Thank You, Mr. Dunse

 When I was in high school, I took several studio art classes from Mr. Dunse.

An odd little man, he was sort of short and round. Wore funny black eyeglass frames. Tended to whistle like a teakettle as he bustled around the room.

Once he asked the class what day it was, and when we replied it was a Tuesday, he tweedled off, muttering "Toooosday, Toooooosday!" under his breath.

Years later, it became a joke in my little family. Ask my kids about "Tooooosday," and they'll laugh, but they may not recall why it's funny. It's funny because of Mr. Dunse.

This is a photo of him from my high school yearbook. It makes Mr. D. look pretty good:

I'm sorry to say that usually, he looked more than a little like "Wormtail," the character from the Harry Potter films:

ANYhow, Mr. Dunse is the person who taught me that a large field of a quiet color, like tan or gray or beige, is neatly balanced by a small field of a powerful color, like hot pink or turquoise. Case in point, this elegant bathroom:

photo: housebeautiful.com

Cover up that turquoise vase with the roses with your finger, and look at the photo again.

Really blah, huh? Thank goodness for that little bit of color.

When it comes to studio art--or interior design--you don't need a lot of intense color to make an impression. Just a tad, well placed, enlivens a whole room.

For teaching me that lesson, I thank you, Mr. Dunse.