Lesson 15 "What should I put in the background?"

I frequently get asked "What should I put in the background?" looking at a painting someone has already invested significant time working on. The time to consider this is much earlier and the best way to see what works is to try studies of a small sample of the subject. Here Nancy has considered eight possibilities.


Each of these gives a different feeling and Nancy liked the drama of the bright blue green.
Here is a larger study.


Carol chose a compliment of the yellow flowers for her background.

Marge used a light version of the green found in the leaves for her study.


The second part of this exercise was to lay a background wash of on dry paper. By keeping the paper tilted and keeping a wet bead at the lower edge of the wash it is possible to paint around a subject and end up with a smooth background of color. Georgina was able to lay down an absolutely smooth yellow background.