How would you describe an Impressionist painting?

In the 1870’s in France, a group of painters called Impressionists invented a different style of painting. New kinds of packaging helped make this new style of painting possible. Lead tubes kept paint from drying out. Now painters could work outside their studios. They took their easels, canvases, and brushes, and painted outdoors.

Outdoors, in natural light, Impressionists noticed that objects cast coloured shadows. So they painted orange haystacks with blue shadows, red dresses with green shadows, and yellow pots with purple shadows.

The colours they were seeing in shadows are called complementary colours. They are like colour opposites. To help identify colours in light and shadow, many artists use colour charts. You can make your own chart of primary, secondary, and complementary colours.

Picture Credit : Google