CLASS FIVE

Breaking The Rules!

“Learn the rules like the pros so you can break them like an artist.”
— Pablo Picasso

Possibly the one “Rule” that always holds true in Color Theory is:

ALL RULES CAN BE BROKEN! YIPPEEE!

TIME FOR AN EXCITING JOURNEY FULL OF POSSIBILITIES!

You have successfully navigated some tricky twists and turns on this Color Journey and now it’s time to reward all of that hard work with some irreverence!  

Let’s Break Some Rules!

First off, let’s look at just a few of the “Rules” that we have learned in this Session and OWN YOUR COLORS: PART ONE:

VALUES:

  • Darks come forward and Lights recede (Generally holds true in LANDSCAPE work)

  • Lights come forward and Darks recede (Generally holds true in PORTRAIT work)

INTENSITY:

  • Brights come forward and Dull (Neutral) colors recede

TEMPERATURE:

  • Warms come forward and Cools recede

  • Warm Light creates Cool Shadows and Cool Light creates Warm Shadows

Now that you know “The Law of Relativity” for color – All Color is relative to the colors that surround it – you can really start to break some rules. Below is a gallery of images of “Rule Breaking Paintings.” See if you can start to identify which rules are broken. Then watch my video where I explain some these ”Broken Rules.”

“RULE BREAKING” PAINTING EXAMPLES

Click on any image to view larger.

 

SEE MORE WORK FROM “RULE-BREAKING” ARTISTS:

 

DEMONSTRATION

Rule Breaking Paintings

Please Note: Each video in this course has its own unique password.

  • VIDEO PASSWORD: Picasso

  • VIDEO LENGTH: 6 minutes

There are lots of reasons why we may want to break the “Rules.” Just plain fun is often the simple reason. Testing ourselves, trying something different, surprising ourselves AND the viewer to name a few more. Breaking a rule can also draw attention to that area. Surprising color or a compositional tension point are usually attention grabbers, and you can use these concepts to specifically manipulate the viewer. Rule breaking often makes a painting more interesting and keeps the viewer engaged with the visual and emotional experience of your work.

PROJECT “RULE BREAKING”

Have fun choosing any of these concepts to “Break the Rules.” Obviously, multiple rules can be broken in one painting too. Create as many paintings as you would like with these ideas. Find paintings that break the rules and copy their concepts. Now that you know the “Rules” you have permission to break them! From me AND Picasso!