Jane Davies colour class, Lesson #4

Here are the three 8 x 10 collages I produced for Lesson 4 of Jane Davies' on-line class, Unlocking the Secrets of Colour. I found this challenging, not because the colour theory is new to me, but because of the difficulty of making a satisfying composition.

Monochromatic collage

Using just one colour with its tints and shades is called a monochromatic colour scheme. (I find myself calling it monogamous. Monotonous?) The example above used various reds with white added. After completing the collage I went over the background with a transparent white, because most of my reds were middle-value, not many darks or lights, and everything was blending together.

Analogous collage

An analogous colour scheme uses two or more colours next to each other on the colour wheel. In this case, I worked with green-blue-violet, plus their tints and shades. Again, I used transparent white to lighten the background, to distinguish foreground from background. The idea with the composition was to have a large, a medium and two small shapes, all converging, but I don't think it was particularly successful. A little tweaking is definitely in order.

Complementary collage

Finally, this complementary colour scheme uses two colours opposite each other on the colour wheel, in this case yellow-green and red-violet, with their tints and shades. I find complementary schemes have a lot of energy. Usually it is best to have one colour dominant.

The collage papers came from old magazines. I spent far more time on these exercises than the assignment warranted, but I just tell myself that learning more about composition is time well-spent. I hope there will be some carry-over to my attempts at working in a more abstract format with fibre.