Violet Variations

Violet, 20 x 16 oil painting by Melody Phaneuf

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It’s a useful exercise to limit an aspect of design to explore what can be done within given parameters. In Violet, color was limited to a single hue, resulting in countless variations of value and intensity. Nuances of color shimmer in ways that would be lost within a full palette. The subtle gradations draw us in and command a quiet observation. Continue reading~

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Violet, 20 x 16 oil painting by Melody Phaneuf
Violet is also available in open edition print and note cards.

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Boston Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.

Categorized under: Color, Still Life Paintings.

Lilacs & Peaches~ Springtime Clarity

Lilacs in dooryards
Holding quiet conversations with an early moon;
Among your heart-shaped leaves
Orange orioles hop like music-box birds and sing. ~Amy Lowell

Orange, Green, Violet~ I love the vibrating energy of a secondary triad color scheme. The soft contrast is easy on the eye but still full of the interest contrast yields. Green and violet contain the qualities of both warm and cool and can be nudged in either direction.

Lilacs And Peaches is an arrangement of Nature’s offerings in triadic unity. Here, the colors are neutralized, slowing the vibration. The feeling of cool, springtime serenity is enhanced by allowing the warmth of color to rest in the violet tones, and subordinating the heat of the orange. Compare the feeling in Hues of Autumn, where the same color scheme allows the orange to dominate radiant warmth.

Because secondary colors are mixtures of primaries, these schemes seem to align with the expression of transitional seasons. Combined with value key and chromatic intensity, an infinite subtlety of expression is possible. Cool and cleansing, Lilacs And Peaches echoes the clarity that springtime ushers in.


Melody Phaneuf is a Boston Artist, composing and painting pictures at Fenway Studios. Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life and landscape paintings and has achieved significant acclaim for portraiture. She has exhibited at Galerie Herouet in Paris, The National Arts Club in New York City, and with Art du Monde, a traveling exposition in Japan. Phaneuf’s paintings are regularly displayed at the Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street, Boston, MA.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo showcases the artist’s original paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and coasters, fine art prints and note cards. Online ordering at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Lilacs And Peaches, oil painting by Melody Phaneuf, 20 x 16
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Related~

• Lilacs, poem by Amy Lowell
• Color Vibrations
• Color Therapy

Violet~ Trending With Color

Symbolic of royalty, violet or purple, is on trend in decorating. In challenging economic times, what could be more comforting than living with color fit for a king?

As I consider the color’s various associations with serenity, mysticism, and creativity, I am reminded of a report I wrote about Phoenicia in the third grade. At that tender age, Phoenician culture fascinated me, particularly its artistry. Ancient mariners, it was the Phoenicians who extracted indigo dye from mollusks, using it as a means of barter to build wealth. The rare and treasured color was affordable only to royal families.

To a colorist, violet’s wealth is in its balance of opposing forces. It is combination of two primary colors, red and blue. Red’s qualities are active and advancing; blue is passive and receding. Tension and equilibrium of these qualities offer subtle, expressive possibilities to the artist, decorator, and landscape designer.

The painting, entitled Violet, explores the abundance of variation within this single hue. Subtle shifts in value, intensity, and color temperature cause pleasant stimulation in the cones of our eyes. Restraint of color allows for exploration of textural contrasts and sharpness versus softness of edge. These visual attributes engage and draw us in, the same way that one focuses to hear a whisper. The elegant aesthetic of Violet is the result of nuance.

Melody Phaneuf is a Boston Artist, working at Fenway Studios. Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life and landscape paintings and has achieved significant acclaim for portraiture. She has exhibited at Galerie Herouet in Paris, The National Arts Club in New York City, and with Art du Monde, a traveling exposition in Japan. Phaneuf’s paintings are regularly displayed at the Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street, Boston, MA.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo showcases the artist’s original paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and coasters, fine art prints and note cards. Online ordering at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Violet, is a 20 x 16 Oil Painting by Melody Phaneuf. Fine art prints of this image are available at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop.

Related Links~

• What is Violet?
• Designing With Purple
• All about Violet

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