Color - A Weekend of musings....

I've spent the whole weekend pondering how much color is too much to be accepted by those who stitch.  Should I worry about being popular or just pursue great "art"?  Perhaps, it's better to be conservative rather than daring?

As I've written before, I've Craved color this year. Rich, vibrant hues.  Lots of contrast.  Plenty of Pop.  Like Chihuly glass:

(Source)

So when I sat down to design a needlework submission piece, I began to ponder -- Can I design too much color into Needle Art?  Should I be a good designer and follow the color "rules"?  Or a rebel and throw caution to the wind?

I thought I'd use today's post to explore this topic a bit and perhaps give you some visual candy to help you ponder what you like most, too.

Is it the number of colors within the compistion that make a design?  Perhaps keeping it simple with a black background with a highly saturated design color (for this study - red) is best...

 How about a monochromatic, two tone design?

Ok, how about an explosion of multiple colors that are highly saturated? 5 colors...

That's Chihuly-like but, is it good?  Will it be better if the colors are "lighter"?

How about "darker"?

Perhaps the design is better with using highly a tinted colorway? (a tint is created by adding white to the colors)?  5 colors...

Rather, make the colors shades?  (Shades are created by adding black to the color). 5 colors...

Take away the black background and just use primary colors (5 colors):

Lastly, what about using the four primary colors on the colorwheel (red, blue, yellow, and green) plus their shade?  8 colors - Seems very busy...

Do any of these color-ways resonate with you? Which do you prefer?

Christa, Lilystitch
www.lilystitch.blogspot.com and www.lilystitch.com