Colour Theory

Overview

• There are 3 terms that artists use when talking about colour Hue – the name of the colour

(ie. Green is a hue)

Value – the lightness or darkness of a colour

Intensity – the brightness or saturation of a colour

Primary Colours

• Red, yellow, and blue• From these, all

colours can be made

Piet Mondrian, Composition with Red, Yellow and Blue, 1921

Secondary Colours• By mixing two primary

colours you create a secondary color: • Red + yellow =orange• yellow + blue = green• blue + red = violet

Tertiary Colours• These are created by

mixing a primary and a secondary: • Red + orange = red-orange• Red + violet = red-violet• Yellow + orange = yellow-

orange• Yellow + green = yellow-

green• Blue + green = blue-green• Blue + violet = blue-violet Henri Matisse, Le bonheur de

vivre (The Joy of Life), 1905-06

Colour Schemes

Monochromatic

• Uses only one hue (color) and all of its values (lightness and darkness) to create a unifying and harmonious effect.

• A tint is created by: – adding white (when painting)

– applying less pressure (using using colour pencil)

• A shade is created by:– adding black (when painting)

– applying more pressure (using colour pencil)

Analogous

• Colours that contain a common hue and are found next to each other on the color wheel, e.g., violet, red-violet, and red create a sense of harmony. Remember adjoining colours on the wheel are similar and tend to blend together. They are effective at showing depth.

Warm colours

• Suggest warmth and seem to move toward the viewer.

• Ex. red and orange are the colours of fire.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, The Kiss, 1892

Cool Colours

• Suggest coolness and seem to recede from a viewer.

• Ex. blue and green are the colours of water and trees.

Vincent Van Gogh, Starry Night, 1889

Complementary Colours

• Two colors opposite one another on the color wheel– blue and orange, – yellow and violet, – red and green.

•When a pair of high intensity complements are placed side by side, they seem to vibrate and draw attention to the element. Intensity can only be altered by mixing a color with its complement, which has the effect of visually neutralizing the color. Changing the values of the hues, adding black or white, will soften the effect.

Henri Matisse, Woman with the Hat, Paris, 1904-5

Split Complimentary

• The split-complementary color scheme is a variation of the complementary color scheme. In addition to the base color, it uses the two colors adjacent to its complement.

Colour Theory Quiz

Which artwork is an example of:

1. Primary colours

2. Monochromatic colours

3. Complementary colours

A

B C

Which artwork is an example of:

1. Primary colours

2. Cool colours

3. Complementary colours

D

F

E

Which artwork is an example of:

1. Monochromatic colours

2. Warm colours

3. Primary colours

J

K

L