  

My point is: Don't be afraid of color.  Our rooms will not qualify for Architectural Digest but they make us happy.  AND, the good news is that we did not have to divest ourselves of any well-loved pieces in our collection.  Against new walls the art sings a new tune; many have asked if the pieces are recently acquired and the answer is no, but they look beautifully different.

We're still painting...our bedroom, his office and my studio are works-in-progress but you can bet that the color change up will be continued.  Do you have a favorite object that may provide inspiration for your next re-decoration project?  Do you see a color trend among the objects you have collected over the years?  If you were to cull your "things" what would the connecting thread be between the items you keep?

Let me know.

Color FULLY yours,
Cindy