"When dawn spreads its paintbrush on the plain, spilling purple... ," Sons of the Pioneers theme for TV show "Wagon Train." Dawn on the mythic Santa Fe Trail, New Mexico, looking toward Raton from Cimarron. -- Clarkphoto. A curmudgeon artist's musings melding metaphors and journalism, for readers in more than 150 countries.

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Navidad, por favor

"Navidad, por favor," 5 x 7 watercolor, 140 lb Fabriano artistico extra white cold press
Not the holiday. New Mexicans know this.
Today's #WorldWatercolorMonth prompt was "Complementary." At first, I was stumped, and then...
The color wheel, that all visual artists know came to mind and other folks just know that red and green are somehow the colors of Christmas.  Complementary, opposites on the color wheel, adding contrast in  colors...but then that's too detailed...
But, the red and green chiles of  New Mexico...opposites, but together...the tastes and colors of the Southwest. Red ristras hanging from vigas against an adobe wall,  red chili powder ready for cooking, the singular smell of roasting Hatch green chilis, and salsas and posole.
Go into a restaurant and you have the option of having red or green chili on your meals. In fact, red or green is New Mexico's state question. 
But if you're brave, or undecided, just say "Christmas, please."
Thus today's watercolor of complementary colors, and a metaphor for more.
My tattered color while, primaries red blue, yellow, all the mixes and their opposites, complementaries



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