Painting of the Week

Painting of the Week – Between Piers

Between Piers by Fargo Artist Ellen Jean Diederich

Varying a dominant color will make a painting glow!

It’s fun to walk along the Wharf in San Francisco, California. It is lined with restaurants and the smell of Clam Chowder, Sour dough bread and fresh sea air will add to your experience. Live human statues and other entertaining characters are also displaying their talents. It is a ‘must see’ if you are a touring the city. I truly enjoyed painting this view of the fishing boats.

In “Between Piers”,  I exaggerated the piers, connecting them to the edge of the paper creating geometric patterns in the background. A grid was added to carry the geometric patterning all the way to the water. This piece comes alive with variations of its dominant color blue. Blues range from light to dark, bright to dull, harmonize with their neighbor’s violet and green and last brought out with the compliment orange. You pretty much get the whole color wheel in this painting even thought a dominant color was chosen. When you choose a specific color palette, you will discover infinite new ways to explore color.

Sign up today for my Joy of Color Red Workshop today! The workshop will be held May 20th-23rd …just in time to get set for painting this summer. Classes are from 9:00am – 3:30pm. You can register online or email me at [email protected] for registration and more information. If you aren’t interested in painting a red dominant painting, you can do the same exercises in another color. Red includes, Magenta, Burgundy, Pink, Red violet, Red orange, Sienna, and anything with red in it. I am focusing on one color so we learn more about manipulating a color rather than confusing it with all colors. Best of all you can use these color theories on any color. Any level painter can take this class. Learn color from me because I LOVE it.

If you really want a beginner course or a watercolor review, it’s not too early to sign up for my Beginning Watercolor Class July 23-26. Both classes are held at the Fargo Holiday Inn, Fargo.