Seeing Complementary Colors
from Eric Jacobsen
One of the most powerful tools in an artist’s arsenal is the use of complementary colors—pairs of colors that enhance and intensify each other when placed together. Whether you're painting landscapes, still lifes, or abstract compositions, understanding and applying this principle can transform the way you see and depict the world around you.
When you stand in front of a scene—be it a vast landscape, a cityscape, or even a small garden—pause for a moment and take in the dominant color. What hue jumps out at you? Is it a golden yellow from autumn leaves, a deep blue in a mountain shadow, or the fresh green of spring foliage?
Great painters, like Fedor Zakharov, masterfully observe and amplify these natural color themes. If a landscape is dominated by a yellow-green palette, for example, they find ways to introduce purples into the scene to create balance and vibrancy.
In Sednev Town by Fedor Zakharov
Exercise: Finding Complements in Nature
Identify the dominant color in a scene.
Look for its complementary counterpart—if the landscape is predominantly green, seek out red tones in flowers, bricks, or distant tree trunks.
Enhance those colors in your painting, either by emphasizing what you see or by subtly introducing complementary tones to create harmony.
Unlike landscapes, where you must work with the colors nature provides, still life painting allows you to deliberately arrange objects for a desired color effect. Sergei Bongart, for example, used strong yellow flowers paired with a purple-patterned tablecloth, reinforcing the complementary relationship between these hues.
Attributed to Sergei Bongart by one of his students Sunny Apinchapong
If you're setting up a still life, consider:
Choosing objects with complementary colors (e.g., orange pumpkins on a blue cloth).
Adjusting the background or lighting to enhance color interactions.
Using small accents of complementary colors to create visual interest.
One of the challenges of painting landscapes is translating the overwhelming array of colors into a harmonious composition. Chauncey Ryder, a lesser-known but brilliant New England painter, often simplified his scenes by focusing on strong complementary color relationships—such as bold oranges against deep blues.
Landscape with Hills by Chauncey Foster Ryder
Distill the scene into a color theme: Ask yourself, "Is this a blue-orange scene? A red-green scene?"
Push the colors when necessary: If a tree is a dull yellow, consider shifting it toward a warmer orange to strengthen the complementary relationship with the sky.
Limit your palette: Using a small set of primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) forces you to mix secondaries, leading to greater color harmony.
A simple way to ensure color harmony is to work with a limited palette—one yellow, one red, one blue, and white. By mixing your own oranges, purples, and greens rather than using pre-mixed tube colors, you create natural relationships between hues.
Fall Maples by Eric Jacobsen
How to Apply This:
Mix complementary colors from your primaries: For example, mix your yellow and red to create a custom orange.
Compare colors in the scene: If you see a strong yellow field, look for purples in the shadows or distant trees.
Avoid overloading your palette: Too many colors can lead to disharmony, much like playing every note on a piano at once.
The next time you're out painting from life, take a moment to observe. What colors dominate? What can you introduce or emphasize to enhance the natural balance? Whether working from nature or setting up a still life, complementary colors will help you create vibrant, visually engaging paintings.
Join Eric’s mentorship or video series to learn how to simplify shapes, create dynamic brushwork, and bring energy to your paintings. Perfect for artists looking to loosen up and paint with confidence!