Help with Expressionist art?

Question

i am doing an expressionist portrait in art

what colours would look good for Madness

Answer 1

Colour opposites always work well, as they create conflict.In expressionist painting, try Purple and Lemon Yellow, Maroon and a sickly Green, the darker tints and shades are good.

Answer 2

I guess there is no written rules (or not suppose to be) or suggestion in art,as each artist is individual and got his own vision and feeling about surrounding  world.

Answer 3

I wish to respectfully disagree with Mr. brian.parkhurst... because color complements are TOUGH to focus on when they are right next to each other.  I hate to say it this way, but there are many modalities of Madness which you have to focus on.  If the  person is simply up and meglomaniacal, then start with the primary colors, red blue and yellow.  The stronger the colors,  the more pure, the stronger the feeling they will inspire.

Choose your other colors by how they contribute to the mood you are creating.

For a down mania, with elements of paranoia or a crash, choose colors like Orange, Green and Purple as the base.  Remember, the redder the Orange or Purple the stronger the contrast with the Green and while you want some contrast, you can easily overwhelm the picture:  you want your viewer to see the object as a whole.  Again, include primaries insofar as they contribute to the down mood of the picture, and the stronger the hue, the more pure the color, the stronger the emotional impact they will suggest.

Of course there are no hard and fast rules, that you should use this color for that emotion, but you will find generally the above may help -- primary colors for mania, secondary colors for depression.  Read Vassily Kandinsky's Concerning the Spiritual in Art for a good discussion of colors which was not itself expressionist but which is from the milieu where Expressionism flourished.