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color theory: color schemes & “traditional” color wheel
ART 251
“Newton’s error was trusting math over the sensations of his eye.”
-Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), poet and author of Faust, published Theory of Colours in 1810. As a color theorist, he was more interested in how we perceive color.
Ewald Hering (1834-1918)
Phillip Otto Runge
Johannes Itten Color Wheel
Color Bias Wheel
How to use the Color Bias Wheel
to mix colors...
What happens when you mix complementary colors?
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What happens when you mix complementary colors?
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= a neutral grey or brown
Color Bias Wheel
Make brightest purple
Make duller purple because some blue and o r ange a re mixed
M a k e d u l l e s t purple, because blue is mixed with orange and red is mixed with green.
Understand this color wheel & you
will be more successful in color
mixing!
Itten’s Color Wheel
The 3 Properties of Color
Hue Value
Intensity
Properties of Color
• HUE• VALUE• INTENSITY (or saturation)
(Hate Videogames Immensely)
Properties of Color
HUE - the name of the color, the part of the color spectrum that the color belongs to: Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, or violet.
There is no pure blue.
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If colored paints were actually pure color- every time any two “pure” colors of paint were mixed you would get black.
The bits of blue in the blue paint would absorb the red and yellow light.
The bits of yellow paint would absorb the red and blue light.
No light would escape from the paint, and you’d see a perfectly black surface.
Properties of Color
V A L U E - l ightness or darkness of the hue.
Mark Rothko, Untitled (Black on Gray),
1969/1970.
MUNSELL VALUES
Inherent Value: “Normal” hues have different values.
Grayscale Chart
Low Key
High Key
Shadows in black and white...
7-8
6
3
4-5
2-3
1
3
3
Properties of Color
VALUE—lightness or darkness of the hue.
– Adding white produces a TINT– Adding black produces a SHADE
Painting with a limited number of values
David Hockney, Mist, 1973. From The Weather Series.Lithograph, 37 X 32 in.
Painting with a limited number of values
Properties of Color
INTENSITY—The brightness of a color. Not to be confused with lightness, which is value.
– Also called chroma or saturation.
Adding a color’s complement wi l l make that color LESS INTENSE.
Giorgio Morandi, Still Life, 1962. Low intensity painting.
Richard Diebenkorn, Ocean Park No. 16 1968
Contrast in intensity.
Richard Diebenkorn, Ocean Park No. 54 1972
Color Schemes or Systems
A h a r m o n y o r c o m b i n a t i o n o f particular colors based on the color wheel.
Color Schemes
Monochromatic: The use of just one hue in an image. (You can use black and white to add variety though.)
Mark Tansey. Forward Retreat. 1986. Oil on canvas, 7’ 10” x 9’ 8” (2.4 x 2.9 m). Collection of Eli Broad Family Foundation, Santa
Monica, California. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery, New York.
Color Schemes Warm Color Scheme:
– Red– Orange– Yellow
• Warm colors advance• Represents – Fire,
Sunlight• Implies – Happy
energy• An artist many use
warm and cool color relationships to create depth and volume.
• It can also create a feeling of light.
Chicago History Museum. Childe Hassam. The Breakfast Room, Winter Morning. 1911. Oil on canvas. © Worcester
Art Museum, Massachusetts/The Bridgeman Art Library.
Cool Color Scheme:– Blue– Green– Purple
• Cool colors recede• Represents – Sky,
Water, Grass, Plants• Implies – Sadness,
Depression, Night Archibald J. Motley Jr. Getting’ Religion. 1948. Oil on canvas, 2’ 7 7/8” x 3’ 3 1/4”. Collection Archie Motley and Valerie Gerrard Browne, Evanston,
Illinois. Chicago History Museum.
Color Schemes
Complementary Color Scheme: Opposite on color wheel• Red-Green, • Blue-Orange, • Yellow-Purple
Tip: • Placing 2 complimentary
colors side by side creates a brighter image.
• Mixing 2 complimentary colors creates gray
Color Schemes
A n a l o g o u s C o l o r Scheme:
A picture that uses seve r a l (o f ten 3 ) colors that are right next to each other on the color wheel.
Color Schemes
Split Complementar y Color Scheme:
An even w ider r ange o f possibilities. Rather than pair colors of that are in opposite positions on the color wheel, the ar tist completes the scheme using the two colors on either side of one of the complements.
Color Schemes
D o u b l e - S p l i t Comp lementa r y Co lo r Scheme:
Rather than pair colors of that are in opposite positions on the color wheel, the artist completes the scheme using the two colors on �either side of the two complements.
Color Schemes
Triadic Color Scheme:
A triadic color scheme uses colors that are evenly spaced around the color wheel. Triadic color schemes tend to be quite vibrant, even if you use pale or unsaturated versions of your hues.
To use a tr iadic harmony successfully, the colors should be carefully balanced - let one color dominate and use the two others for accent.
Color Schemes
Rectangle (tetradic) color scheme:
The rectangle or tetradic color scheme uses four colors arranged into two complementary pairs.
• This r ich color scheme offers plenty of possibilities for variation.
• Tetradic color schemes works best if you let one color be dominant.
• Yo u s h o u l d a l s o p ay attention to the balance between warm and cool colors in your design.
Color Schemes
Square (tetradic) color scheme:�
Uses four colors arranged into two complementary pairs.
• This r ich color scheme offers plenty of possibilities for variation.
• Tetradic color schemes works best if you let one color be dominant.
• Yo u s h o u l d a l s o p ay attention to the balance between warm and cool colors in your design.
Color Schemes
Chromatic Grays:
A chromatic gray is made from a mixture of color, rather than a simple blend of black and white.�The result is both subtle and vibrant. • In The Magpie, the grays
vary widely.• This is not a dark, sullen
winter day; through the use of chromatic grays, Claude Monet makes the warm l ight an transparent shadows sparkle in the crisp air.
Color Schemes
Earth Colors:
• Earth colors, including raw sienna and burnt sienna, raw and burnt umber and yellow ochre, are made literally from pigments found in the soil.
• G e n e r a l l y w a r m i n temperature, when used together they create a type of analogous harmony.
Color Schemes
Andrew Wyeth, Sea Boots, 1976.
Planning Color Schemes
• The use of deliberate color schemes is most common in interiors, posters, and packaging.
• But know ing the se
harmonies can help both painters and designers consciously to plan the visual effects they want a finished piece to have. Jan Vermeer. Girl with a Pearl Earring. c. 1665-1666. Oil on
canvas, 1’ 5 1/2” x 1’ 3 3/8” (44.5 x 39 cm). Royal Cabinet of Paintings, Mauritshuis, The Hague.
U n e x p e c t e d Combinations
• C o l o r D i s c o r d : opposite of color harmony.
• Can be disturbing. • They do not balance
each other. • Mild discord can be
e x c i t i n g o r e ye -catching.
Wolf Kahn. Color/Tree Symphony. 1994. Oil on canvas, 4’ 3 1/2” x 4’x 8 1/2”. Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York. Art © Estate of Wolf Kahn/Licensed by VAGA, New York,
New York.
Color Discord
Colors in Conflict• Certain color parings are
almost difficult to look at• Our eyes exper ience
conflict trying to look at them
• They look as though they are vibrating
• Vibrating Colors: Colors that create a flickering effect at their border. This effect is usually dependent o n a n e q u a l v a l u e relationship and strong hue contrast
Annie Mae Young. Quilt. c. 1965. Cotton stiff material: corduroy sheeting, polyester dress and pants material, wool.
Color Discord
Bad Color Discord
Bad Color Discord
Bad Color Discord (among other things)
Color Use
There are 3 basic ways to use color in painting.
1. Local Color (or Objective): Painting the object the color that it is in normal daylight.
2. Optical Color: Depicting an objects color as it might be seen under various or different light.
3. Subjective Color: The arbitrary use of color, where the artist picks colors based on design, aesthet ics , or emot iona l response.
4. Heightened Color: The use of color that is intensified or exaggerated.
Paul Gauguin. Allés et Venues, Martinique (Coming and Going). 1887. Oil on canvas, 2’ 4 1/2” x 3’ 1/4” (72.5 x
92 cm). ゥ Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection on loan to the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza (CTB.1979.88).