Take a good look at a 16-point color wheel. Analogous colors are those found immediately next to each other there. They look so pleasing together because they are a family of sorts.
Black, white, gray, and the neutrals such as beige and brown are not found on the color wheel,
but they certainly can be used in an artwork with analogous colors. Some analogous artworks
are done in all warm colors (reds, yellows, and oranges), while others, such as the
sample below, use cool colors--anything from violet to green. Or choose a combination
of related warms and cools, an example of which is red, red-violet, violet, blue-violet, and blue.
This still life was done with wax crayon and watercolors.
Here are some links to other posts about color schemes: http://mixedmediamanic.blogspot.com/2011/09/looking-for-great-color-scheme-try.html and
