Transferring the Design
Transfer the layout of your design onto a sheet of white paper. Use transfer paper underneath your design. Tape the original design on top of the transfer paper and tape both on top of the white paper onto your work surface so nothing moves. Trace lightly with a sharpened pencil. When finished, first pull the transfer paper off only part way and check if the whole design is transferred. Correct any omissions and remove the layout and transfer paper.
Painting the background
Choose two color combinations from the following possibilities:
1. one with high intensity and one with a low intensity
2. a dark value and light value
3. two pure hues
Mix enough of each to cover the half the background of your design. Make a faint pencil line down the middle of your design to divide it in half, or arrange the background in any preferred composition of two simple shapes. See sample. Paint the background of each portion with one of the two colors, painting carefully around the motif. A small brush helps. Use cups with lids to conserve paint.
Motif color - Color Interaction
Based on your reading about color interaction, mix an entirely new color for your motif that will demonstrate an aspect this phenomena. Paint the motif this color throughout the design.
When dividing the background be conscious of how the line between background colors affects the overall design. In some cases, the transition should be a soft one. For instance, a hard line for a straight vertical division, can disrupt the integration of the pattern and the background. In other background compostions a hard line between colors may effective. There are no hard rules about this, so use your visual intuition to make such decisions. Whether soft or hard, the background division should be intentional and well painted.