Gateways to Art 2nd Edition Chapter 1.4 (Color)

additive color

Additive Color: - Actual light is used to mix colors. - Light is emitted from light sources. - Color is created by mixing actual light. the colors produced from light a color that becomes white when all colors have been added; RGB is an example Mixing colored light is called additive (adding colors = lighter results) Additive color mixtures using red, green, and blue (RGB) primaries, the result is white Additive color is mixed using a light source. Some examples that use actual light are computer monitors, TV's and lights used at a concert.

1.4.18 André Derain, The Turning Road, L'Estaque, 1906. Oil on canvas, 4'3"×6'4¾". Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas

André Derain, The Turning Road Strong bright color makes the entire scene glow with energy and vitality The Fauves a) French for "wild beasts" b) Used colors in their purest and strongest states as an act of defiance against the Academy 1.4.18André Derain (1880-1954). The Turning Road,L'Estaque.1906. Oil on canvas. 4'3" x 6'4¾". Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas Andre Derain was a member of the Fauves. Used every primary and secondary colors. Colors are intense with contrasting light values (still intense but not at most intense state.) Used warm and cool colors. Instead of adding black to his colors, Derain used cool colors for shadows. For example, on the right tree Derain used blue to indicate a shadow cast by the green leaves instead of using a darker value of red-orange. He also used blue to indicate a shadow on the embankment between the right tree and the tree next to it. On the third tree from the right, Duran used blue-violet blending into blue to indicate shadows. Derain also used the relative value of a hue to another hue. Warm colors have the lightest values; yellow is the lightest value. Instead of adding white to his colors to create lighter values, Derain used intense yellow to indicate the areas that get the most sunlight. Derain creates implied depth by using lighter values of colors in the background.

1.4.17 Barnett Newman, Vir Heroicus Sublimis, 1950-51. Oil on canvas, 7'11⅜"×17'8¼". MoMA, New York

Barnett Newman, Vir Heroicus Sublimis Visual impact is dependent on value and strong chroma There are subtle variations in the strong red hues; narrow vertical lines ("zips") alternate in color Newman wants viewers to stand close to the canvas, engulfed by color Sample of chroma (the degree of purity of a color) Newman is an American painter categorized as a color field painter and associated with Abstract Expressionism. He made numerous paintings similar to this one, changing the colors, positions and number of lines. Newman reduced his imagery down to empty space, the void, which he references with color. He calls his lines "zips", imagery that destroys the void. The zips are also used to give a sense of scale for the vastness of space. The painting is almost 8 feet high and 17 ¾ feet long. Newman wants the viewer to feel engulfed by the painting and color. The zips always have the same orientation as the viewer (vertical lines). Newman hopes the viewer will experience the sublime when they stand in front of his paintings. The red has a high saturation. There is a high degree of contrast between the white zip and intense red. The white zip pops forward in the composition, appears closest to us. The two zips with a lighter value of red (on left and second zip in from right) appear to recede into space. I'm not sure what color the 3rdzip from the right is. Textbook author mentions maroon (red with black added.) I see a blue zip that has been toned down some (white & black added to blue.) Comparing the values of the red, blue, and yellow (on the right edge) zips, the yellow has the lightest value and the blue zip has the darkest value.

complementary colors

Colors located directly opposite one another on the color wheel What is Complementary Color? Opposite each other on the color wheel When mixed, produce gray (or black) When painted side by side, they intensify one another Their wavelengths are very different; creates the illusion of vibrating edges Complementary Colors -two colors opposite each other on the color wheel. In the visual arts, the word "complementary" has a different meaning. Complementary does not mean two colors look well together or that they complement each other. Yellow and violet; red and green; blue and orange are complementary colors -they are opposite each other on the color wheel.

1.4.12 Frederic Edwin Church, Twilight in the Wilderness,1860. Oil on canvas, 40 ×64". Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio

Frederic Edwin Church, Twilight in the Wilderness Complementary colors create dramatic effect Intense red-orange clouds complement the blue-green evening sky Powerful color reveals Church's awe and respect for the American landscape Sample of complementary color When two complementary colors are mixed together, such as blue and orange, a painter can make various browns and greys. If an artist places two complementary colors with the same value (lightness or darkness) next to each other, the result is usually intense and sometimes vibrating color. The orange clouds and Cerulean Blue sky are complementary colors. The orange and blue are intense colors (high saturation). The upper sky appears intense but does not vibrate since the same value of blue and orange are near each other but not placed directly next to each other. The orange glows. The most intense orange is seen in upper center where the orange is placed next to brown. There is a high contrast in the colors' intensity (brown -low saturation, orange -high saturation.) The orange appears to project forward because it is a warm color placed next to a low saturated color (brown) and the blue cool color. Church used complementary colors in the center of the painting where a blue-violet mountain can be seen in the distance. Orange-yellow and blue-violet are complementary colors (opposites on color wheel.) The mountain in the distance contrasts with the yellow sky. The blue-violet mountain is more noticeable because of this contrast. If the yellow sky was a toned down light value of blue, the mountain and sky would be similar in color with less contrast between the them, almost blending together. Church is an American artist part of a group of landscape painters known as the Hudson River School. From spring to fall, Church traveled the countryside and made sketches of what he observed. During the winter he painted in his studio. This landscape is not a particular place, rather a composite of what he sketched traveling through Maine and New York. Church painted landscapes to emphasize the beauty of American wilderness.

1.4.23a Georges Seurat, The Circus, 1890-91. Oil on canvas, 6'⅞"×4'11⅞". Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France

Georges Seurat, The Circus Pointillism is the use of small dots of color, painted close together Our eyes see the colors differently through optical mixing Colors appear more intense because they retain their individual intensity Sample of Pointillism and optical color mixing 1.4.23aGeorges Seurat (1859-1891). The Circus. 1890-91. Oil on canvas. 6'⅞" x 4'11⅞". Muséed'Orsay, Paris, France Seurat is a Post Impressionist painter who used optical mixing to create his paintings. Seurat developed a method known as pointillism where he placed short brush strokes (dashes) of color next to each other. When viewed from the distance, the colors on his canvas appear (in our mind) to blend together to create new colors.

monochromatic

Having only one color. Descriptive of work in which one hue—perhaps with variations of value and intensity—predominates. having one or more values of one color Monochromatic -only one color, black and white are used in an artwork.

hue

Hue -the colors on the color wheel Hue is the name by which we identify a color as it appears on the color wheel. Hue refers to the purest state of a color, unmixed as it is found on the color wheel. Red is a hue, so is red-orange, green, blue-violet.... The color pink is not called a hue. We can say "pink has a red hue." (Pink is made by mixing red and white together.) a particular shade of a given color the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so forth general classification of a color; the distinctive characteristics of a color as seen in the visible spectrum, such as green or red. Properties of Color: Hue Hue is the general classification of a color, as seen in the visible spectrum Red, yellow, blue, green, orange, and violet are hues We associate a hue with an ideal version of a given color

1.4.16 Mark Tansey, Picasso and Braque, 1992. Oil on canvas, 5'4"×7'

Mark Tansey, Picasso and Braque A work that uses only one hue is called monochromatic An artist can give variety to such a work by using a range of values References Picasso and Braque, who referred to each other as Orville and Wilbur in the early days of Cubism Sample of monochromatic Mark Tansey is an American artist who mostly creates monochromatic paintings. Monochromatic means only one color is used. Tansey used the hue blue and a variety of values. He added white to blue to create a range of tints and added black to blue to create a range of shades. Why would an artist limit their color to one? Perhaps the artist wants to emphasize the content (meaning) of the painting and color is secondary. The subject of Tansey's paintings are related to art theory, art movements, and philosophy. In this painting, as the title indicates, Tansey is referring to Picasso and Braque who worked together creating art that would soon be known as Cubism. Cubism is an art movement within the Modern Art period. Picasso and Braque referred to each other as the brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright. The Wright brothers are considered pioneers of aviation while Picasso and Braque are pioneers of Cubism. The plane has the appearance of the first plane the Wright brothers flew only the plane is constructed with Cubism art. We looked at Tansey's painting earlier. He used blue, black and white to create a monochromatic painting with various values.

1.4.13 Mary Cassatt, The Boating Party, 1893-94. Oil on canvas, 35⅜ ×46⅛". National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Mary Cassatt, The Boating Party Analogous color palette (yellows, greens, blues) creates a harmonious, relaxed effect Cassatt was a female Impressionist (the only American member) The Impressionists shared an interest in the effects of light and color Sample of analogous color (next to each other on color wheel) American Impressionist artist living in Paris. Impressionist artists were interested in light itself and how colors changed at different times of the day and season. With the new ability to purchase paint in a tube instead of mixing paint from powdered pigments, many painted outside. The most common subject of Impressionist artists is leisure activities of the urban middle class. Cassatt used two sets of analogous colors: yellow and green; green and blue. Yellow, green and blue are not analogous colors. She used yellow and green on the sailboat, using green as a shadow. Green is a cool color, yellow a warm color. Cassatt also used yellow and green on the woman's hat. The blue of the water and green background are analogous colors. Cassatt used mostly saturated colors. Notice the intense green in the background. She does not use the atmospheric perspective technique to indicate a vast distance. Cassatt's interest, or focus is capturing color on a sunny day.

Saturation

Saturation same as CHROMA Saturation Refers to the purity of a color relative to its hue on the color wheel. Saturation is the third property of color. Saturation does not refer to value, the lightness or darkness of a color. It refers to how intense the color appears relative to it's pure state as found on the color wheel. Saturation refers to the greyness of a color. Properties of Color: Chroma We tend to associate a color with its purest state, its highest level of chroma Refers to the strength or weakness of a color Sometimes described as saturation, chromaticness, or intensity purity of color or intensity of color the state or process that occurs when no more of something can be absorbed, combined with, or added.

subtractive color

Subtractive color: - Reflective light is used to mix colors. - Pigment based color is used (paint, markers, crayons...) - Color is created by mixing pigments that reflect light waves (does not absorb all visible light waves.) the colors produced from pigment Subtractive Color -pigment based color We use subtractive color when we use markers, colored pencils, paint... Is called subtractive color because the color we see are the light waves that are reflected, that is, not absorbed by the object or things such as pigments. color that becomes white when all colors have been removed or subtracted; CMYK colors are called subtractive colors Mixing pigments is called subtractive color (adding colors = darker results) Subtractive color mixtures using CMY primaries. When the three colors are perfectly layered together, the result is black

4.4.14 Georges Seurat, Sunday on La Grande Jatte, 1884-86. Oil on canvas, 6'93 ⁄4" × 10'1 ⁄4". Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois

Sunday on La Grande Jatte (4.4.14) is a picture of people engaged in the activities of everyday life. But its artist, the Frenchman Georges Seurat (1859-1891), also applied to this artwork recent scientific studies on the way that the human eye perceives color. Seurat developed a process called pointillism, a meticulous way of applying color theory in his paintings. He relied on two optical effects (optical mixture and afterimage effect) to create scenes in which the figures are very distinct, almost like cutouts, because of the precise way in which he applied tiny dots of color to the canvas. The colors we see when we view Sunday on La Grande Jatte from several feet away are quite different from the colors we see up close. For example, the green grass is made up of dots not only of various shades of green but also of oranges and purples. Seurat took three years to paint this work, meticulously applying dots while considering the effects of color theory on his palette choices. To ensure that the optical arrangement would not be disrupted when the painting was framed, Seurat also painted a border using the same pointillist technique

value

Value - The lightness or darkness of a color. Two ways to describe a colors' value: a) Relative to the particular hue b) Relative to another hue The lightness or darkness of a color the lightness or darkness of a plane or area Properties of Color: Value Each hue has a value, meaning its relative lightness or darkness compared to another hue A tint is a color lighter in value than its purest state A shade is a color darker in value

shade

a color darker in value than its purest state

Tint

a color lighter in value than its purest state

tone

a color that is weaker than its brightest, or most pure, state Properties of Color: Tone The weaker chromatic state of any hue A hue that is almost gray is a tone, because it has been dulled from its brightest, most pure, state A tone (low chroma) may be similar in value to a hue at its most intense state (highest chroma)

Pontillism

a late nineteenth-century painting style using short strokes or points of differing colors that optically combine to form new perceived colors

analogous colors

colors that are next to each other on the color wheel colors adjacent to each other on the color wheel Analogous Color These colors are adjacent to each other on the color wheel Similar in wavelength Create color unity and harmony Analogous Colors -two colors next to each other on the color wheel. Analogous colors: Orange and yellow Yellow and green Green and blue Blue and violet Violet and red Red and orange Analogous colors have similar light waves. Instead of creating intense color combinations like complementary colors do, analogous colors tend to create a sense of harmony, calm....

optical color mixing

small dots of colors appear to the eye as the blended color of the two pigments Impressionist technique uses complementary colors to create an after image of its opposite; the two colors change places in the viewers' mind placement of different colors in such a way that the human eye mixes them to form new colors Optical Color Mixing When viewed from the distance we do not see the individual dots and our mind mixes the colors. We perceive violet when we view the red and blue dots at a distance.

Warm and cool colors

warm: red, orange, and yellow; cool: blue, green, and violet Warm and Cool colors Warm hues are seen on the left side of the red line and cool hues are on the right side. We tend to make associations with warm and cool colors. The associations are subjective (personal) yet sometimes we do have similar experiences with colors. Perhaps warm colors suggest energy to you and cool colors suggest calm, relaxed.