A conversation with an art director made me rethink my color choices

I posted a piece on here last week, a cityscape at sunset with really deep oranges and purples. An art director I barely know from a local meetup in Portland messaged me about it. She said, yeah the colors are nice, but you buried the focal point under all that warmth. At first I was kinda annoyed, like who asked. But then I looked at it again and she was totally right. My eye just bounced around the whole canvas because every part was equally loud. I've been painting for like 6 years and never once thought about color temperature like that. Now I'm going back through my old work and noticing it everywhere. Has anyone else had a feedback moment that made you see your own style differently?

3 comments

3 Comments

rowan21mo ago

What was the biggest thing you kept trying to hide in that focal area with all the warmth? It's wild how often we accidentally use color to bury the parts of a painting we're unsure about. Digging through old work after a wake up call like that can feel like finding old photos of yourself with a bad haircut.

betty_palmer1mo ago

Kept trying to hide the hand placement, just didn't want to admit the perspective was off. Warmth made it look intentional for a while.

valh321mo agoMost Upvoted

Bad haircut" is exactly right... I spent weeks last year tweaking the lighting on a portrait before realizing I was just scared to draw the other hand at all.