Step 2. Knowing that I was going to use purple and orange as my main colors, I applied multiple harmonic colors for the next layer of paint that served as my under painting. I am using acrylic paints for this layer.
Orange and Purple Color Psychology
When I designed the background and colors for my blog, I wanted to pick a color combination that would reflect my writing or my views. I decided upon orange and purple. This combination of colors is not often seen in public, but a simple Google search can show you several examples, such as a beautiful sunset or a bouquet of flowers. Who knew that an overlooked combination of red, blue, and yellow could mesh well with each other?
My first pick was orange which happened to be my favorite fruit and color. I knew I had to include this color in my blog design. Orange is often seen in advertising, where its attention grabbing quality has put to use in famous logos like Amazon, Boost Mobile and Harley-Davidson. That’s when I knew orange would be perfect. Additionally this color can convey feelings of warmth, joy, and confidence. As a night owl, I have experienced my fair share of sunsets where I learned to appreciate the other color I picked for my blog, purple.
Purple is thought to represent ideas of mystery, independence, and royalty. My early days in theatre also influenced my choice in deciding to include purple. That’s because I did some stage work in building sets and during that time I was full of creative energy. I was under a director with a clear vision, and even though we didn’t see eye to eye, I admired that he was determined to bring his vision to life even with something mundane such as the set pieces. When deciding on what colors to paint the set, he settled on purple, much to the curiosity of my cast mates. He explained that purple symbolizes royalty and that he wanted the house to display the opulence and wealth of the family. At the time this flew over my head, but it is not unusual for artists to to utilize colors to bring about meaning and traits to the story. Colloquially, this idea can be seen when your English teacher says things like “The curtains being blue means the author was depressed”, they used color to convey meaning, rather than simply words. For that reason, I carefully consider how each color may influence people.
Both purple and orange had a positive influence on my life while similar colors such as blue and red have given me feelings of empowerment. It’s important to look up the meaning for these colors and their psychology because you may need to utilize them in your art piece, your company logo, or when someone asks you what your favorite color is and why. Make sure to look at all kinds of perspectives when selecting a color as you may stumble upon an article that says your favorite color won’t work for your project. However, as I learned earlier, it’s important to follow through with your vision regardless of other’s opinions which is quite fitting for a blog steeped in the independence of purple and the confidence of orange.
When You Mix Purple and Orange, What Happens?
What happens when you mix purple and orange? Or perhaps, I should first ask the question, “Do you ever mix purple and orange?” These are two secondary colors that many painters may not think about mixing together. I happen to love this combination, because of the variety of browns that can result with this mixture. And, I confess, purple happens to be one of my favorite colors as a hue and it is a good color to use in many mixtures.
My painting example to help answer this question is a pet portrait I completed recently of my beloved dog Kyla. She was a mixture of a Norwegian Elkhound and a German Shepherd. This gave her lots of lovely tans, browns, rusts, orange colors. When out walking, people would often stop asking to pet her or they would admire how pretty she was.
Step 1: I started with an old abstract painting that wasn’t inspiring me. It had been sitting around the studio for many months and I decided it was time to give it new life.
Step 2. Knowing that I was going to use purple and orange as my main colors, I applied multiple harmonic colors for the next layer of paint that served as my under painting. I am using acrylic paints for this layer.
Step 3. Using a couple of photo references, I drew in the outline of Kyla with white and purple pastel.
Step 4. I then used my purples to paint in the dark shapes of her portrait.
Step 5. Switching to water soluble oils, oranges were then applied over the dark purples to create rich browns. They were also applied in the lighter areas. The colors are more intense (saturated) at this stage because I know that I can always dull a color, whereas it is much more difficult to brighten a dull color later on in the process. Her eyes, nose, mouth, tags and tongue are blocked in during this step.
Step 6. I continue to work the lights and darks always making sure that I mix purple and orange either by laying one on top of the other or mixing them on my palette. The details of her eyes, ears, mouth, etc., are developed further. I never use black…only a dark purple.
Notice, that I have chosen to keep her tongue darker and more purple than is in reality. If I painted it as pink as it normally is, then that is the first element of the portrait that you would notice. Instead, I wanted you, the viewer, to notice her eyes and her overall joyous spirit. The values surrounding her tongue are also similar. Again, this technique was employed to not bring attention to it. I believe that the colors I chose contributed to the feeling I wanted to convey.
Finished Portrait. “Sweet Kyla,” 20×16 mixed media on canvas. As you can see, I have dulled down the intense oranges using thin layers of purple. The back lighting was also enhanced. Unfortunately these digital images do not convey the richness of the browns that were created as a result of mixing purples with oranges. The colors are a whole lot more interesting then if I had used burnt umber, sepia or raw umber.
When might you mix purple and orange? I use it often in my abstract paintings, as well as when I have painted the centers of sunflowers, the red rocks of the Southwest and pumpkins. Did you know that when you mix two secondaries, they are called tertiaries? Learn more about the importance of understanding tertiary mixtures in my post “What is the Correct Definition of Tertiary Colors?”
On a more personal note, Kyla was my first dog. She entered our lives 7 years ago and left this earthly world last week. The joy and unconditional love that she gave us was beyond any expectation we had. We also learned the lessons of: living in the moment, play is essential and patience is….. Kyla was my “Velcro” dog who spent many patient hours with me in the studio. She will be sorely missed.
Over the years, I have completed several pet portraits for loving pet owners. You can find more information about my process at: Commission a Painting.
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What does yellow and orange make?
When light hits something, it scattered in every direction. This is why you see things in a rainbow of colors. When you mix two colors together, they create a new color.
In the same way, when you mix yellow and orange together, they create yellow and orange. This is because the light mix is scattered in every direction and the two colors create a new color.
The name of the person who made purple is not known, but they are most likely a woman.
Orange and red together make a color called “mixed together.” Mixed together, they make a color called “orange.”
The color orange is made up of the two colors green and red. Green is the color of the leaves and the bark of trees, while red is the color of the fruit.
The colors of an orange and blue are typically different shades of yellow and blue. The colors are often confused because they are two different types of fruit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKxQ6xWnQFM
Orange purple is a color that is typically derived from a mixture of red and orange. It can be created by mixing two colors together to create a new color. This can be done by using a color wheel or by using a mix of colors that have the same hue.
