The Painter's Keys Community For Artists The Painter's Keys, a book by Robert Genn

Search the Painter's Keys:

Search for an author:

To Subscribe: enter your email address and click "Go"

Absolutely free, no strings. Cancel at any time. You'll get the valuable twice-weekly letter only.

Your email address will not be lent, sold or put on any spam or other nasty list. Guaranteed.

Robert's worldwide gift that artists love to get.
Bob’s Best

Mastering colour, learning to paint, finding out how successful artists run their lives, or setting up an artist’s website--these are Robert Genn’s top picks of the best currently available DVDs and Downloads. They have been studied and evaluated by Robert and have received his unsolicited “Seal of Approval.” Check out the selection here.

Resource of Art Quotations

For researchers or artists just looking for inspiration, this is the world's largest collection of art quotes and sayings--online or in a book. It's entirely the work of volunteer subscribers and others. New art quotes are going in daily. Our staff will make all your entries searchable by author and subject. One word of caution--don't try to print it all out--you will run out of ink if you do.

Subscribe to the Free Twice-Weekly Letter: See our Welcome Letter about subscription benefits and an outline of the features of this website.

Receive daily art quotes through Twitter

Follow us on Twitter to receive daily inspirational art quotes as well as lots of other great info for artists.


«Complaining Art Quotes

·previous quote category·

Search for another category:

Complexity Art Quotes»

·next quote category·

Complementaries Art Quotes

17 art quotes about Complementaries | Submit more Complementaries art quotes

When you look at a color, your eye actually sees its complementary as a 'shadow' right next to it - although you're not aware of this. (Anonymous)

Generally I will tone the canvas with a complement of the primary color found in the scene. (Kenn Backhaus)

If you want a specific colour to really stand out, put its complementary colour down first. (Gail Boyle)

An artist finds his happiest combination in a play of complementary colors. They are direct contrasts yet do not jar; they awaken the beholder, but do not disturb him. (Charles Burchfield)

The charm of the season – and the day in particular – is to be found in the union of the two complementaries blue and orange. (Charles Burchfield)

All colors are the friends of their neighbors and the lovers of their opposites. (Marc Chagall)

Poetry and painting continue to be companions: they cast their shadow and light, their silences and tones, at the edges of each other. (Pierre Coupey)

I am always hoping to make a discovery here, to express the feelings of two lovers by a marriage of two complementary colors, their minglings and their oppositions, the mysterious vibrations of kindred tones. (Vincent van Gogh)

There are colors which cause each other to shine brilliantly, which form a couple which complete each other like man and woman. (Vincent van Gogh)

Laying complements next to each other makes them scintillating, but mixing them produces a 'muddy' rendering of each color. The mud is good stuff... (Simmie Knox)

I was becoming more and more dissatisfied with the systems of modelling... in tones that were arbitrary... and became much interested in the... effect of complementary colours. (John La Farge)

Put a colour upon a canvas – it not only colours with that colour the part of the canvas to which the colour has been applied, but it also colours the surrounding space with the complementary. (Henri Matisse)

Put a colour upon a canvas - it not only colours with that colour the part of the canvas to which the colour has been applied, but it also colours the surrounding space with the complementary. (Henri Matisse)

The complementary colours that occur when you look into the light are exciting. It's a dance! (Grace Paleg)

Words and pictures are yin and yang. Married, they produce a progeny more interesting than either parent. (Dr. Seuss)

History is the complement of poetry. (James Stephens, author)

Complementary hues lose their color identity when mixed in optically equal combination. I try to select one color which is light in value and another which can go dark if I need it to. (Zoltan Szabo)


«Complaining Art Quotes

·previous quote category·

Search for another category:

Complexity Art Quotes»

·next quote category·



back to Category Index

Editor: Robert Genn

Assistant Editor: Shawn Jackson

Associate Editors:

Scott Altman, Bonnie Austin, Karen Austin, Michele Becker, Joe Blodgett, Norman Brown, Alyce Bryson, Leanne Cadden, Penny Duane, Max Elliot, Derek Franklin, Sara Genn, Mardy Grothe, Harry Hartley, Sue Holland, Sue Legault, Tammy McManus, Eric Mewhinney, Bruce Miller, Laura Parrish, Andrea Pratt, Dan Roberts, Shirley Rochon, Gilbert Roy, John Sherlock, Victor Wong,
And many others who have so far contributed one quote or a few. Please join us and add more at

World's largest resource of art quotes, art sayings, creativity quotes,
painting quotes, famous art quotes, inspirational art quotes.

Robert's worldwide gift that artists love to get.

Absolutely free, no strings. Cancel at any time.
You'll get the valuable twice-weekly letter only.
Your email address will not be lent, sold or put
on any spam or other nasty list. Guaranteed.
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE FREE

Last modified: May 20, 2013