No. 10 by Mark Rothko, Tin Lizzie Green by Jules Olitski

I remember the first time as a young girl that I stood in front of a Rothko painting. The sheer size and the aliveness of the colors stunned me. All these years later, he is still one of my favorite painters. Color field painting and the fashion trend of color blocking, is still going strong. This morning the girls and I were painting and talking about space and color. I showed them some of Rothko’s paintings and this great one by Jules Olitski. We decided to give them a try.

Having very young kids paint blocks of color is more difficult than you think. In order to aid them along we used thin gaffers tape to create a few sections where they would paint with one color and saturate the space. We used watercolors, our favorite quick clean up medium. They chose each of their colors and went to work. After painting they pulled off the tape. The paintings turned out great and the girls like the process.

 

Whether it’s in fashion, art or home decor, here are a few tips for successful color blocking.

• Try to limit the look to two or three colors. Any more than that can be overwhelming.

• Complementary colors and colors in the same family tend to work best together. Colors like aqua with cobalt or pink with orange.

• For a bold take on the trend, couple red and green, purple and yellow, or blue and orange. Emphasizing a favorite feature with an attention-grabbing bright makes it stand out. To temper it, you can mix in a pastel or anchor the look with neutrals.

• Add just one or two bold colors to your room. Simple features such as a rug, trio of pillows, bright lamp or a lively color blocked painting will make your room look fresh and striking, bringing it to life.

Thursday, May 17th, 2012. Posted in art.

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