Venetian Plaster - Custom Mantels - Decorative Wall Finishes

Colour in Art

by Rebecca
http://www.clickart-gallery.com

If you haven't just fallen in love and bought a work of art, or purchased it for investment, then you may want to choose a piece of art for a particular location.

Maybe you've got a wall in your home or office you feel needs a lift. When buying a work for a purpose, consider the size, colour and composition of the work. Of course, it goes without saying that you should *like* what you decide to buy, after all, you will be living with it for a long time!

The size of the space has an impact on your chosen piece of art. For example, a big office foyer would suit a large work that could dwarf your living room. If you decide to select more than one work to hang together, create a common theme. For example, African wildlife, or still life oils. Try framing them similarly for continuity. For more information on hanging groups of works, see the article at http://www.clickart-gallery.com/display.asp.

Now we'll look the impact of colour on a space and your emotional reactions. Different cultures attach different colour meanings, so this article will assume western culture.

You can change the look of an artwork with the mat (the coloured board around the painting) colour and the frame. This can also accent different colours in the artwork itself. By changing the mats and frames, you can balance a strong colour with your existing decor.

Obviously paintings use many colours in the composition, but some works, such as landscapes, are often dominantly green or brown, seascapes blue and so on.

Red is an exciting colour that will make your pulse race. It's associated with passion. It's warm and vital but needs space. A red work of art should be placed in a large, light coloured area, or on a very dark wall to accent it's presence.

Mixing red with varying amounts of white creates pink. It's more subdued than pink and is regarded as relaxing and romantic. Often used with purples, pinks can be used in smaller spaces to create romance and intimacy, such as a bedroom. They would look best on a white, lilac or lavender wall.

Blue reminds you of infinite space like the sky. It's a cool colour so can seem cold, but navy tones (blue mixed with black) are safe, secure and dependable. Intense or dark blues would look best in a larger space, contrasted against lemon, white or greens. A strong blue can make beige look muddy. Dark blues need light spaces, as they will take too much light from around them.

Yellow is a bright colour that makes people feel happy. Yellows are good for anywhere you want to add brightness and fun. You can place a yellow work on almost any other colour however, like blue, intense yellow can make beige look muddy.

Greens are common in landscapes, so they bring the outside in. They are calming and relaxing and often include blues and yellows (combining blue and yellow creates green). This colour you can use almost anywhere to give a feeling of tranquillity.

Purple is rich, warm, luxurious and gives a feeling of dependability. Light purples, such as lilac and lavender can be placed in smaller areas on most backgrounds, but darker purples such as plum shouldn't be placed on a dark wall and may look out of place on blues.

Orange is bright, happy and stimulating. It's a learning colour so it can be used in rooms with high activity, such as kids or family rooms. Orange based artworks may look psychedelic on walls painted in blues or purples.

Black and white are stark and can make a space feel sterile, so need to be used carefully. They are good to use when you want only to focus on the subject of the artwork and not introduce more colour, such as a black and white print.

This article courtesy of www.artbystar.com. You may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.

Picasso Plastering and Design - specializing in venetian plaster and faux finishing Picasso Plastering and Design - specializing in venetian plaster and faux finishing