Pleasing Dischord

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Sincere
Acrylic on 8" x 10" canvas, 2006

This is one of a bunch of new paintings I'm working on, all on 8" x 10" canvas boards. I'd like to take this style to a larger size, but in the meantime, it's fun to play with various color combos and compositions.

The colors in this piece have an odd sort of communication with one another. The lavender/pink seems like a strange match for the earthy browns and greens in the underpainting. I'm searching for something with color relationships and I'm not quite there yet, but I'm on my way. It's hard to describe what I'm looking for - I don't want perfect harmony in the way you'd expect. For example, if I put a certain blue on my palette, there are a handful of other colors that come to mind that "go" with that blue. I want to push those colors out of the way, and dig a little deeper, finding slightly off matches that will create a pleasing dischord. This goes for composing forms too - I'm trying to push my boundaries a little more instead of painting on autopilot.

It's all just an effort to get to know paint more. I know it has infinite capabilities and in my tiny little life I'll only discover a handful of the whole, but still I want to learn ALL I CAN while I can. It's an obsession sometimes, I can get envious or frustrated, but it's ultimately a great love affair with a soul mate that I feel so thankful to have been granted. Love you, paint. ;)