My watercolor wash  (More: No Power) was the first stage in an experiment I performed in my mind’s eye (not exactly a Gedanken experiment ala Einstein).  The idea was to float a neutral color on top of a colored field and set up a dissonance between foreground and background.  Hans Hofmann’s paintings were chock full of ‘push and pull‘ visual elements.

The result of my ‘neutral’ brown (Terra Rosa, precisely) was disappointing.

It Looked Better In My Mind
Watercolor Abstract
16″x12″ 140# Cold Pressed Watercolor Block

I should have done extensive testing with color strips, juxtaposing all combinations of colors, taking advantage of the age-old knowledge that the color red projects toward the foreground and  the color blue recedes into the background.

No more color theory Gedanken experiments without testing.