Understanding-Color Theory-a Painter's Guide

Advertisement

 Introduction:

Color is one of the most captivating elements in art, and understanding color theory is essential for painters at all skill levels. Whether you're a beginner or an advanced artist, a solid grasp of color theory can elevate your artwork to new heights. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the fascinating world of color theory, its significance, and how to use it effectively in your paintings.

 The Basics of Color Theory:

Color theory is the science and art of using color effectively. It encompasses the color wheel, color harmony, and the emotional impact of colors. To understand color theory, you need to familiarize yourself with the following concepts:

 The Color Wheel: The color wheel is a visual representation of the colors in a circle. It typically includes primary colors (red, blue, yellow), secondary colors (orange, green, purple), and tertiary colors. Understanding the relationships between these colors is crucial.

 Color Wheel

Primary Colors: Primary colors are the foundation of all other colors. Mixing primary colors in different combinations creates secondary and tertiary colors.

 Secondary Colors: Secondary colors are created by mixing two primary colors. For example, mixing red and blue creates purple.

 Tertiary Colors: Tertiary colors are produced by mixing a primary color with a neighboring secondary color.

 Color Harmony: Color harmony refers to the pleasing combination of colors in a painting. Different color harmonies include complementary, analogous, triadic, and more. Understanding these harmonies will help you create balanced and visually appealing compositions.

 The Emotional Impact of Colors:

Colors have a profound psychological and emotional impact. Here are some general associations:

 Red: Passion, energy, love, and sometimes anger.

Blue: Calm, serenity, and depth.

Yellow: Joy, happiness, and warmth.

Green: Nature, growth, and balance.

Purple: Luxury, creativity, and mystery.

Orange: Energy, enthusiasm, and vibrancy.

Using Color Theory in Your Paintings:

Now that you have a grasp of the basics, here's how to apply color theory effectively:

 Creating Harmonious Color Palettes: Choose color palettes that evoke the desired emotions in your artwork. For example, a calm seascape might feature blues and greens, while an energetic abstract piece could use vibrant reds and oranges.

 Balance and Contrast: Experiment with the balance and contrast of colors in your composition. Utilize complementary colors for strong contrast and harmony, or use analogous colors for a more subdued, coherent feel.

 Color Temperature: Consider the warmth or coolness of your colors. Warm colors like red and yellow can create a sense of closeness, while cool colors like blue and green can push elements into the background.

 Color Schemes: Explore different color schemes, such as monochromatic (using various shades of a single color) or triadic (using three equally spaced colors on the color wheel).

 Value and Saturation: Don't forget that color theory involves not just hue but also value (lightness or darkness) and saturation (intensity). Mastering these elements is key to effective color use.

 Conclusion:

Understanding color theory is a fundamental skill for any painter, whether you're just starting out or looking to refine your craft. The ability to manipulate colors effectively can make your artwork more expressive, visually appealing, and emotionally resonant. Experiment with different color combinations, study the works of master painters, and continue to expand your knowledge of color theory to create captivating and evocative art.

Watercolor Techniques - Dominance - Colors

Advertisement

Watercolor Techniques - Dominance - Colors

Dominance

Pay extra attention to this most often over looked color peculiarity. Color dominance needs to be considered when more than one color is mixed into a wash. The same color combination may result in an almost infinite variety of colors depending on the proportions of the mix. Whichever pigment is the most dominant in the mix will impose its characteristics on the wash, not only in the hue but in all other aspects of its nature as well, such as staining or nonstaining, opaque or transparent.

If the dominant color is Manganese Blue (a sedimentary pigment) and the secondary color is Burnt Sienna (a transparent color), the mixed color will not only be a bluer hue but will also be a grainy-textured color and will lift off better than Burnt Sienna would lift by itself. This is because Manganese Blue is the dominant color and not only its hue but also its other natural characteristics impose their dominance over the other color.

Watercolor Techniques - Staining - Colors

Advertisement

Watercolor Techniques - Staining - Colors

Dark Staining

When a pigment tints the fiber of the paper it is called a staining color.These colors behave like a dye. The staining nature in a pigment is not relevant to other qualities. Opaque, sedimentary or transparent colors can be either staining or nonstaining. The degree of staining quality of a pigment is important to know only if you intend to lift out a color. 

A staining color will show a tint of its hue even after you have tried to wet-scrub and blot off the paint. This behavior remains even if the staining color is mixed with other nonstaining colors.

Dark Staining Colors include:

. All phthalo colors

. Burnt Sienna

. Scarlet Lake

. Sap Green

. Hooker's Green

Watercolor Techniques - Sedimentary - Colors

Advertisement

Watercolor Techniques - Sedimentary - Colors

Sedimentary Colors

Sedimentary, or granulating, colors are made from physically heavy pigments, Because of their weight, sedimentary colors sink into the water like pebbles. On rough or cold-pressed paper, they are first to land in the low, Hollow spots of the paper. On the smooth surface of hot-pressed paper, they settle quickly, but water rivulets create little river-like separations. 

All this behavior translates graphically into texture. A sandpaper like grain is the nature of these pigments. When you mix them in a wet wash with other colors, they will look grainy and may separate, While transparent colors will dissolve in water like tea and stay active as long as the wash is wet. When sedimentary and non-sedimentary colors are mixed, each color is individually visible, for example, Manganese blue, Burnt Sienna, Raw Sienna and Phthalo Blue.

Sedimentary colors include :

. Ultramarine Blue

. Raw Sienna

. Raw Umber

. Sepia

. Cobalt Violet

. Viridian Green

. Manganese Blue

Watercolor Techniques - Reflective - Colors

Advertisement

Watercolor Techniques - Reflective - Colors

Reflective colors 

Reflective colors behave the opposite way of the true transparent pigments. The most transparent colors act like stained glass. They let the light penetrate through the wash and reflect from the paper through the color. Reflective colors let a certain amount of light get through to the surface of the white paper, but they are also capable of reflecting light from the surface of the paint.

If painted over a waterproof black line, reflective colors look very transparent while wet, but show a little of their own hue after they dry.

Opaque, semi opaque and reflective colors don't glaze well because they build up to a thick layer. All opaque colors that are light in hue are reflective, but not all reflective colors are opaque. A few reflective colors are considered transparent, yet they reflect light when they are applied in heavy consistency.

Reflective Colors include :

. cobalt Violet

. Cobalt Blue

. Raw Sienna

. Raw Umber

. Viridian Green

. Aureolin Yellow

. Magenta

. Cobalt Green

Watercolor Techniques - Opaque - Colors

Advertisement

Watercolor Techniques - Opaque - Colors

Opaque Colors

Though all Watercolors called transparent are luminous in thin Washes, some have more body than others. These opaque or body colors are capable of covering other dry Washes When they are applied in a thick consistency, even if the dry underwash is dark and the top color is light.

They are not truly opaque, as acrylics are, but are more so than the transparent colors.

Opaque colors include :

- All Cadmium Lemon

- Venetian Red

- Yellow Ochre

- Winsor Emerald 

- Cerulean Blue 

- Naples Yellow

- Olive Green

- Permanent Magenta

Watercolor Techniques - Transparent - Colors

Advertisement

Watercolor Techniques - Transparent - Colors

Transparent Color

These wonderful, glowing, luminous colors that all water colorists love behave similarly to stained glass. They let light penetrate through the wash and reflect from the paper through the color. These are the most suitable colors for glazing (applying a wet wash over a completely dry wash without disturbing the lower layer) because they don't build up when they overlap. These true transparent colors make the most glowing, clear dark's, but some of these pigments are very strong and tend to dominate when they are mixed with other colors.

If you want to use only true transparent colors, you could use liquid watercolors. Unfortunately, most of the watercolors in liquid form are not very permanent, so you need to research their light fastness.

However, even if you find a permanent liquid watercolor brand, you'd still rob yourself of the opportunity to use the excitingly varied nature of your pigments. Artists advice is to use an artist's quality transparent watercolor in the tube made by a reputable company.

Paper And Board Discussion For Watercolor Painting

Advertisement

Papers and Boards

Arches 140-Ib. coldpress, Arches 140-lb. hot press,Strathmore 2-ply plate finish bristol board, Crescent #112 rough watercolor board, and gessoed Aquarius watercolor paper. 

Discussion of each surface as follow.

ARCHES 140-LB. COLDPRESS

This paper has texture, and although it is possible to move paint around on it to a limited degree, the pigment tends to stay where you place it. You can achieve a soft look by laying in color and then spraying it with water, allowing the color to run. 

This technique works well on this paper although the color does not run as much as it does on other papers such as bristol board. Artist Generally soak and then staple this paper to a board, allowing it to dry completely before painting. This gives the tight surface wich some Artists prefer.

Modern Art Gallery - Five Tips of Water Color Painting

Advertisement

  by Preeti Garg

in Art / Painting    (submitted 2013-05-30)

From a scientific point of view, knowledge to use watercolor is simple: add water to the paint, put brush on paper, and you're painting. It's the beginning of an exciting and interesting artistic journey. These 5 watercolor painting tips will help you keep away from basic mistakes and get better results right from the start.

1. With watercolor paint, a color will always look stronger when it is wet. A color will always be lighter and paler when dry. It's something you get a feel for through do and experience. If your paintings look insipid, make the colors more intense by using more paint and less water, or painting another layer of a color over the first. Watercolor paint dries very speedy, so test a color on a scrap of paper or on the border of your painting before using it. That way you'll know whether it's the shade and/or tone you're after.

2. Even once watercolor paint has dried, it remains water soluble. You can re-wet the dried paint with water on a brush and it will 'turn' back into paint. This means you can lift the paint off the paper to fix a mistake, lighten a color by removing some of it, or even mix it with new paint. While you do need to be careful you don't scrub at the paper too much and harm the surface. Watercolor paint is translucent. You can see from side to side the layers of color you've painted, making it near unfeasible to conceal mistakes. Don't fight against this, but embrace it and work with it.

3. Because the white in watercolor comes from the white of the paper, not the paint itself, the usual advice is to paint from light to dark. To start with the lightest colors and tones, and build your way up to the darkest. But don't be fearful to experiment with putting down dark colors early on in a watercolor painting, as it may turn out to be an approach that works for you!

4. Rather have just one, good brush than a handful of cheap ones that splay out and drop hairs. It'll save you a lot of irritation. A good brush retains its shape so you can get a very fine brush mark from the point; it holds a good quantity of paint so you need to reload it less often.

5. Avoid involuntarily adding more water to your paint after you've washed your brush by dabbing the brush onto a dry cloth before putting it in the paint again. If you've loaded a brush with paint and decide you needed less paint, hold clean cloth at ferrule end of the brush hairs to soak up some of the excess. Doing it at this end helps keep the color at the tip of the brush.

About the Author

Author loves to write articles on different topics and this article is based on Modern Art Gallery