13 Make the colour suit the emotion that defines the scene

The core idea of the painting should determine the colour scheme. A sombre, dramatic mood calls for sombre, dramatic lighting and colour. I could have painted the hatching scene in sweet pastel colours and bright morning light, but I imagine it more as an urgent moment of crisis, where life hangs in the balance. So I stage the scene at night, as if dazzled by the intrusion of a photographer's flash. By contrast, the Parasaurolophus painting is colourful and cheerful as the young dinosaurs explore their world.