Help with Opposite ColorsI don’t know where I got my sense of color. You know those personality tests where they determine your traits by the colors you like; I’m always at a loss, because I love all colors. So when I have to pick one I just say, “Red is my favorite color…yeah, that’s right red.” But I still love them all. I’ve always felt that I just had an instinct for what colors go together. When I was in grade school rainbows were really in style. We would put them on everything. I had no problem memorizing the order of the spectrum. So years later when my husband mentioned a mnemonic for the sequence of colors, I wondered why he needed it. Here it is, Roy G.Biv: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Okay, so we never used two shades of blue and would say purple instead of violet. Then when I took art in high school, it turned out I wasn’t that bad at it. Anyway, some of the things that really stuck in my head were about color. We could go into hue, shade, tint, etc., but I think what crafters really have a problem with is the term complimentary or opposite colors. These are the colors that will tend to clash the most. So, I have no idea why they are called complimentary. We only have to remember three color combinations: red and green, orange and blue, and yellow and purple. Notice the squares; they definitely draw your attention. But, they also make your eye bounce back and forth between the two; it’s almost like looking into glaring light. The problem of opposite colors is that it can either be a lively debate or a nasty fist fight. I’ve actually seen books that recommend using opposite colors in whatever way you wish, but it is dangerous territory. I recommend proceeding with caution. These are supposed to be bad color combinations, but I can't be sure what it's doing on your monitor. 
Of course we can think of exceptions to this rule, like the lively debate I mentioned earlier. In the case of red/green, Christmas colors warm our hearts. Orange/blue (I have to admit, it’s my least favorite of the three), reminds me of a pretty redhead in blue jeans. As for yellow/purple, the Lakers uniform is quite effective. So the point is if we tweak the tints a bit, we can find harmonious color combinations even between opposite colors. 
What just happened? The red is darker; the green is more of a teal color. The orange and the blue are both lighter and the blue is more periwinkle. Both the yellow and purple are brighter. So there it is, if you are having trouble with opposite colors try tweaking one or both, or stay away from opposite colors altogether.
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