Jessica Crabtree

“Drawing is like an expressive gesture with the advantage of permanence.” (Henri Matisse)

Courtesy of National Geographic.

“A fanatic is always the fellow that is on the opposite side.”

“No nation in the history of the world was ever sitting as pretty. If we want anything, all we have to do is go and buy it on credit. So that leaves us without any economic problems whatsoever, except perhaps some day to have to pay for them.”

“Live your life so that whenever you lose, you’re ahead.”

“A remark generally hurts in proportion to its truth.”

“Don’t waste too much pity on poor old China; she will be here when some strange race of people will be excavating some of our skyscrapers and wondering what tombs they were.”

“That’s the trouble with our charities, we are always saving somebody away off, when the fellow next to us ain’t eating.”

“You can’t pick up a paper without seeing where the Marines were landed to keep some nation from shooting each other, and if necessary we shoot them to keep them from shooting each other.”

“Hawaii is the only place I know of where they lay flowers on you while you are alive.”

“History ain’t what it is; it’s what some writer wanted it to be.”

“The more ignorant you are, the quicker you fight.”

“Every time the government moved the Indians, they gave them the same treaty: ‘You shall have this land as long as the grass grows and the water flows.’ But finally they settled the whole Indian problem. They put the Indians on land where the grass won’t grow and the water won’t flow!”

“There are only a few original jokes, and most of them are in Congress.”

“You know, horses are smarter than people. You never heard of a horse going broke betting on people.”

Color Harmony

Because of its wave properties, light shares some interesting features with sound. For instance, colors complement one another based on their wavelengths exactly the same way as musical notes harmonize based on their sound frequencies. These groups fall into several different categories:

Complementary - colors that lie opposite one another on the color wheel complement one another by contrast; e.g., a very warm red contrasted by a cool green (we all see this scheme in Christmas decorations).

Analogous - these are colors that lie next to one another; they blend well because the have much in common. Think of a color scheme that combines blues and greens – there is little contrast and the cool color range creates a pleasing and soothing effect.

Split complementary – this color scheme combines both complementary and adjacent color schemes. It forms a narrow triangle on the color wheel. By blending a main color with two adjacent colors from the opposite end, you can achieve color harmony with high visual interest.

Triad - a group of three colors that lie equally distanced from one another on the color wheel. Draw an imaginary triangle and pivot it around to see what color combinations this creates. None of these colors will belong to the same group – but the harmony lies in the fact that there is a pattern to the choice of colors. If they were completely random, the resulting visual chaos would not be pleasing to the eye.

Interestingly, these color patterns are best illustrated by examples in nature. Think of a beautiful Southwestern desert scene with a turquoise sky, golden sand, and reddish-brown rock formations. This is a classic split complementary scheme. For analogous harmony, picture a tranquil seascape painted in tones of blue and purple. Flowers often illustrate color harmony, such as the viola with contrasting yellow and violet, as do color patterns in the fur of many animals.

Compare the color schemes in the following photos:

Photo credits: Public domain

Read more about patterns of color harmony and the color wheel:

http://www.tigercolor.com/color-lab/color-theory/color-theory-intro.htm#Color_Wheel

Courtesy of National Geographic.