"Color and the Clothes You Wear." Photograph by Dan Bartges.

Think about this: Everything you've learned about color for painting can also be applied to the clothes you pick out to wear each day. People who understand color are much better at selecting clothes that go together, and that gives them a better appearance.
Consider, for example, the three ties in the photograph above. You might prefer the pattern of one tie over the other two, but all three ties go well with the blue shirt. Can you explain why?

As another example, let's say you're a young woman who'd like to wear a dark-green skirt and a bright yellow scarf, but you recognize that these two colors aren't harmonious. So what color blouse could you wear that would make everything color coordinated?

I can think of three. First, you could choose a red-violet blouse, which would join with the green skirt and yellow scarf to form a split complementary color scheme. Second, you could pick out a yellow-green blouse, which would form an analogous color scheme of yellow, yellow-green and green. Or third, you could wear a patterned blouse with red and violet in it. That would give you a tetrad, two sets of complementary colors—in this case, yellow with violet, and red with green.

Dan Bartges. Mrs. C. Pasco. Oil.

Speaking of clothes, a couple of years ago I painted this portrait of a very active, thoroughly charming woman, age 90. When she sat down in a high-backed armchair with dramatic light flooding in from her right, I decided I had an ideal setting for her portrait.

But, as I began the painting, I realized her orange jacket and skin (keep in mind that everyone's skin is a shade of orange!) didn't harmonize with the green armchair and leaves of the potted plant. So I had to manipulate my colors to bring them into harmony. Can you figure out what I did?