Saturday, March 17, 2012

Complementary Colors Workshop


The Quilter’s Studio Color Study Group           March 17, 2012
Complementary color schemes:                                                                
·         Exciting scheme because of high contrast in color
·         2 colors opposite each other on color wheel, Complements enhance each other.
·         6 pairs of complements:  red/green, yellow/violet, blue/orange, red-violet/yellow green, yellow-orange/blue-violet and red-orange/blue-green
·         Color contrast is strong, so value contrast is less important in providing definition of the elements of your design
·         For balance, one of the colors is usually dominant, in amount and/or intensity
·         Add neutrals and/or a range of color intensity, value, pattern or textural contrasts for variety
·         When using pure hues, keep the classic ratios in mind
o    ¼ Yellow   to  ¾ Violet  (same for yellow-orange/blue violet)
o    2/3 Blue to 1/3 Orange (same for blue-green/red orange)
o    ½ Red to ½ Green (same for red violet/yellow green)
·         2 complementary colors mixed together make brown or gray
·         Complementary colors are also opposites in temperature– warm and cool are in each complementary pair.

  Homework for next class –April 21st 
Reading
·         A Look at Each Color – pages 24 to 49
·         Contrast of Hue – page 103
·         Cold/Warm Contrast – page 105
·         Complementary Contrast – page 106

Projects
·         Workshop 3  pages 154-161 – Complementary : Use 2 colors opposite from each other on the color wheel
·         Optional – Play with your Color Journal


Example Quilts

Red-Violet & Yellow Green

Blue Green & Red-Orange


Monochromatic Project Results

Some really great results of the Monochromatic color scheme study...good job every one of you!
Donna's Orange

Fanja's Yellow-Green


Lynn's Blue


Maureen's Blue


Melanie's Blue


Pam's Yellow


Ruby's Blue-Green
Judy's Red-Orange


Sharon's Red Violet

Judy's Red-Violet