When you can't do art, you can still learn about it!

It's 90 degrees F. and a perfect day to lounge by the pool!  To get over the guilt of not painting, I brought library books on art!  Here is one I am enjoying:

Splash 5, Best of Watercolor - The Glory of Color, Rachel Rubin Wolf, 1998 by North Light Books.

I love ALL the Spash books.  I think they publish one every year, with submissions from watercolor and watermedia artists.  The theme may change from year to year.  It is inspiration and I learn something from the short excerpts from the artists.

The page I am showing here is artwork done by by Betty Ganley.  I think I can put down what I learned from her in my  own words, without infringing copyright laws.  Basically she is saying that when you paint with complementary colors, like red and green, you should make one color the more dominant one throughout the painting.  So, she is made red her dominant color.  Additionally, she brought "harmony" into her painting by putting a little green into the red areas for "darker reds" or toned down reds; and she put a little red into her green areas to make some of her greens darker or toned down.

Even though this is a watercolor book, and I am pursuing pastel as a medium, I still learned from this.  In my Southwest canyon paintings, there are red or pinkish rocks, and greens in the plant life.  It is good for me to remember to make one more dominant than the other.

I am learning so much while getting a tan!!!!!  I love multi-tasking!