We tend to think that it is easier and better to surround ourselves with likeminded people. We assume that they will understand us better, that our preferences will be the same, that communication will be easier. Those who know me and my spouse, know that we are far from being alike. And there really is that saying that contrasts attract and endure.
It could be that if I had chosen someone who was more like me, he would have understood me better, that our preferences would have been more similar and that the communication between us would have been better. Could be. Not sure. But what about how interesting life would have been? What about all those things that are in him and not in me? What about all those qualities in me that wouldn't hurt to have some balance (and vice versa)?
When I look at our children, I understand that I made the right choice. They got to grow up with parents who are both' and therefore they have more balance in their life. They have order and mess, spontaneity and planning ahead, seriousness and silliness, and the list goes on.
Even in painting, contrasts create interest and balance.
Picasso said, and of course he was right, that in order to be a good artist you must learn the rules well so that you can break them. So, I'm going to say something that you can easily find contradictory evidence for. Obviously. But it won't hurt to pay attention to it. Often it may help us produce stronger work.
So as mentioned, contrasts create interest in painting, and also balance. If all the elements of the painting were similar, the painting would be uninteresting. A painting becomes interesting when opposites are adjacent to each other.
The first thing the eye is drawn to is contrast in the degree of darkness (value) of the color. If we place the darkest and lightest in the painting, next to each other, the eye will immediately be drawn there. There was someone who said "you can't have light, without the darkness in which it can shine".
The painting will become more dramatic and more interesting, if there are contrasts in it that will be expressed in different ways. Contrast is not just about the value.
I once made myself a long list of possible contrasts in a painting. Big-small, line-stain, dull color-saturated color, sharp-soft, dry-wet.... This is an interesting exercise that may help us develop our painting practice in new directions.
Recommended.