Celebrating Color

The latest news from Carol McIntyre's studio...

  • Home
  • Book
  • Press Room
    • Bios
    • Head Shots
    • Book Summaries
  • Classes
    • Hire Me to Teach
      • How to Mix Natural-Looking Greens
      • Mix Without A Mix-Up!
      • Private Lessons
    • Color Online Video Course
  • Portfolio
    • Original Paintings
    • Commission a Painting
      • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Testimonials
      • Tips for Photographing Your Pet for a Portrait
    • Buy Prints
  • Events
  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact

Is it Complimentary or Complementary Colors? Why?

December 15, 2016 By Carol McIntyre

Is it complimentary or complementary colors that we apply when we paint? Complementary colors are critical to understand and use as painters. However, I always wonder why the word complementary is so often misspelled as complimentary?

complimentary or complementary colors

When I began painting, I remember the confusion and no one seemed to be able to clarify that confusion. I know I struggled keeping it straight. After I began studying color vigorously, I noticed that color book authors always spelled complementary with an “E,” though they never explained the reason behind it.

In the English language, we have many words that are confusing — they sound the same but are spelled differently with very different meanings, such as:

  • where, wear and ware
  • their and there
  • pear, pair and pare
  • sea and see
  • whey, weigh, whey
  • root and route
  • …and what others can you think of?

This is one of the reasons why English is difficult to master as a second language.

No two words are more often used incorrectly than complimentary and complementary. Most people don’t know when and how to use each and it has nothing to do with COLOR! Contrary to popular belief, the two are not interchangeable and are, in fact, used to highlight entirely different situations.

In my recent travels, I snapped photos of these two signs. Which one is spelled correctly and which is not?

complimentary or complementary colors complimentary or complementary colors

Clarifying the Use of Complimentary or Complementary Colors:

Let’s refer to a good old standard and check out their definitions in the Webster dictionary.

Complimentary:

  1. expressing praise or admiration :  expressing or containing a compliment <a complimentary remark>b :  favorable <the novel received complimentary reviews>

  2. given free as a courtesy or favor <complimentary tickets>

    Complimentary has two meanings: one is that someone is expressing nice things about you, saying that you or something about you looks nice (a compliment/to compliment someone); the other (when used as ‘complimentary’) means that something is free of charge or done as an act of courtesy.

Complementary:

1. combining in such a way as to enhance or emphasize the qualities of each other or another.
“three guitarists playing interlocking, complementary parts. Synonyms: harmonious, compatible, corresponding, matching.

The easiest way to remember when to use complementary is when you comment on the completion of a set or a group. So, you might say one of the following:

“The tiles really complement the floor”.

“The new software update will complement the existing system”.

“This pair of shoes will complement my dress”.

We can summarize this information and use both words across two instances in a few sentences. Here are couple of examples:

The curator offered me a complimentary coffee so I complimented her on her generosity. But I observed that the less than satisfying coffee did not complement the gallery’s exquisite art collection.

AND

The art instructor complimented the student for her lovely use of complementary colors in her painting.

If you are still unsure, another trick you can use is to ask yourself whether or not the compliment/complement is talking to its subject. For example,  my brushes aren’t talking to my paints, so therefore my brushes complement my paints. Yet I can pay a colleague a compliment when I tell her that her paints look stunning in a particular painting.

Another factor that plays a role in understanding the use of these words when talking about color, is that the root word for complementary is ‘complete.’ Knowing this can help you remember the correct spelling because the colors that are opposite from each other on the color wheel – known as complementary colors – include all three primaries of red, yellow and blue in various ratios. In other words, complementary colors  ‘complete’ the color wheel.

Have I clarified the confusion of complimentary or complementary colors? Please let me know.

If you enjoyed this information, please share this blog post with anyone who has an interest in the magic and logic of color. Use the buttons below.

learn color theory

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Related Posts

  • Stop Using Warm and Cool Colors!Stop Using Warm and Cool Colors!
  • What is the Secret to Mixing with White?What is the Secret to Mixing with White?
  • Which Value Plan to Use to Create Mood?Which Value Plan to Use to Create Mood?
  • Red and Blue Don’t Make Purple!Red and Blue Don’t Make Purple!

Filed Under: Color Mixing, Tips & Concepts Tagged With: Color Mixing, Color Theory, Colorado artist

Comments

  1. Marty Elmer says

    December 18, 2016 at 4:43 am

    Thanks for the complement…getting us all together on this…Enjoy all your work.

  2. Marty Elmer says

    December 18, 2016 at 4:45 am

    Just wanted to say thanks for informing us…yes I see the mix up often. Thanks

  3. Carol McIntyre says

    December 18, 2016 at 12:19 pm

    You are quite welcome and thanks for letting me know you enjoy my work. 🙂

  4. linda baker says

    December 18, 2016 at 1:33 pm

    Complement – complete..love the simplicity, thanks again.:)

  5. Carol McIntyre says

    December 19, 2016 at 9:34 am

    You are very welcome Linda! 🙂

Welcome To My Studio

mixing color

Categories

  • Art Material & Painting Tips (32)
  • Art Travels & Preparations (20)
  • Color Giants & Their Impact (3)
  • Color Mixing, Tips & Concepts (66)
  • Color Quizes (2)
  • Color Theory Made Easy (37)
  • Creativity & Painting Concepts (30)
  • Events (7)
  • Inner Artistic Journeys (64)
  • Online Color Class Information (2)
  • Pet Portraits & Custom Paintings (25)
  • Selling & Buying Art (3)
  • Step-by-Step Painting Demos & Commissions (53)
  • Videos (3)

Copyright © 2023 McIntyre Fine Art