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I enjoy exploring a variety of color schemes.  This can be an advantage or a curse, depending upon how you look at it.  There are artists that consistently use the same colors in nearly all of their paintings.  This results in a cohesive body of work which can look good when paintings are hung together.  It is great for marketing.  You know what to expect from this artist whether it is a painting from today or 5 years from now.  Some artists also only paint flowers, or only landscapes, or only portraits.   They get really good at painting similar subjects with similar color schemes.  I can't seem to do this, neither with color nor subject.

For me, art is an expression of mood and emotion being communicated to the viewer.  Since I'm not the same every day, neither is my art.  What I choose to paint varies day to day, depending how how I feel.  I get bored easily so switch from subject to subject.  It is how I feel about the subject that I want to express to the viewers.  And, since color is a major factor in expressing a mood or atmosphere, the color scheme changes with nearly every painting.   Now, this doesn't mean I go out and purchase new paint colors every week.  I have a consistent overall palette, but there is enough variety in color that I can be diverse with my color schemes.

Sometimes I want a limited, narrow palette that expresses a muted, somber mood.  Other times I'll use a wider range that is light and bright to indicate sunshine or happiness.   For me, one of the main enjoyments of creating art is the process of trying new combinations of color that express different moods and atmospheres.   In the case of this painting, the building on the left (yes, with the monkey, or "gibbon" holding a beer), along with the sunny day, dictated the color scheme that I wanted to express.   In fact, it was so eyecatching and colorful, to prevent it from taking over the scene, I needed to tone it down by having the side of the building in the shade.  But, to capture the fun and liveliness of the subject, a wider range of bright colors with a limited amount of grays was required.   Taking advantage of complementary colors to make the colors pop in the focal area, I used blues with oranges, and reds with greens.  Colors on the right were more muted, directing the eye back over to the more colorful area of the painting.

I enjoy paintings like this, both in creating and viewing them.  I tend to be an optimistic person so these probably speak to me more than other, less colorful paintings.  However, that can change from day to day, depending upon my mood, what is going on in my life, or the emotion I want to express.  I tell my students, "don't get married to it" referring to their paintings, because you need to view your work with neutral eyes to be objective.  But, as an artist, you tend to "love the one you're with" so to speak.   When you spend a lot of time with it, you tend to overlook its flaws.    Tomorrow, I may still "love" this painting.  Then again, maybe not.  I'll be on to another subject, starting the infatuation all over again.  And, of course, with a brand new color scheme.