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COLOR THEORY

A wonderful experiment

COLORT}TEORl

I switched offthe light andwalkedinto a dark room where thee were three sdepojecto$. Each projectohad a coloredfilter: one red, one green,an other blue. On the wall hung a whitc sheetthat sevcdas a sccen. In the dark, I pressed the buttonof the filst projector;the light cameon and a red cicle appearedon the screen(figufe 3). projecThen I switched on the second tor. A circle of green light was prcjected beside the red (figure 4). I oved the red beam onto the geen yellow shape and a brilliant, lumnous (YELLOWI appeared. Any amateu painter, howeve limited his expericnce,knowsthat grcenmixedwith ed givesyou bown,a dark brown,a kind of chocolate color; but . . . yellow?) I switched on the third projectowith the blue filter and movedthe blue circle on top of the yellow.Thc mixturc of red, green,and bluecreated a patch of WHITE LIOHT (figure5). At that moment,it felt as if rny wholc experience as a painterhad collapsed. I felt an urgeto showsomeone this extraordinary phenomenon.Extraordinary to me, a painter,who wantedto testwith his own eyesthe strange theory of Thomas Young, a famous nineteenth-century Eglish physicist,

Threc beam6of light, oDe drk blue.oneintense red. andarother gren, ntense whnsuperimposed on oneanother,give clr, brillant white light; in othr words, theyreconshuct ight itslf.

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Lieht and its colors

lrn.rginr thrt il is a \firn!'f rilcrnr)(nl: \ou irc in rllr.ouIrr\ lh. cirrlllr\ drnrIi it hrL\ lu!r iLine.i rLnd lr\ l slrrnqf Irrl(lo\. thc \un i\ \till \hini|lg iri lt 'rIls iIto thc \..1 lir llr..1!irr. rirdrLLu nltrrnrrfic slr uptrr|\ u lrrr lirsliciIch r)l .o1or it r.rinl)(\\. I n r h . i \ 1 i r l r r c .i I r \ \ r i l l l l L r i n ! . . \ . \oLr Irir\ ilLr(rd\ kr(\\. \\lrcn ri|irr (lrot\ rrrci\( r:r\sj'nr thr.un. thr\ r r c l f , r r i l l i o r t ' o l ! l s f r ' f r s . ( l i \ I t r \ i n l l h e l r ! h l r n r ( )l h c \ r \ L o l o r \ L , l llrf firi|lh(,s . \ h o L ) ll N o l r r f ( l r . \ r i r r s r ! r i . I \ i r i r ( N . r \ 1 o I r \ r p r r ) i l u c c ( lt l ) L ' t ) l r . r x r n r r f ( n o l t h r f r i r r h o \ \ i n h i \ h ( ) L r \ e1 l f \ l r L r t h i n r s r l lu f r n c l ) n r I l . l . l \ , l i t r k r L ) ( ) r ril 1.1 in ir lhin h!irr (il ll!h1. thr cqui\rlrnt ol r sirgl( sunrir\. rhfr)Lrrh ir llll! h()1. Ih.r h. jft.r.rl,t.(l th. f i r \ \ \ r t l l r I n \ r n i r r r i i | | l g u l i r ir] i i \ r ro!l rn(i nllrnr!.il ro rll\|cr\f th \ \ h i t . l i S h ti n r o l h . . o l ( ) r \ L , i l h . \ f i 1 ,'rlr (lirur. h).

( olot! ol thr \rLtunt \lrgcrrlrl l{rd \ elltt

l)ark hlur
,Lr!,lrL I .,rl \ c i s L r t r r . r h c I h ! \ r i r \ r \ L r t \ p c r i n r f n l l l r l 1 \ , r \ t l r r L , l . l \ , ' r r !, , \ \ l l r l e \ $ l L i r r , i : \ i , ,/ \ l N , r \ \l L , n\ l i g h r i n t o t l r f \ i \ r o l t ' r \ ( ) 1r h ( \ 1 , ! . l J L r n r .\ ' ( r u n ! r r , r s r r r , rl/r : : h t l l r protc(tfd \i\ .ol()r l,riu. ,il hrhr ,,rl l o p ( l o r r ci l | ] o l h c f .l h . \ i \ r d l o r \ ( ] l l l r r \tfrlrum. itIrr( l J h l r i I e di r \ h i t r l i ! l T o u r ) i l e r s t i I r r it h r r t h r s i , : u lI h c r t , , I r . nLrn\ . h c \ i | l l o u s f ] 1 r s c . ( l i r f k! o l { i r \ ( ' f c r r . r l i ! h r rc r ) | t , \ r h e n I r i \ e ( 1 .\ , i L r rre h i 1 \ . t { ) r . n r . ! n h c . l h i L lt l r r . c r . L , r s s) l I g h t . I l t d r t r er , ' l o t s1 ' r o t h c ( ' ( ) l o r( je(1.ij lr\ hc.rnr\ ol liirht Ih.r irlrrire r h . r l l e c t s o l n i r t u r . rh l ght l.rll lhLL\. \ o L r( i r n s \ t h r l u h t n t o u r L t , l rnt,:,'l o r L i ll i q h l l ( i ( ) r h . r . I h . r r r \ l u r . \ l l

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COLORTHEORY

ct\,e you a more luminous, Iithtef li+h! color. tor tnstance, by mixingthe lighr cotorgeer and the ght color ed vou wilfobtain a lighrerlight colo yello9,. Youngalsodemonstrared anotherim_ porta,nl colorfaclor. By experimenting wrtnhlscotorlamps, he showed bv the processof elimination that the s colors of the spectum could be reduced to threebasiccolorsof the samesDectrum. He fouDdthat with iusttheecolors,_red, geen, and d;rk blue, h couldreconstruct whiteIishtlfisure 7). And he realizedrtrat by-mixin-g those tnree cotorsn pairs. be could obtain threeothers:cyanblue. magenta, and yellow.As a resukof this exDerimentYoungwasabfeto identifytheprimary and secordry colors of the sDectrum. You can sec thcm in the rouare below (figure8).

COLORTHEORY

Absorptionand reflectionof light

All objectsreceivethe three primary light colors: blue, red, and green. Someobjectsreflectall the light they receive,while others absorbit. Most part of the light and reobjects absorb flect the rcsl. This law of physics can be summed up as follows: All opaque *hen theyare objcfs, illuminated, havelhe propertyof reflecting all or pat of the light theyreceive. No one has unmvclcdthc mysteryo[ why objectshavethe cokrrsyou seein thcm, and no othcrs.Why is a tomato red?You do knowthatwhena tomato is illuminatcd, it rcccivcs thc thrcc pimary colors*blue, green, and redthe blue and greenlght rays, absorbs and rcflcctsthe rcd ones.As a rcsult, you seeit as red, In fact, eventhis pageis receiving the three invisible light colors-blue, green,and red. When the light colors hit the surface of the page, they bounce off; thisreflection is the sumof the three light colo$, which is the white of the page. If an illuminated objectis black,the oppositcwill occur. ln theory, when the thee primary light colors hit a black illuminatedobject, they will bc totallyabsorbed. Thisleavcs the object wtholt light, n the dark, so to speak, whichis why you seeit as black. At the bottom of this page(figure9), you can sec thc cffcctsof absorption andreflection on various coloredcubes (whitc, black,rcd, yellow,andmagenta), Notice the colorsthat rcflect and the colors that absorb, giving each cubeits particularcolor.

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COLORTHEORY

You have seen the colors of light _painf the objectsthey comein conYour pdmary colos will be the scondary colors of light and vice tact with. Whenthe threepdary colyour verso; secondry colorcwill ors of light are mixed in pairs. they primary of light. be the colors crcatetheeother lter colors,which eventually reconstruct light fsclf-the colo lvlie-whcn they are all mixed No* I will explair why this inversion togcthcr. takesplace. But it is obvious that you cannot of values -paint with light. Or rather,you canlight colorsby mixilg dark Additve and subtracfive synthess not create The mixtures of pigmentcolorsalways you cannot avoidthe sixcol- mea. subttuctin| l.8rr, i.e., always Moreover, ors of the spectrumif you want to goingfrom light colors!o dark colors. achievethis iritarionof thc effects If you mix the pigment colors cyan produced by light. blue, magenta. and yellow-three obAnd so, what are yo to do'?lhc an- viouslyluminouscolors-you will obsweris to simplyvary the primacy of tain black.You obtainthc opposite cf(fig. - fectswhenyou mix the light colors ccrtaircolors in relaton to others. still keepingthc six colorsof thc spcc- ure$l0 and l1). trum as the basis.For example: Fig. 10,Additivesynthesis. .\

Fis.

Subtractive synlhesis,

COLOR THEORY

Light, color, and pigments

:q l2 Wen lght ''p nls an oqect. n does so by addiq dilrerenr colored rays oi 9t1rat by addrt)ve smF 9 13 Whe you p nl" wrth prgmet coors. you do so by sll)cl g rght obtanng the colors by slolfcron, of s!trc-

How light "colors" an object Aatditive synthesb: To obta the secondarylight cobr yellow,thc light color rcd is addedto the light colorgreen; whenthcy are mi\ed. a lighterlightcol<x. yelloh,.is produced. Thus, yellow is obtainedby the rrrlditiwrynthesis of thc light colorsrrland gcx.

Hol' pigments "color" an objeca Subtractive synthesis: To obtainthe sccondaypigmentcolor green,you mix cyan blue and ycllow. ln colors of light, blue ahsorbs red and yellow absorbsblue. The only color they bolh reflect is ge[, which is obtainedbv the subtroctive synthetis of blue andrcd.

Knowing about thc origin and the tones,and colors,in the modelbelow. thcory of colorswill help you undcr- are classified into primary and seconstand'howthe polychromc of shades, dary colos(figurc l4).

l6

COLORTHEORY

F9. r5. Ths coor wheel shows vo lhe crassifcatio ol pig. mel colofs, strtig rromthe thfeepfmry (dlcated colors by rhe etter P). Whon mixed n parfs, le prmary co ors pfoducerhe lh.e secondar cy o o r e( d cardby rhe letters) When the secondary coo6 ar6m xedwrh Ine pnmary you colofs, gt re arv coorc lrnd cted wrh rhelelterf)

Mixing magenta with lellow creates a /d

Mixing lellou) \aith .!an blue arezlesa grcen

Mixitrg clan blue witli magenta creates da* blue

Br mrrnr primarycolot with the closest sccondary color, you can .fcrr. J trliary pigmenfcolor: Finally. by mixing the rertiarics l.r lrn witb thc secondaries, you can creatc dnothcr darker range callcd the "quaternaies-' You cn continue this processand producean infinite numberof (>:tt shades.

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IIffi'

t7

COLOR THEORY

colors Complementary
the theory behind By underslanding colorandlight, yol canobtainanycolor on yourpalctlc. Next,youwill nccd to know how pigmentcolorscomplemcntone another.
COMPLEMENTARY PIGMENT COLORS Intense blue eompleme'E Jello'tt' Red coplements clan blue Green complements mageta (and
F l g s .1 7 , 1 8 , a n d 1 9 The rheoryof compemelrycoors can be summeo up n mese o a g G m s :w e n M 0 p marycolo6 lmagen la nd cyan bue) are mxeo,youoDan a sc ondary color lrnrense blue).whos cople corentis the prmary or that was not cludmxed ln the prevous 1re (ylow).8ed9 you can eachdragrm s e et h tn t e n s b eu e s the complement oi ye. low; reds the compementol cyanbluetand gree. s me compeme or agen6 no

whatuseis Now.you mightbe saying, thisinformalion about conplementary colorswhile I m painting? Well. . . bok at it thiswayrif youobcol serve the prcvious tableof pigmcnt ors carcfully.you will nolice that the opcomplementary colorsarc always posite in all possiblc com" onc another (darkbluecomplements yelbinations vcrsa. don't forgct-red low-or vicc cyn blue. and so on). complements 'fo they put l another way. bccause have the complenrcnlary, thcy re And to a paiter, this least in comnron. to create suprising measlhc chance lucontrasts. to paint cxlraordinarily minous shadowsor inlcnse backgrouDds, ofpainting lt lso means thepossibility obwith a raogcof broken"colors. prowith a mixture of uncqual tained colorsand porlionsof comple|nenlary whitc. But this is a subiectthal I will toninS. leave for lalcr-whenI discuss art of and.tbe tcndcncies and r:rnges. colors. harmonizing

Fg 20 fre se .r .omplementrt .o o.s 6 owsvoL lo olrt n |re mstdensecoorcon r f s r sA r r n eD e gn n n g Dt llr s .e.trrY the post ipresso stsa.a the ivrsrs emphas

,ed coor .ortrsts rne, o.r ngs an exdDe or ris sqe s rn s rerrorlrc: o. ns ol Andre Dr p n r . g t l t s m , s r e . 6rdg Lpivale .o ccion,

1E

(.OIOR TIIFOR\

MAGFNTA ls thc complmeflt of GREEN CY^N R,UEls the comphmcnt of RE[, (andviccrersa)
COMPt,)MIJNTARY PT(iNINNTCOI,ORS 'l heJ lrc thc sme as the primary lighl cobr$-bluc, groe , and rcd. Snce lhcso(ohrs trkc s$l1'lighi, rvhcnfirircd lhrl (rclr black.

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Colortheory:summary

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P.rintingNilh pignrcrrt col)\ is the opposite proross to tho on{r:rpplicd to lighl. Nli\ing pigment colr)rsl$.tts invoh{'s stnthesis. taking .r$t light. subtraclre For instance.br mi\ing thr thrce primarr llgrr colors, t{Ju (relc blck.

U,,$(\fr. lht crlors of the sptctnrncan l)f lL'und lr,rh in the colors of light and n

U U U Z S Z c o l o Rr H E o R y

COLORSOF LIGHT

PRI]IIARY Red

PRIMARY

ST]CONf)ARY Clan blc

Mgcnts -

Yellol{

. Thescllght colo$ rc the sm plgment colors(right) usdby psinaer.

o
M agent

Yello*

Drk bluc

. This coincidenceollows an a.list to imitate the effectsof lighi in llmnoled objects and io repro. duce all lhe raues of color lhal nalure has lo offer.

MEXICAI PLANTEL I O T EC A UNIVER

CONTRAST

Contrastthroughtoneand color
Pigment colors rc aclually a poor comparisonto he colors rnd lights f()und in nature. l he f(rllowing iesl Nill sho\y tou an xample of thc diffcrence betwccnnaturaland piBmenl colorinS. Imaginea Nhite wall lhat has a small hole. which boks into a bldck spacc wthout lighl. If tou were o print. with blackpainr, a shapecqual t() tha of the hole Dexl to it. vou would see lhat lhe black painr would lransform into a dark Srayand n(f the rcal black (figurc .18). of drkncss ln ordcr to imilte thc real conlrnsts. Nhich exist betweenthc colorsin nalure. you have lo use a sericso[ rulcs bascd on lhc frclors of contrastbelwecn lorr and aoLr'.1. A contrast prcduced lhrou-qhlr,r does it dels rvith not involvccolorl instsad. thc lightncssor d rkcss of a cctor. For inst nco. blirckhosidc wbtc.a drk gfirv rDd ir light grv. or conr' t)inarion of blirck.gray. and whitc rc cxirmplcsof ioDl conlrasts,A dark bluc and lighl bluc i\ nolhcr tonitl lo$c!cr. il lou print drk rcd beside u drk bluc. ]rou obtain thc conlrsl ('l onc cok)rl\'ilh nothcr. A color contrrst is bascd on thc diffcrenccs thal c\isl bclNccn t$o colors.Finally. if the bluc is drrk and thc rcd is lighl, gilcn by contrast lou achicvc doLble .o1r'nLl/rr,rt thc samc lime (figurc 19).

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COLORAND CONTRAST

The law of simultaneous contrast

' 1cn you have an are of light color 'Ile lbllo\\'ins conclusions can be dd' 'J irnotherarca of drk color. and cd t{) lour slud\ of colorl - prrnr the sme coloro topofbolh . \ellow lemorand r red tomato itt A cobr appers darkcr whcn - rse-vou \rill Bel thc optical ilthe color around it is lighter. . ,n lhal lhe ycllowof the lemon.or A color apprars lighter when - rdd of the lomato. placcdon the the color around il is darker. . :r surfaccis darkcr than the same : lhced on the black background :-:r. 50 nd 5I). I'his is known as
.it||t:]us aoLfa\L

+l

COLORAND CONTRAST

Maximumcolorcontrasts
To obtain a maximunr conlras! thro(gh tone.youjuslhve rc painlblacknext 10 while.But what aboutfindingthc ma\nrum conlrirsl through coo: whichcolors should Blueand !ou use? grccnl Red and yellorv? Videt .lnd rcd l Nlarimumcolor contrasts ran be producedfrom the juxtaposlion of complementarJ colors (ligure points hcrcaresome to remcmber: Whcnplaced sidcby side.two colors canbe enhanced in thci tone and in their color. On lhc other hand. the phcnomenon of successiYe images irlso takcsinto account the maximum color provide{i by the conlplcmen' contrasl tilr! colors. ll becomes evident lhal r the appearancc of ts color cfeates complementary color in ts neighboringcobr or shadc. It was thc color physicist, Chevrcul. who discovered and stundardizcd this phcnomenon. lmporlanl

Fg 54 HnrMatsse 1r869 r954) Pof o Madrne Mrrsse, a so khown s Porrfr Fov Fne Ars l.useJm. Copehage t rsr (he posr mpresso sls nd pant t h e l h e ; d ! v s r s co(asrs Dy l!rrapos. ns compemenrry co. Yo! see n r s pd nl i9

colors The numberof complemenlarv is alnosl intlnie.Il is not rcstricled. as one might believc, to an cxclusive combin lion ofthc primarynd seconoafv colors. Fronr \ht \,ou have learncd so far.

,11'

COLORAND CONTRAST

Inductionof complementary colors

ly that althoughthe two geensale identical,the one situatedotr the yellow rectangle hasa slightbluishtone, whilethe oneon the bluercctangle has a slight yellowish tone. The f$t rectangle(figure5) is receingan inducTest for yourseif this unique phenom- tion of blue,the complementary of yelenorideveloped by Chevreulwith the low. The inductiorialso givesthe tririangles on this page. ansle a blue creen tha the second First, stae lbr half a minute at the rectangle. The effectsare reversed green triangle on the yellow back- figure57. ground,and then at the greentrianglc (figures on the dark blue background 56and 57).You will noticcimmediateA color will cast its coplemntary color onto a neighboringcolor or shde.
Fgs 66 and 57 lf yoLr lookior halfa m nuteal rherragleo th blue background andlhenal the tnagle o lhe yelyou low background, willse|heinduclion ol corplemebry coors There ,s a ylowish to on lne tnangre with tha b!e bckglolnd, d a blush tone on lhe rriangle wlh lhe yellow back-

I
45

COLORAND CONTRAST

From theory to przictice

oncesaid,"Give me mudand Delacroix I will paint the skn of a venus - . . with the conditionthat I can paint aound her the colorsI want." Deldcroix knew that with ceftain colors in the it is possible o crcatc a background, delicrtefleshcolor. On one occasion,someonebegged Rubcnsto acceptas a pupil a young man who wasvcry kccn and very willing "He will setdetor anything. To begin with. he couldhclp you paintthe backgrounds, . , ." "Ah. he can painl backgrounds?" Rubensasked. 'Bring him along right away;I havebeen paintingfor years. and I havcneverbeenableto painta properly." background had a Rubens. likc ail great artists, premonitionof the moderncolor theories. Thatis whyhc thought that thc task of paintinga bckground. while appearing simple.was in fact vcrycomplex. You are now going to study thescthcorics from a practical point of view. To do this. you will be usngas an example,an by rnc oy thc orr il painlig Parnung artistFrncesc Serra. Fi8/r -58.Here is an inage in a white of a youngmodel. dressed blouse and a browD skirt againsta This is an cxample white background. of simultaneous contast. Against a whitebackground, the toneof the face is dark, grayish,and leaning toward green- The blouse looks more gray thanwhie;the book is alsopart of this grccnish brownish, tonality. FiBurc59. This is the resultof the induction of thc backgroundcolors. I havepaintdthe samefiguc on a redI havealsomodified dishbackgound; the color of the skirt, givingit a moe cimsonshade.The resuhsare bad. The red background, leaningtoward is the worstcolofor the olive crimson. greencolor of the faceand the blouse. Sincethe crimsoncolor castsits conplementary color. green, onto the neighboring shade.it only uddsmorc greento the cobr of thefigure. you an example with Now, I will show with a range a ycllowi$hbackground, includingochres. of golden colors,. siennas.yellows... Figre 0, No goodeithe.First of all. the backgroundbecomcstoo imporplace, whenthecotant.In thesecond the induction lors of the figurc receive of the yelbwish backgroud,they beco' comemorc gray.The backgound color. lors casl thcir complementary bluc (the complemetary of yellow). makingthc color of the face and thc palerandmorefaded. blousc

COLOR AND COh'TRAST

Figurc 61. Here is FancescSera's painting.lt shows you the magnificent bestbackground color match.The one which, throughthe inductionof complcmentary colors. hamonizesand matchesthe color of the head, the blouse,and the skit. The colors are not only pleasing to the ey. but they are alsooriBinaland atistic. Francesc Serras picture is undoubF edly brilliant. It showsan cxtraordinary knowledge of color aDdthe theoriesyouarelearning in thisbook,which, in short,may bc delined as follows: Beering in mind therule ofthe inductionof complementary colors, you can modifys colorby changing the .color of the background that surroundst ao ascomple. mentarycolor.

Another important lesson can be leanedby studyingthis painting by you that in painting,as Sea. It shows in drawing, the artistneeds to work on the wholepaintingat once,lookingat the cntirc picture,stainingand painting the entire sudace,and gradually transforming or matchingthe colors. you mustneverpaintand For example. finish a figuIe without stainingin the background with a color that will bc compatible with the figure. Remember,Chevreul himself wote this definitivephrase on the subject: Putting3 brushstroke of coloron a canYas is nol just stainingthe canvas with thc color on lhe brush.lt is alsocolorng the space arondit rdth its complementary c0ror.

fHI USE AND ABUSE OF WHITE AND BLACK

The color gray is 507owhite

To paint the light blue of a cloudless sky or the dark red of a flower, it seemsnatural, in thcory, that you would have the help of white and white or black. But beware!By rsing blackfor a light blue, a dark red, and so on, you can fall into the "gaytrap, " cspecially whenyou are painting with opaquecolors. such as oil, tempera, pastel, and so on. Rememberthat whitc is a color nd will be treatedas such in the mixture.Emilio Sala,the wasright whenhe wrotc: art teacher, Th greatestdilticulty wilh oil plntngis 10makethe whitevsn. ish. The fact is that white creatcsgray; white is a basiccomponcnt-no less thn 5070,togethcrwith black-of the color gray. AddingPhleto prtcularcolor mcns,bothin thoryand in prc. tice, turning the color aogry. Haveyou cvcr heardaboutthc cxpermentwith coffeeandmilk'Ifyou takc two glasses of coffec, with the same amountin each,and add watrto one glass andmlk to the othe,you will scc that the water makesthe color of the coffeelighter,leanig loward red. orange,gold. . . . It reactsin a similar way to the rixture of wter with a trasparent color srch asa wafercolor. While in the other glass, lhe milk the color of the coffeeinto transforms a dirty sienna,a dity ochre, a gray crcam.. . . It reactssimilarly to the mxturcof a white color-an opaque color-with another cqually opaque color (figurc63). This experimentwill help you to unde$tand an mportant rule: Adding white 10a mxlureis not th only wy to obaaa lighaer color.

{I

THE USE AND ABUSE OF WH]TE AND BLACK

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l#

{ rrr* .".*r"
The color gray is 507oblack

AND BLACK

You will scethat the useofblack is just asthe useof white.Takc asdangerous a bdght yellow, such as the primary pigmentcolor, anddarkenit by adding black. Nolicewhat happens: when I mix the yellowwith thc black, dirty. a gfay. As I the ye)bw becomes gradually blendin the black.it gives that is clearlygreen. dirty me a shade to grecn.whichin no way corrcsponds yellow. the the ideaof darkening In ordr to banishthis error oncend for all. you have to imitate the mix_ turescreatcdby light in natureitsclf is lo bc foundin Indeed, the solution the spcctrumof colors itself. In the for example.you can caseof yello'"v. that the dakness seein thc spectrum comesfrom the rcd side.As the reds arc transtbrmcd inlo oranges.they gradually becomelighter until they the cnlorycllo$ . . nJ thenlt reach and the bles with thc greens blends (tlgure 64). So. if you wcrc tu brek down the angeof the color ycll()w. with bl ck, thena !l_ you wor.ld bcgin slcnnit. il slcnnl.an oletred.anornge rI yellrrw. ir neutr orngc )cllow,a drk o f m i x t u r c y e l l o wJ . lemon !ellosln finlly whitc). rcl ycllow.grccn..rnd 65). a whitc(figure this thcoty. figurcs66 and To conlirm graphic ex mple of how to show a 67 lhe colorycllow ^nd darken lighten

t
Orangc

Blark

52

THE USE AND ABUSE OF WHITE AND BLACK

Fg 66 BAD: The buse oi wh te d b a c k i s s h o w h e r ei the ovefal graying oi the coor yelow The p an t g i s a s o s p o i e d by ihe greenloes thlr appear n ne snaaows Ths sqoodexampe ol what not to do whe par hg wth opaque

F s 6 7 G O O D :T h s par n9 is q! te d ffe. e r w h e n y o u u s ea l the colofsoi h spc, lfumto drkon a.d lght e n t h ey e l o wq u a l t y of he mode, l acqunes a g r e a t e ff e a l s m n d m o s to f a l , a g r e a l e r

-53

THE USE AND ABUSE OF WHITE AND BLACK

'

Paintingwith the colorsof the spectrum

The langeofcolorsprovided by the solar spectrumshowsyou the best mixturesto useto lightenand darkenthe primarycolor, cyanblue. You cansce for yourself- in the diagram of the speclrum,that on the ligt sde.the blue is vergingon grce. Wlile on thc dark side, it endsin an intense.dark blueleaning towardvolet, whichis repcscntedon color chafts by ultramarine blue. So you can see that in a bcakdown of the color blue. there is (a bluishgreen)in a greenish tendency the liglt parts.a neutral tcndcncy in thc center.and a violet tedencJ. a blue lhat includespurplc. in thc dark parts.It is evenpossble to seein the darker parts a deep vidct Llclorcyou rcach thc totally bckzone. Now I will compare the subjeclof jug some and blue flowers. first pintcd only wilh blue.black.and whitc.and then with all thc neccssary colorsrequircd for the subjcct (figures70 a n d7 l ) .

'::1.1(

Cohlt

BLck

blu

THE USE AND ABUSE OF WHITE AND BLACK

Fs 70 BAD: A blue subject p nred exc! svey wrh bue nd mxed wlh whte and back, gves an mag ke th s one. lt has poor c o o r n g ; r n e f er s p r e domrnance 01 grays that mke lrre lfue coor oJ the objects

sF."ffi';
: g 7 l G O O D H e el s . r nted wth 6nge oi res 'keheonerlus'ned l Jig!re 69. rpafe ths rmag,. . rh ln prvrousos ' I 7 0 ) A n a l y z er h 6 r orng oi ths pcrure 'I you wll seo rens, d iferont b 6s, .'pes n0voers, s , as back, whrch 'ohas zes lhe slblect

,ff:;t

55

rHL t sL AND A8l stl?!ll!!li

i9

q!\

Finally, here is a breakdownof red' as a usins the colots of the spectrum There black with mod;l onceagain. of blackandvlolcl musrbe a mixture rcd. red.orange crimson. b) fottowed one yes, but pink (pink. yellow, oange yellow,-cs with hnged thatls t;ghtl) thisis thecolortnat yuuwillsee. since when lnrders on ed in the sPectrum fifollowed lighter)' becomes red the 73) nallyb) $hite {frgure wlththe use of tomatoes. The Daitinq of onlv cd, black, and white in figure 74. and with the useof illl colorsin the you in figure75. shows red spectrum maKc to once aqcinthat it is be\l white v;nsh as muchas Possible"' In short,the importantthing is to disot a colstructllre covethe chromatic teThis darkens. and or as it lightens ne may kno$'. alreadY dencv.as You (he obiects of color the influnced'by andtherL' theonalcolor. themselves. ln condltloneo which arc color, flectcd the of intensity and color thc turn, by atmospncre lisht and the intervenrng mind. you in factors these K'eeoing leantohav; ttiudsc if the light3reas ward veilow,red, or blue Then You completing must ;roceed accordingly. the mixtureby addingwhite As far as the dark areas are concened You that: mustreember Black, in itself, is not enoughto a lsck of lighl represent

Fig 74 BAI

.e!

Fig.75. GOOD r

ilt

56

'I

HE L SF AND ABLSL OT WHIfF AND tsLACK

F l g 7 4 . B A D ]y e s . . Judgingby the shape anorhe drwina, these are tomatoesBut not eally.Tomaioes donr haveihat dirty brow sr co|or, orthlaravish red. This is por'exarnpe parntedby an amareur wrhno expeF ce, who just tghr, ened $e red with whne and darkoned it

Flg.75. GOOO:Thess re tomaloest 8y rixrngredandyelow (6nd wn l, or colrsa)i fed ano cfmson,and btuo a0 srenand gfen, rn lrue ctor ot tho slqect was prodlced r n s r sa p e t e d e t . m pe oi th sotr spcum, nd rhe bakdow ot red 6pfo-

57

Twelvecolorsare enough
For the purpose of this study. I have chosen a selection of oil colors. Oil is the king of paints, from which the names. definitions. and clssifications uscd in othcr mediums such as watecolor.tempera. pastel, pencils, colored ancl so on have been established. In figure 77. you can see a selectionof lhe n1osl *idely used colors. But rememberthat the cobr chartsprepaed by oil paint manufactuersinclude a far greater number of colors. The enornlouscolor rrnge used by the manulclurersrespond. first, to the artist s nced :rnd ability to choose the colors he considers to be in current use.and second. to the opportunityto choose and extend the normal range wi!h onc or more special coloN. I give a btal of tburteencolors-including black ilnd white-which are considcrcd thc most widcly used.But I shouldalso mention that this rangc can bc fcduccdto tcn colorsonly. -li) givc \rou an idc of this smallcr sclcclion. I havc mrrkcd the ten most necThcrcforc, ossary colorswith asterisks. il you hd to reducethe color range, you could do wilhout thc other four Spcrkingof this list. Ict me now try to i[]s$er rrearlier questoD. The amatcur iirund it strangethat. since it is possible 1ocompose all colorsjust with lhe thrcc primary colors---<yanblue. Ir]gct. and yellow-why shouldthe more aristmakehislife and his palette complicated by usingany more? wcll. in rhc first place,as you can see merely by going through the color rangc. ycllow. red. and blue clerly preclomlnate. And so. in theory.thc primacyof those threecolorsrcmainsintact, I shouldalsosar that this type ofcolor range. used by someoncwho knows whar hc is doing. makes the task of mixing nd composing colorsinfinitely lf yoLlwcre paintin8 with jusl the three primary cobrs and wanted to obtain a yellow ochre, for example, you would

haveto mix blueandyellowin unqual proportions and then add a Iittle white to the mixture. ln shof. cachof thesenonpimary .olols hasa particular colortendency, extremelydifficultto obtainif it hasto be imitatedwith a mixtureof primarycof ors. Chemically,this imitation is not possible.because the chemicalcomposition of eachcoloris differcnt.Yef low ochre.for example, is composed of specially composed natural earths; while in bluc. thcre is iron ferrocyanide; in puple, there is cochineal lacquer; and in yellow,there is cadmim sulphate.Thesethree chemicalcompounds, no matter how they arc mixed. cannot give the exact shade suppliedby the chemical composition of yellow ochre. you will sec a ln thc followingpages, bricf studyof eachof the colorsin the pagc.Thcrc is charton thc oppositc alsoa discusion aboutthe shadcs and qualitiesof eachcolor when they arc mixed with othcr colors.Thc study proves andnecessary that it is practical to paint with more than threecolors.

Cadnriu

l'e

otl

Cadmiumlemonlellorr
Cadmum Jellow medium* Yellow ochre* Burnt sienna Burnt umt)r* Light vermilion+ Deep madder*

gra'n Permatrnt Emerald green* Ultramarine bluedeep* Cobait blue dep* Prussia[ blu* Titanium white* Ivory black

USE AND ABUSEoF WHITE AND B;(.K

Cadhiuh b.non ye ore

ft"*",-"H.

COLORS COMMONLYUSEDBY ARTISTS

A studvof the colors

morc and driesmore quicklythan the zinc b'hite.Silver lvli makesil pos' sible to achievemorc texture. with paint madefom thick pastes. but the disadvantage that it causes cracks or s fissures becausc of its thickness. Zrc )/f is moe transparent and more fluid. but t dics much morc slowly. which mkesit difficult to wok on a paintingwhile it is drying. The con' positon of inimry/lis somewherebetwen the two. whichis wh\ it is more wdelyusedthan the others Titaniumwhite There are gcnerallythree classes of ln any type of opaqucmedia,sucha. white in oil painting,classified by the oil. tempera, or pstel,whteis oftcr namcssrlv\'hie, zinc v,htc.and ti- uscd,because it is a part of mostmir. tanumwhite.l is usefulto know that tures.This s why rvhitepaint is mann largetubes(figure7li). silver white is morc opaque, covcrs ufacturcd This study rcfers to commoncolors. For the mosl part. these tones and of co! shades are common to any class or media. In any box of watcrcolors. of pastels tubesof ternpera. of case or you will lind the same colorcdpencils. yellowlight. yellowochre. cadmium cobaltblue.ultramarne blue.and so with the on. They are manufactued samcshadc.or one very similar.and they usuallyhavethe samename.

COLORSCOM

,'-,|

PF
*'-"i 1'"(

"*"".7,.,e r,,^F"'81'^lriQ

f-t*'{
COLORS COMMONLY USED BY ARTISTS

Yellows
Cadmium Icmon ycllow and cadmium rello$ medium Look al thc No \cllows comingout of th!-ir tubcs (figurc 80) and noticc the m rkcd diiierencc in shdE between thcnr. The citdmiunrlemon yellow (figurc 80 A)is lighlcr.with a slightgrcenish lonc: rhc cadniunl \'cllow medium (fiSurclif) Ii) is drker and leansl()ward orirnge.lho\c lcn(lcncies confirn the Ic\$n in thc pre\i()u\ chaplcr (seefigure 65). \\tcrc il is eriplirined rht. bccausc oi lcllo*"\ placcnrcnl in thc spectarn, a liShl \ello$ leanr toward qrcen nd a drk Icll(xr lcansro$ard rcd. As lou print. r'ou have to remcmber thcs{'basic diilercnces bccuse. as vou shullsee i n n o n c n t . ) c l l o w( o r t h e color loLr hppen lo he Lrsing) nixed \\ith othcr coloft ill a\\'s reflcclrhe originalr'cllou or color usccJ. Lcl us l)eginb! looking rt figurcs81 ln(l 3l: thc\c vcll()ws arc mixcd with *hilc. In thc cadnriumlcDronyclk)w. thc crlrr (thourh it turns is nrrint.rincd imncrccptibl\t(xyKl erccn):but $ith ycllow nrcdiuln. thc cirrriunr thc originul cok) is lrllcrcdto a crc my color. Thcn nole lhrt b\ rli\inl .rlrirn lcnn ttllt:. o(lt, vltit.,.\nd rcd, il is |ossibli, t() oblitin a $i(le range ol Ilcshcolors(ligurc il A). Ne\t. notrcelhc mixlure of cadmium !'cllow Dediu|n Nilh red nnd crimr)n: \ou ca sce thl thc cad|niunlvell)$ lnediunr rakfs lhc brilliance ir\\'av fronr the ()rrngcs.pirrriculrlvwhcn nrired (r crinr\onshadc)(figurc t\ilh ,lr1, tit A ). Bu1 lhe influcnccol each color r\ lhc moslroticcirhlc in lh! rni\turcsoldr.r' // r.:rrlr in!l thc lhrce blucs:.i)/)rlr. ulnnnti,r:. !t1d P,r/rrid/. Stud\'thc\e partsol ligure's Nl irndtil. S.. ho\'the cadnrrtmlc lon vc11o\\ achicveli a luminous |arict\ of grecn\-ligh and brilliinl:s hilc in hc nli\ture\ \\ ith hc cdIniunl \fllo$ nredium.thr gr'rfn\ N"otc.too. lhat Nhcn the sreensrrc mixcd *ith (rd k ritld ultmntutn /ft,. ther bccom!'{ra!: hc reason ior this is that the blues are complemenlarv to the yellows (figure 8l B). Thc mixturc that goes thc darkef is the ullramarine blue mixed with the cadmium vellow medium (figure It2 B). which confirmsthe generalrulc thal. when mixed. complenentafy colors producc blackStudy all thcseeffecls.Remcmberir lutue lhc possibilitv of iUuminatint" with the cadmium lemon vcllow or ''darkening wilh goldcn oranges with the cadmiumyellow medium.Keep in nlind he diffcrcnr rangesof greens: lhc fact that to obtaira light. bright green.you have!o usccadmiumlemon yello\\r 1o achicve goldcn.sap grecns. usethc cdmiumyellow medum.Rcmcmbcr. too. that !hc\e grecn-greens rre bcsl obtaincd 'rrlh tnerukl grec and Pussian blue; sincc ultramarine /re is the complemenlof yellow,t wil give you dirty, grayish greens.

FIG,80B

61

COLORS COMMONLY USED BY ARTISTS

Fig.81: CADMIUM LEM

Prssian blu

CADMIUMYELLOW

,",,-Gf'---'t

Ultramarne blue

Cobalt blue

COLORS COMMONLY USED BY ARTISTS

Ochreand siennas
YellorYochre and burnl sinna tsy mixing vellorv ochre and maddc (a crim$n shadc)nd a little whire. you can obtin burnt sicnna(figure84 A)t and by mixing burnt siennawith yellow and a littlc while. you can ge! lellow ochre(figure8,1B).Theseare two sim il r colors. with the diffcrence being thc tenclencv of one toward yellow and the other to$ard cfimson.This similarity attcts the mixtues of rhese colors with othcr cok)rs.In mixtueswith ochre. yellow lvill appear.With burnt sierna. the tendencv lvill be toward a Bolh colors conltinwhite; thcre is nrore in the ochre than in the burnt sicnna.And both colorscontainblue. which mcns that the two colo cao tunr grrY. In tigure 6,1C. you seethat thc ochre nrixcd with white and red givcs ileshcobr. When ochrc is mixed with red or a crinrcn shrlc.a rnge of earth colors nnd s!nns,csserrlial to an artisfspalollc. is ohtaincd. Miricclrvith cncrld green. the ochre produccs brownish but luminous Srccns.irs it docs lvhcn mixed with Prussin bluc-lrhouSh with this mixturc a Llrkergrccn is obtained. Finrll),. whcn mixed wilh cobat blue nd ullraDrafiDe bluc. yelluw ochre produce\crilyishbrowns, Now look a1 the mixrures obtained with buft sicnn: the slmon coklr produccdhy thc ddirion of whilc (fiSurc ii5 A)t th!'monoronetht comcs ironr nririn!t il \\ith \cllo\\. rrd. rnd crrnsoDtrnd rhc richne,is of hc !rrr\ Lones obtilincdh\ nriringir rvirhemr'i ald greenand bluc (ligureS5 B). \orrce thl $ilh encrld rtrccn (iri com plementrvcolor). black or r drker tone rs produccd(figurc S5 C). Fronl thcsecolor\ $irh rhe \.1rians pro!ided b) lhc cobalt.rnd1llramrinc blue\_a ve! rich rangcof gir\s ad bro\\nsis obliDed.\hich is essenrial for paint, ing shadows areastht re not com pletelvblack.

Raw sienna This color is simila to yellow ochre. with the only differencc beingthat it is darkerwithin the sameshade. When raw sienna is mixedwith whic, yellow.and red (figure86 A). you can obtaina wide rangeof fleshcolors. Raw siennacan also be darkenedby graying.When mixedwith blues,you can produce an exceilentquality of greenish grays(figure86 B).

FIG.8 3 C

COLORSCOMMONLYUSED BY ARTISTS

:.'-i:-:

re

COLORS COMMONLY USED BY ARTISTS

Red and crimson

red and adde Cadmium when you comparethesetwo colon, you'llnoticethe markedbluishtendency of madder(or crimsonFa primary color that cannotbe reproduced with other colors(figures87 A and B). You have aheady seen tbe results thesecolo$ givewhenmixedwith yel(figures lowsand ochres 81, 82,84, 85, and 86). However,it is worth examining these brushstrokes of madder combined with lemonyellowandwhite (89 A). They povidea wide rangeof flesh colofs, cteams, oranges, and eds.whichare very usefulfor darkenpink proding. Also notethe luminous ucedby the mixtureof whiteandmadder (89B). As for the mixtureswith greensand blues,both the cadmiumred and the when mixed maddercan be darkened green-sincethis is thei with emerald complementary color, especiallyfor madder. In the area indicated as C, wherethe black is darkest,you can seethat the madderhas beenmixed with emerald greenand bufnt umber(be carefulnot to confuse bufnt umberandbrrntsienna). Make a note of this combination for obtaininga perfectblack. madder+ cmeraldgreen+ burnt umber= black or is cleaner; the puples appear transparcntevenin the shadow areas(D). Finally, notice how the mixture of madderwith Prussian blue produces a violet almostas dak as a black (E). To a cetaindegree,this black is the result of the rule of complementaies: Prussianblue has some greencoloring, of madder. andgeen is thecomplement

^$

FIG.87A

This deep black seemsmore perfect than blackitself. It is a blacktha has a ce ain tendencytoward crimson. green,or brown; a black!ha! s probably more in tune with thc dominant colo ng of the model-greenish. crimsonish, brownish-within a black oning. Let us now consider violets and prrplesobtained of red and from mixures maddewith bluesand a bit of white. Violets and purples aen't as clean when they ar composedusing red ratherthan madder.In the violetsand purples obtained from madder, the cof 68

FG. 878

COMMONLYUSED BY ARTISTS COLORS

COLORSCOMMONLYUSEDBY ARTISTS

Burnt umber and emeraldgreen

Burnt umber Bunt umberis a colorsimilarto black, wth thc only differenccbeing that it hasan carthy.dark brownshade. This shadeis visiblein mixtureswith white and yelklws(fgure9l A). Notice thc peculiariryof thsecolorings:the burnt graywhenthe umberis with whire;the yellows mxed that turn loward sourgreen.a kind of yellowsholivegreen. Burnt umbershouldalways be on your palette.It is not only indispensable for obtaining black:it is the idealcolorfor slrokcs. brcaking up slrident and the grays(91 B). bestcolor for producin8 while thiscotor thc maybe dangein pAintcr, hrndsofan incxpericnccd it is in the hands aDinvaluable instrument of a professional. rvhois cpablof using ii in thc right mersure.takinginto irccount that il is a nccessary color and a usefulsubslitute fbr black-without being co|)pletev black. Bccause burnt umber s an eminently dark color. il is easylo use It fo composc another perfect black basedon fhis combination: burnt umbe+ medder+ Prussian blue= black _fhis black, as you ay haverealized. givesthe artist a chance to enhance a bluishor purpletint that may be in the coloringof the model. Emerald green As wth the other primary colors, greenis a necessary color. _fhc emerald ondfl has a slightly bluishgrcen,whichis usefulin obtaining a wide rangeof greensin combination with yellows. You can also produce ofgreenbluesby mixa range ing cobah. ultramarine, and Prussan blues. Mixed wirh while. it givcs a bluish green color (92A). which.whe mixed with lemon yellorv.makesa fine luqualiy of palegreens. minous With the blues and white, is color gives dch ranges of bluish greens, which when mi,xedwith yellows can produce all kown and possible greens. It alsoproduces velvetyblacks in combination with bumt umber, madder,andPrussian blue(92B). It is a color that appearstransparentin manylight and dark shadows; a color that is present on the paletteof every expen anrst. ln sho, emeraldgreen is the only greenyou need to obtain all imaginablegeens.

FIG.90A

FIG.90 B

70

COLORSCOMMONLY USED BY ARSTS

COLORS COMMONLY USED BY ARTISTS

Blues
And black? Is there no black in oil colors? Yes, there is, but why run the risk of graying aoddirtyingeverything? When it can be better obtaincd,with a finer color sense, by mixing crimson.burnt umber, emeraldgreen, and Prussian blue? ln any case.it can be said that ivory Cobsltbluedeep,a blueblue black usedwilh careis a useful.even Thc proof lhl cobalt.a luminous and magnificent, color. transparent color. is lhe finest "blue blue is that it always appears in shadows. lmagine a radiant l,hitcwashcd wallin full sunlightt if youexamine its you will find that the colorslucture. shadows on hewall.whcther theyare gray. bluc.or violet. \\,illinclude cobalt blue in thcir composition. Picturea stain of luninous bluc-a light blue-placcd in nature. bathed in sunlight.in full radiancc. nd./ouwill see cobah blueappear again. I! is a neutral color bluc. madcof light and brighF Ultramarine bluedeep, violetblue A gr l otrlaincd withcobalt bluedeep nd 8ry obtaincd with uhramarine bluc deep can be diffcrentiatedbccause thc liitlcr shows a eDdency toward crimso.This justjfiesthe uscof Lltrnafine blue dcepin any opaque or darkshdow. tsulfirsrvoumust see if the blue.or the dark partsthat re, quircblue.in yoursubject havca tcndencytolvrclthe r.,lml b/c ofcobalt or thc r'l1l br'of ultrdnarine.
Prussian blue, a radint bluc 'lhis is a very intenseblue that can donrinate anothercolor. but can also. if usedwilh cuution.producccxtraordinary lrrnsprent shades. In conbinalion wilh white. it has the quality of graying ard. at thc same time. of illuminalingilny color. Remernbcr whcn vou painl dark tonesor Iones in shndow Dot to abuseit. Mix it '"\,ilhothcr blues.

Cobalt blue deep, ultramarine blue deep,Prussian blue ln order for you to distinguishthe characlcristic shades of eachof these blues.I havebrokenthem down with whiteandthcnmixedthemwith madder and a little whiteto makcthreeviolets.

'72

COLORS COMMONLY USED BY ARTISTS

COBALT BLUE DEEP

It i:!

HARMONIZING COLORS

The meaning of "range"

Music... painting... combination of sounds . . , combinationof colors , . , an obvious analogy, However, litlle attentionis paid to analyzing the laws of harmonizationthat govern painting. You will see that, along broadlines,theyarc compaable to the lawsof music.The first and most important coincidence is in lhe word In facl. the wod /nge comes from the systemof musicalnotes inventedby Guidod Arezzoin the twelfthcentury. Hc cstablished th classic order of a sclle of sounds represented by the nofcsdo. re, mi, Ja,so, la, ti, do. Consrdering that thissystem is pefect.you cansaythat: The word rageoriginellJmeant a succession of sounds orderedin a particularway, whichwascon. prfeca. sidered By analogy. in paintig the wotd ranSe appliesto the succession of spectum colors.This is basedon the ide that this color succession, as it appears whenlight is dispersed, presents a perfect order. And so, it is not strange that by extending you can thisconcept. applythe term to any scale o ordered color succession, suchas the onesyou secon this page.For instance, the exampleof a trr'mcolor range(figtres (ll0 and l09 and 109A); ^ cool ranSe ll0 A). anda brokencolor range(llL and 111A).

88

HARMONIZING COLORS

89

IIARMONIZING COLORS

The rangesof colors

I will now discuss the ranges of colors. ln order to hava better understanding of how to applythis trm to painting. you shouldlook at the opposite page,figureI14. This is a repoductiori of the spectum,with its innite variety of colors,tones,and shadesi it is perfectly ordered and basically incldcs the primary,secondary, andtertiary colors.From left to ight: Magcnta, crimson,red, orang, yellow,lght gren,green,emer. ald green,cyar blue,ullrine ble, dsrk blue or purple, and volet, You should think about translating thesecoios into tones,for example, into a series of grayswhosevalues are in accodance with the oder and to(figure115).By alites of the spectrum dongso, you wll alsoobtaina perfect succession of orderedelemerts; in this case. a rnge of g,'au. In addition,you canseethat the eanig of the word range can rcfer not only to the orderedsuccession of the coiorsin the spectrum, but also to part of thc spectrum----even to a single color of thc spectrumbroken down ntoa scale. or range,of differenttonalities.Hence, you cancometo the followingconclusion: RANGE s ary succession of J,er' fectlyorderedcolore or lores.
Figs I t2 and I13 J M. Panan6n, Fohe s idetal), prvate col.o FereGclassc etample ol @l colof rnge, wm a predonance oi blues ano grens n he ongna colo.s Below 6lh6 sme panr ng fepfoduced . bck ad wlre, corespond n9 lo lhe deol raDge as a slccesson ol per lect y orderedcoors o

90

HARMONIZINC COLORS

F i g s1 . 1 4a n dl 1 5 f h e coor Bgeor lne spec lrum; below l rs a rage ol ochres and tellows,which can be presenreo oy a rge or glayco/osfhe ye bw ano gray anges corspond ro rhe de ol a sccession ol per

9t

The ranges mostoftenusedin color harmonization

I will illustrate this lesson*ith the following iagesl Flgure 116. Here is a spectum range, in the fom of a circle,composed oI the primrycolors,yellow,cyanblue, and (the tiangles magenta in high reef); the secondary colorr,green,dak blue, and red (the argles on the sa6e level as the outer circle); and betweeneach primaryand eachsecondary color, the tefiary colo$, light geen, emerald green,ultamarineblue, violet, crison, and orange(the triangles in low relieD, Study the complementarycol-

to locate orsiDthistable;theyaeeasy if you emembe that they are always the colorsir direct opposition. Flgre121.I this palette, o ange, you canseethe mixtureof eachcolor in the spectum ratge. Ftgurei117, r1t, U9, 120,Finlly, hele you have a chanceto see and painted studyvarious examples with of colos. each range

92

IIARMONIZING COLORS

HARMONIZIN-G COLORS

Melodic range
Lct n1ebegin with the first and simplef r ange.or harnronizationi The melodic range is composed of a single color. broken down into 1rro diffent tones, and ncludes black and }hite. gray appears with a slighr touch of Finally.look at thc picturc to seehow this palettewas applied. The ntelatlicrungeo\\es its name l() the meaning of thc musical term ltrLr.1r. Bec use. it is indeed the song . . . solo.with no accompirniment. ll is ihe song \,ou sing to rourself. thc samc songtha! vocalists sinc.indcpcndcnl of

ln figures1ll and l2l. vou can seeexalnplcsof mclodicrrnges pinled wilh (lcft) n ochrc-sienna color and Lllack nd a bjue and hlack color (oppositc Pgc). -lhc resultsobtaircdwith nrclodic ranc arc su|prisin,: in spiteol its simpliciti. l1 showsrou that it is possiblc lo ol)llin a grcal $cLrlthof shades. brrring in mirrdlhl lhe colorsall or iginirte lronr sing||. colof. with tho ad(liti(nr1)l \,"hilend black. In fncl. the sccrcloi thc Inclo(iic rrnge is bscd on pn)t)crlyrdminrstcnnglhc whilc rnd thc blrrk in rclxlion ro lhe color rn8e (scc lhc bl!rc i1luslrlion).Firsr. you nrusl rrnrcnrbcrthrl by Drixingwhile lunll blircli rou pftdLrce i ncw color ir ncLrlful !rir,"-in(jcpcndcnl of thc rrnge color. Ancl seconll.feentber thirl l)oth thc \\hilc rnd the black. \\hcn mi\ed $irh rgi!cIlcolor.willrodil! theif shLrde to producca somcwhat (lillrcnl cold (Do you fecallthe lesr)n on pirres50 lnd 51. with thc cx nplc ol the blck and whitc cotTee'l) I his tvpc ol ch nqc ir he color ranse cirn cusc r lol ol dange when ]rou rrc doing i full-colorpainting.But in monochronticprinting. suchas the one on rhis piue. i is highl! beneficiai and clvantrgcous 1()use.r range like his Llc. lo clrrroboralc thesc renfks. look a lhc plcttcranScin fis ufe 1ll. Noticc holvthe toneswereobtined onl\' *ith the color blue. The color ppcarsfullr sturatcd\rhcn it is nr\cd r\ith $hilc Whcn it is mixed with bhck. it Lrecomes a darkefor lighter grav. Studr carefillvthe ovcriL,! cfa! shade\that are a produclofblack rnd $'hite and the other sbade\rthe

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HARMONIZING COLORS

Fg s r 2 2a n d1 2 3 (er) M chelngelo, Mdo, wnh Child Miclangero made rhs dfwn9 on lighr yetow ochre pper Dfawng w t h s n n aa n d b c k

c h a l ka n d b r g g o u t l h e w h i r e sw t h w h t e chk, he acheved a tion Q lhe opposii page, vou cn see ponrart oi wnsto. Churchil that pa nlec w t h b a c ka h db l u ew e.color,using also th white oi rhe papef fh s s a n o n eo r x a m p eo T co orharmon zarionpan1 ed vi rh a eodic n

,::,:f

HARMONIZING COLORS

a mixture of complementary colors

W}len you mix two complementary colors, geen and red, for example,do you know what happens? You get a very dark, almostblackcolor.Suppose youmix themin unequal parts . . . you will obtain either a dirty ed, leaning towardsienna, greenwith or a grayish a reddish tendency-accoding to whether there is a predominance of greeno ed. Finally,imagine that you tone down both colorswith white and then mix them together. By doing so, you will obtain a wide rangeof gays:somestained with ed, otherswith green,othe$ with sienna, some even with an oche tint, and so o, The harmonic ange of grays is achieved throughrixturesof complementarycolorsi insteadof usingonly two complementary colors, all the complementary colors are used. The followingis the formulal

The hrmonic rango of grys, through th mxture of comple. mentary colors, composedof pairs of complementry colols mlxed ln unequalproportlonsand grayedwith white.

givesa rangeof neuThis cornbination tralizedgrays,extremely etfctive and of high artistic quality. A range in which the tue dominant color is gray . . . but with enougcolorfor th picturenot to look subdued, onotonous, or dity. Seefor you$elf, look at the colorson the angepalette(figure 135).Noticehow the white is decisive in eliminating stridentnotes,attenuatirrgcolor, btrt nof tone,and enhancing contasts. This is how you obtain an picture, with subtle harexceptional monization that is delicate in color,yet energetic in ton(figres132and 134). Finally, rememberthat the choiceof complmntary colors and dominant colorsdepends on the subject.

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HARlrfo\lZI\G

( ()l Ik.

Flq 134 J M P3': , Leohade, .' vare colleclon The . lreme qla es ol i. gfays, xrre o coplmeniry coloi5 r u n e q u a r p a s sr a v e c with white, eviden: here wlth aLlits expres sive possibLitiesThere s no need lor back to obtain these delcle shadesr just rhe com b nation ol the compe rnenlary colofs wrn