Complementary Pairs 1 - Blue and Orange

Complementary Pairs 1 - Blue and Orange
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Colored pencil on paper, 6.5" x 10"
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Blue and orange are complementary colors. Like the other two primary and secondary complementary pairs (red/green and yellow/violet), these two colors show high contrast against each other, yet when blended together they yield a neutral tone.

For this drawing I chose a blue mug, its glaze is almost a pure ultramarine blue, and a plate of orange sections, with the sun shining through the fruit to give luminous orange tones. I used only four different colors of orange pencils and two different colors of blue pencils on white paper.

The dark brownish tones in the reflections in the mug came from darker blue and orange colors, and the shadows on the fruit and under the plate are a lighter tone from the lighter blue and orange colors they were blended with.

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