Oh Sharon! --
Thanks so much for all the input and insight, it's something I REALLY need to keep in mind at the beginning of the whole painting process, and do a whole lot more planning before jumping into the painting! (and I think I need to develop a better sense of what works, too... so your comments on pairing more intense with less intense etc. etc. are greatly appreciated!) I mocked up the blue toned color scheme that you recommended in Paint Shop Pro, and those colors really would be
beautiful together. (I've posted the mock-up below). Now, ..let me back up and tell you that my heart also sank when I read your post, because when I posted the sort of wine colored dress version I thought, well, now that certainly looks better than the blue... and went ahead and painted over that dress on impulse... So that the dress was no longer even blue... and your beautiful color plan meant repainting the entire canvas, something I just didn't feel up to doing -- and that really doesn't fit into the timetable for this piece!
Marvin--- your post probably saved my sanity tonite!
It came along just after I'd read Sharon's and when I was in the middle of pulling my hair out for painting over the blue so impulsively. So I'm going to try to make a go of it with the wine colored dress... I hear what you're saying about the reflected colors and the contouring, I hope I'll be able to pull that together --- Thanks!
Linda, -- yes... I think I may have bitten off a little more than I can chew with this one. Two on one canvas somehow seems a little trickier with adults than kids. I haven't painted adults before AND have gotten used to doing outdoors backgrounds which somehow seem to come together more easily for me, colorwise. As far as the color harmony goes, I'm feeling like, hmmm... well, I'm just not trusting my judgement in that area lately. The other painting I'm currently working on (also indoors) is also in color limbo. Maybe I should stick with the outdoors ones!
So I'm going with the wine color scheme partly for expedience... This painting is supposed to be done about
now... but am wondering if there's a concensus that the blue theme is superior to this, perhaps I ought to offer the client the option of having the color reworked in that direction, and pushing the delivery date back?