color & two primaries

Color

Color

•Color is the visual effect that is caused by the spectral composition of the light emitted, transmitted, or reflected by objects.

Color originates in light. Sunlight, as we perceive it, looks colorless.

In reality, all the colors of the spectrum are present in white light.

1. All the" invisible" colors of sunlight shine on the apple.2. The surface of a red apple absorbs

all the colored light rays, except for those corresponding to red, and reflects this color to

the human eye.3. The eye receives the reflected red light and sends a message to the

brain.

When light hits the surface, the

BLUE paint ABSORBS all the light EXCEPT the blue part of the

spectrum.

There is no pure blue.

. ... ..... .

..... . .. .

.. . .. .... . . . .. .... . . .. . .... . ... . . .. .

... . ..

.. . . . ..

. .... ....

.. .. .. ..

. .. .. . ..

.. . . . ... .

... .... .. ..

.. ... .. .. . ..

.. . . . ... .

... .... .. ..

.. ... .. .. . ..

.. . . . ... .

... .... .. ..

.. ... .. .. . ..

.. . . . .

.. .... ..

.. .. .. .

. ... .. .. . .

.. . . . .

.. .... ..

.. .. .. .

. ... .. .. . .

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.

Itten Color Wheel

Color Bias Wheel

How to use the color bias wheel to mix colors...

What happens when you mix complementary colors?

+

+

+

What happens when you mix complementary colors?

+

+

+

= a neutral grey or brown

Color Bias Wheel

make brightest purple

make duller purple because some blue and

orange are mixed

make dullest purple, because

blue is mixed with orange and red is mixed with

green.

Color Bias Wheel

Properties of Color

•HUE

•VALUE

•INTENSITY (or saturation)

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.

Itten Color Wheel

Local Color

•the natural color of an object unmodified by adding light and shadow

Local Color

Properties of Color

•VALUE - lightness or darkness of the hue.

MUNSELL VALUES

“Normal” hues have different values.

Properties of Color

•VALUE - lightness or darkness of the hue.

•adding white produces a TINT

•adding black produces a SHADE

“ “

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 will make that

color LESS INTENSE.

Color Bias Wheel

Shadows in black and white...

Shadows in black and white...

7-8

6

3

4-5

2-3

1

3

3

SHADOWS of COLORS are made by adding that color’s

COMPLEMENT.

Pink Cube Red Cube

Here, the shadowed side is more intense than the others. Only a transparent material could look like this.

The cube’s SHADOWED side must be LESS

INTENSE than the cube’s brightly-lit side.

“Color obtains in the light”

???

-Thomas Lovell

“Color obtains in the light”

In other words:Color becomes more saturated when it’s in the

light.

-Thomas Lovell

Vermeer

Jacque Louis David

Edward Hopper

Sometimes painters take this a step beyond, and paint the

shadows as the complementary color itself...

yellow purple

yellow orange

purple

blue

Wayne Theibau

d

Sometimes color reflects from one

object onto another...

Reflected color...

Bonnard

Bonnard

SIMULTANEOUS CONTRAST

when the color’s complement is

placed next to the color, it will look more intense.

Bonnard

Other kinds of simultaneous contrast...

Other kinds of simultaneous contrast...

VALUE - a color will appear darker in value on a light ground and lighter on a

dark ground

Other kinds of simultaneous contrast...

Other kinds of simultaneous contrast...

INTENSITY - A color will appear more intense on a more neutral ground and

grayer on a very intense ground

Other kinds of simultaneous contrast...

Other kinds of simultaneous contrast...

HUE - Orange will look more orange on a field of red and more red on a field of

yellow.

Josef Albers - Homage to the Square

Victor Vasarely

Properties of Color

•HUE

•VALUE

•INTENSITY (or or saturation)