Color Question

Oh tried to get an image to post ...

Grayed out palettes are very sophisticated, Val.
You go girl!

I love them just the way they are!

Hi, Val,

They're all too muted for my taste -- which should mean absolutely nothing to you. ;-) After all, I'm #CrazyForColor!

Having said that, I think boosting them even a level or two would be a good thing. They're not ugly -- but are a bit drab. Again, imho.

Val, I love them all. Don't change any colors. After all, you have included in your series just about every color scheme. Very contemporary and beautiful pieces Val.

Good balance and depths. Colors are very harmonious. I like it!

They are lovely Val !

Subtle & subdued. Very peaceful. Their calming presence would be great for a Dr.'s office.

Thank you all so much...Sometimes it's hard to look at your own stuff objectively. I am so used to working with brighter colors that such subdue palettes is a challenge.

Wendy I thought they might be boring too! But then I live in a crayon box.

Just for point of reference this was the original piece.

My favorite for tones and hues is

though the white seems stark.
That said, I'm a huge fan of your work and I do like all of them. The one you posted early on, Mountain Meadow Morning, is probably my least favorite for palette I think because the golds and browns remind me of army and hunting and camouflage and I'm not into any of those. It seems an almost masculine palette for a subject and composition that is not. That said, maybe this is a good thing. Someone else said these would be good in a doctor's waiting room - or maybe any professional space like that.
Not a critique, just some thoughts.

Nikolyn...lol that one is rather army in color and I agree with the white think it has got to go. For me working with these grayed colors is challenging...for some reason I can remember my mom saying something about me always turning my paints to mud...when was that? maybe when I was 4?

I think they'll be the next hottest thing on the market. Everything is so colorful and I think they are soft, subtle and gorgeous. I can see these masterpieces in modern homes and businesses.

Thank you Lisa...I sure would like that :)

Val,
As much as I love color, I do like the muted pieces. And remember that not everyone is into vibrant hues. I think the fact that you have both choices for buyers is a big plus.
You already know I'm a big fan of yours!
Kathy

Much prefer the muted over the original. Cool style. :)

These two are my favorites. I really like the shades of purple in the first one and I love the cattails for both their color and the composition.

Kathy ...it is true about color, thank you....sometimes I forget to think about what the customer might want. I am getting ready to paint and do a bit of redecorating and just can't decide what colors I really want to live with.

John thank you...on some level I do too.

Kathleen thank you...the cattails was the piece that got me started with the grayed hues.

Val, the palette you used in Morning Moon is very soothing. I can see that piece (or that palette) creating a restful space in a home.

It is so hard to decide on palettes you want to live with. I was thinking of muted peach....then I think green would be nice and blues are a favorite... I have a very small house and want to carry the same colors throughout...just mix them up slightly.
OMG just looked at the clock got to go to bed.

I really like the grey at the top. I think it looks very nice I would leave it just the way it is. It looks very sophisticated, and seems really put together that way. with the way it's designed I think the brighter colors make it look confusing, it's harder to read that way..

I like 'em.

I would not have thought of "muted", without you mentioning it.

it has a sedate chocolate theme, i'd say just to leave them, you never know what experiment will lead to sales. pastel, strong color, earthtones (like these), and so on. i'd even try a garish combo of really strong, eye vomit colors.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Shawn...I see what you mean by harder to read...

Robert...good point, I guess muted really only applies because of my previous color choices

Mike...I like that...a chocolate theme! I will leave them and maybe do more, I've pretty much stopped deleting work and if there is one thing I have learned by being here is you never know what will sell.

Val,
I'm gonna share my first gallery experience with you. You'll get the point. When I first moved to Arizona, I was so taken by the power of the Native American Kachina dolls...they carried much power, were in primary colors, and primitive style, dressed in manificent costumes...the beads and feathers were heavenly. I painted my version of them, in contemporary colors ( in those days the southwest color palette was peach, turquoise, rose and terra cotta.) and style.
I applied to the biggest gallery system in the southwest and the owner paid me a visit. He loved them...had never seen anything quite like them and wanted them..on one condition and he risked insulting me by even laying it out.....He wanted me to lose the bright colors...to tone the down, gray them out...it made them so much more appealing and sophisticated.
He was right and he sold them all.

i love them. they look wonderful and give people more options to find something fitting for their decor. i love your pictures, all of them, the bright ones and the muted ones, but for my personal decor style i would choose a muted one. as a matter of fact, i am eyeing "morning moon" with great interest.

edit: and there you go, bought the print. i realize "morning moon" is the one that you already had that made you think of this series but it slipped my attention. thanks for this thread and good luck! :)

Val,

I did a semester of architecture. My design class lesson number one
was to fill in a floor plan with color. So I very innocently started
to fill in bright colors into the kitchen square, a different bright
color for the bedroom square etc.....

I turned it in. I am not allowed to repeat what the prof said anywhere
on this planet. I got an F. I just was not thinking. I did not read the book etc.
I just filled in some colors.

Like others are saying muted, using warm or cool colors very purposefully.

Dave

@Menega -- That's awesome!

@Val -- Congratulations on your sale, and the kudos in this thread! I don't mind being the minority opinion, especially when it's turning out so well for you! :-)

I like the softened color palette. Each of these pieces have a very calm tranquil feel to them. Well done.
Neva

Personally, I lean toward muted color schemes in my own home. They are pleasing and soothing. I know that color sells but I think that the muted will also. Beautiful Val!

I love vibrant colours but your muted pieces are beautiful. I think there is a lesson for me here. Thanks.

Val these new colors that are softer are excellent. Two thumbs up, way up.

When I first looked at them I thought not what I would like, the more I look at them the more they grow on me, and I think sometimes that's what art is supposed to do grow on people, so I like them.

Terry
tlmair.com

I actually really like both sets of colorways.