Saturday, July 17, 2010

Why is color theory so important?

An easy question right? If you’re an artist you should understand how colors work. Chroma, hue, tint, value, analogous, complementary, split complementary, primary, secondary, and tertiary.  Shouldn’t all these words be understood and have meaning for every artist? On the other hand, isn’t it just so much simpler to buy another colored pencil or tube of paint when you want a specific color? Why understand the effects of color mixing at all?
I spent years painting without giving much thought to these concepts. And I had been trained in art! I completed a minor in Fine Art during college and a double major including Scientific Illustration in graduate school. My dog and horse paintings got on just fine using the most common “animal” palette colors including black and a collection of ochres, siennas, umbers, and Payne’s Gray.  It was all good. That is until the day I picked up a couple of books and had my mind blown. One was Jan Hart’s “The Watercolor Artist’s Guide to Exceptional Color” and the other, Peggy Macnamara's “Painting Wildlife in Watercolor.” (Which, by the way, I found at the North Light bookshop for a DECENT price...)
I was astounded. All the grays in their worlds were lively. Rich and colorful. No flat blacks at all! Color palettes were pleasing even though they were made up of limited colors. The colors worked so well together! How did they do it? I just had to know.
I started experimenting. No more black for me…no sir. And what about those ochres? Wouldn’t some Quinacridone Gold just look so much more beautiful there instead? Transparent colors – yes! But what about some granulating ones to add some body? Oh yes that too!
From here my story should take you through my entire art career eventually culminating in me becoming a famous painter whose works are renowned for their qualities of light. That are known for their extraordinary color harmonies. A success story that makes you smile and perhaps become a tiny bit envious.
But that’s not what’s happened, at least not yet. Disappointed? Don’t be. My journey is still in its the formative stages and I foresee a long road of exploration ahead for me. :-)
Over the next few posts I’m going to talk more about my journey into color theory, including making my own “color cards” to help me better understand how colors can work together harmoniously. Eventually, I’ll also be talking about my own creative workbook of experiments to help me use my theories to good effect. Yes, my process is still-on going. But that’s great because if it were already over I’d be very disappointed.

8 comments:

  1. I'm looking forward to reading more about your journey - thanks for sharing! nancy

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  2. Very interesting. Good luck and I hope you'll find what you're looking for and thanks for sharing ^^

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  3. Well, I for one, cannot wait to hear more!

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  4. I hope it stays interesting. ;-) New posting tomorrow...

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  5. Sounds like exciting discoveries ahead . . . can't wait to read more!

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  6. Thanks for sharing, Sara! I'm looking forward to reading your next post :)

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  7. OH my! Had to come back and thank you for the suggested reading of "Painting Wildlife in Watercolor"! I checked it out from the library and I am amazed! I am actually going to READ this one, unlike most of the ones that I check out and only look at the pictures! Thanks again!

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  8. Thanks for letting me know Raena! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did/do. I find her use of color really extraordinary. :-)

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