How To Choose A Background Color For A Portrait

During my many years of teaching, I have often heard students enquire, "What background colour do I cull for my painting?" They have spent valuable time painting a subject or portrait and now they need a background.

As a follow-up to my last weblog post where I wrote "three Steps to Painting a Subject area Circular," I idea I would take this aforementioned apple and play around with a few groundwork color options.

There are many color strategies to consider in answering the initial question. I of my favorites is to choose an analogous color of the subject area. In this case, the analogous colors to crimson are either purple or orange. I chose the purple. Detect, however, that this majestic is not of high intensity. It has been de-saturated, which makes the more intense crimson apple pop out.

A 2d pick would exist to mix the complementary color, which is green. Again, the light-green has been dulled for this color background. According to Chevreul's Laws of Colour, the de-saturated color opposite of the featured subject volition make it stand up out the well-nigh. I also added some warm greens within the cooler dull dark-green colors to add a picayune interest.A third option, could exist to pigment a monochromatic groundwork.

Detect how each of these conveys a unlike mood and/or message. There is no right or wrong answer to choosing the color background. Still, it is of import to think about because the groundwork does impact the subject information technology surrounds.

Some artists may find the monochromatic appealing because it is calming. It is likewise a good strategy if you don't desire the bailiwick to pop. Instead you may desire it to disappear into the background.

In the situation where you lot take multiple colors, such as a bouquet of flowers, and no one color dominates, the choice of background color volition influence the upshot. For example, if you have a few yellow flowers in the bouquet and you choose its reverse of imperial for the background, they volition popular out more than than and red or blue flowers y'all may have.

For fun, I thought you might be interested in seeing the different values in each of these studies. Observe that the values are non dissimilar in the light-green and purple backgrounds and the value is slightly lighter with the monochromatic. I show these as reminder that it can be helpful to remove all color in a photograph of your work then that you tin come across the values. This is like shooting fish in a barrel to do in this day of smart phones.

I plant it worth the investment to play around with a few options. Several years ago, I painted colored boxes to explore different groundwork colors. Which ones appeal to you and why?

It does come down to which i you prefer. What other color schemes or strategies could be used in choosing a background color? Well-nigh of mine are de-saturated colors, what might happen if the background colors were more intense? Values also play a role in making in impact. Experiment with a simple object to try out some variations. Let me know what yous find.

If you institute this data helpful and interesting, delight share it with others.

Colorfully and gratefully yours,

Carol