Color Theory 101

1. Color Theory 101

2. Color is one of the most expressive elements because • its quality affects our emotions directly and immediately. • In representational art, color serves to identify objects • and to create the effect of illusionistic space Orange Bowl and Yellow Apples 1980, Oil on canvas Janet Fish

3. Red, Yellow & Blue

4. RoyLICHTENSTEIN (1923-1997) Untitled 1974 Silkscreen 82/100 113 cm x 90 cm Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art Primary color scheme

5. When you mix a primary color with a primary color next to it on the color wheel you get a secondary color. Red+Yellow=Orange Yellow+Blue=Green Blue+Red=Violet

6. To achieve Tertiary Colors you mix the primary & secondary colors next to each other on the color wheel.

7. Warm and cool color schemes Cool colors Warm colors

8. Henri Fantin-Latour French, 1836 - 1904 Still Life, 1866 oil on canvas, 62 x 74.8 cm (24 3/8 x 29 1/2 in.) National Gallery of Art, Washington Local color (objective color)

9. Marie Laurencin, 1925 Mother and child Oil on canvas Subjective color Subjective colors are when the colors do not represent the actual local color.

10. Local or subjective? Poplars on the Banks of the River Epte, Sunset Claude Monet, 1891 The Athenaeum

11. Andy Warhol Elvis I and II 1964 silkscreen on acrylic, on aluminum 208.3 x 208.3 cm Complementary Color scheme Complementary colors: colors opposite each other on the color wheel Red/Green Orange/Blue Yellow/Violet

12. Conditioned color & Neutralized Color Conditioned color & atmospheric conditioning- colors appear more intense in the foreground and have a lesser value in background

13. Conditioned color & Neutralized Color Neutralized color - color intensity is neutralized by adding its complement or a neutral color, white, black or grey.

14. Local Color Tonal Color Reflected Color Reflected color -any object you look at is influenced by the color of the environment. These colors are reflections of surrounding objects. Local color: the actual color of an object Tonal color: the color variations that result from the effects of light and shadow.

15. Warm color scheme The Wolf River, Kansas Albert Bierstadt c.1859 Oil on canvas 48 1/8 x 38 1/8 inches (122.5 x 97.1 cm) The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, USA Atmospheric conditioning Neutralized colors

16. Cool color scheme Pablo Picasso, The Tragedy, 1903, oil on wood, 1.053 x .690 m (41 7/16 x 27 3/16 in.), National Gallery of Art, Washington, Color evokes mood

17. Michelangelo Merisi called Caravaggio Madonna dei Palafrenieri (1605) oil on canvas cm. 2,92x2,11 Borghese Gallery Light intensity • a color appears lighter when the color around it is darker

18. Liubov Popova Sitzender weiblicher Akt, 1914, Oil on canvas 106 x 87 cm Museum Ludwig Analogous Colors Analogous Colors – colors that have ‘neighboring’ hues, contain one common color from the color wheel.

19. Warm or cool color scheme? Analogous or complementary color schemes? Paul Cezanne1839-1906 Landscape, 1900 Oil on canvas h62.2 cm , w 51.5 cm

20. Georges Seurat French, 1859-1891 A Sunday on La Grande Jatte—1884 Oil on canvas 207.5 x 308 cm Optical color mixtures are when the artist depends on the eye to mix the colors.

21. Chuck Close Lyle, 2002 Chuck Close (American, born 1940) 147-color silk screen 65 1/2 x 53 7/8 in. Edition of 80 Optical color mixture Complementary color scheme? Local color?

22. Henri Matisse: Portrait of Madame Matisse. The Green Line,1905. 40,50 x 32,5 cm Oil on canvas What are the color relationships in Matisse’s painting of Madame Matisse?

23. Shepard Fairey Fidel
22″x31″
3 Color Screenprint Red is an incredibly intense color, it stimulates the heart and breathing to increase pace Red cars are popular targets of thieves Red can cause you to feel hunger

24. Mark McDevitt Shopping cart (orange) art print
 12 x 12 inches Orange can make you feel enthusiastic It can increase your appetite Orange increases the oxygen flow to the brain

25. Bernadette Sipkes "Tree Trunk Owl”" Yellow can cause people to lose their tempers Yellow makes babies cry, and is hard for the eye to take in Yellow also enhances concentration It speeds metabolism

26. anika mari Palm Print Green can improve vision and is easy on the eye Green also relaxes people, this is the reason actors wait in “green rooms” before appearing on television Though Green is relaxing it is said to bring bad luck Humans see more shades of green than any other color.

27. Andy Pratt Manhattan #2 Blue causes the opposite affects as red. Blue causes the body to release calming chemicals and relaxes people Slows heart rate and lowers body temperature

28. Andy Warhol Marilyn Pink is a tranquilizing and romantic color Sports teams often paint the opposing teams locker rooms pink to make them loose energy Can cause you to abandon logic thinking and become sensitive

29. Owen Mundy Work from “Give Me My Data” White makes people feel a sense of innocence and purity

30. Paper Design Brown is calming Brown can convey sadness and isolation It can also cause a sense of warmth, comfort, and security

31. Rachel Constantine Eclipse
6" x 6" Shows authority and power Implies submission Priests wear black to signify submission to god Black also suggests aloofness or evil Can cause one to feel rebelliousness

32. Not all of these colors are associated with the same emotions around the world. Some cultures respond differently to different colors. Most of the preceding information is true for most American people, though some people will respond differently based upon events and memories in their background. Therefore psychological effects of colors can vary on an individual basis. Sub-conscious effects are usually the same for all people.

33. Christopher Williams "Subliminal Chloroform" Sub-conscious effects such as : Appetite changes associated with red The healing effects of green Loss of energy associated with pink. The increase of blood and oxygen flow to the brain associated with Orange