Color Harmony for Artists: How to Transform Inspiration into Beautiful Watercolor Palettes and Paintings
144
Color Harmony for Artists: How to Transform Inspiration into Beautiful Watercolor Palettes and Paintings
144Paperback
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Overview
- Begin with a quick overview of the basics of color, color mixing, and mixed media.
- Explore a variety of color and media combinations, including brilliant brights, muted neutrals, high-contrast complements, and special effects.
- Find inspiration in evocative photos, abundant palettes, and beautiful paintings.
With Color Harmony for Artists, every artist, from beginner to advanced, will be inspired to embrace the creative possibilities of color and paint!
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781631597718 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Quarry Books |
| Publication date: | 11/19/2019 |
| Pages: | 144 |
| Sales rank: | 509,741 |
| Product dimensions: | 8.40(w) x 10.90(h) x 0.50(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Hands-OnColor Theory
The Color Wheel
To understand how to mix color, I suggest you familiarize yourself with the color wheel, then use your feelings and intuition. We've all seen this rainbow-style wheel chart, either in school or on the back of art-supply packaging, and it's likely you know the basics: red, yellow, and blue are the three primary colors.
Mixing any of these two together will make secondary colors: red and yellow make orange, yellow and blue make green, and blue and red make violet.
Finally, to make tertiary colors, simply mix a primary with a secondary color: green and blue make turquoise (or green-blue). The tertiary colors are, in fact, usually named with the colors of both hues mixed together: red-orange, orange-yellow, yellow-green, green-blue, blue-violet, and violet-red.
I painted an example of a color wheel here. The dots indicate each color, and in the spirit of watercolor and color mixing, I created a gradient pie with a slice of each color blending into its complementary color — in other words, its opposite. This is one of the most important concepts in the color wheel, along with a few other harmony schemes.
Color Harmonies
There are many harmony schemes around the color wheel that vary depending on the medium and application. While the basic color theory concepts are similar in interior design as they are in watercolor, there are a few variations and specific aspects to watercolor because of the medium's nature. Here's a selection of the standout harmony schemes relevant to this book.
MONOCHROMATIC
In color theory, monochrome usually refers to the same hue with a variation in tints, tones, and shades. In some cases, monochromatic schemes involve adding black, white, and gray to a specific hue, but in this case, in the spirit of watercolor, I like to keep hues pure. One of the most appealing aspects of working with watercolor is the variety in values that can be achieved by mixing different amounts of water into an individual pigment. So in this case, when I refer to monochrome, it will most likely be a base color with different amounts of water. See how in this example the color blue is watered down to create a monochromatic harmony with varying opacity and transparency in the paint.
ANALOGOUS
Analogous colors are extremely pleasing to the eye because they're the combination of colors that are next to each other on the wheel. There's little contrast, they match, and they're comforting. An example of this type of harmony is red-violet, violet, blue-violet, and blue. Another classic example would be yellow, yellow-green, green, and green-blue. This scheme is often found in nature, plants, or sunsets.
COMPLEMENTARY
Let's go back to complementary colors, using the example shown on page 15 in orange and blue. It's easy to see that these colors are on opposite sides of the color wheel. This basically means that there's no blue in orange and no orange in blue. In my opinion, this is the most important concept in color theory: Not only does each color complement the other (one makes the other pop by creating contrast), but in mixing color with paint, complementary colors are often used as tools to desaturate or darken a certain hue.
For example, yellow and violet are complementaries, as are green and red. Let's say you have a bright yellow in your color palette, but what you really want is a deeper mustard yellow. The not-so-obvious choice to make this color would be to add a tiny bit of violet. This will deepen the yellow without removing vibrance from your mix — the way, say, adding a bit of brown or black into your yellow would.
What if you want to make a brick red? If you only have primary colors in your palette, simply add a touch of green to your red and the color will immediately transform into a deep, dark red.
Learning to mix color this way will result in beautiful, organic colors with undertones that will give your art a secret complementary touch. I'll mention complementaries many times throughout this book because, in addition to being a basic concept in color theory, they're also fundamental to color mixing.
SPLIT-COMPLEMENTARY
This variation of complementary harmony takes one color as a base and two colors from the opposite side of the wheel that are next to the complementary. For example, if green and red are complementaries, the split-complementary would be red, yellow-green, and green-blue. Another example is yellow, red-violet, and violet-blue. This color scheme is high in contrast like classic complementaries, but has less tension; the two splits are similar to each other and the complementary is different, but not the complete opposite, as with regular complementaries.
TRIADIC
This type of harmony uses three hues that are evenly spaced around the color wheel. It's common for artists using this scheme to take one of the hues as a dominant color and accent with the other two. For example, yellow-orange as the main color would have red and blue-green as the accent colors. This is the most varied type of color scheme because of the way the colors are selected evenly around the wheel.
TETRADIC
This scheme is quite colorful and mixes warms and cools (see page 18). It takes two split-complementaries from each side to mix four different colors. In this example I selected red-orange and violet-red to be combined with the opposing blue-green and yellow-green. There is contrast but also quite a bit of ease. The range is wider and the two pairs are harmonious while creating contrast with the opposites, forming a rectangle within the wheel.
Color & Temperature
If we split the color wheel down the middle, one side comprises cool tones (blue, violet, and green) and the other side warm tones (red, orange, and yellow).
Note that greens and violets can go either way, depending on the amount of yellow or red in each.
Greens. If in the mixture the yellow overpowers the blue, then it will be a warm green, such as a moss green; if the blue overpowers the yellow, then it will be a cool green, like a turquoise or teal.
Violets. If red overpowers the mixture, the result is a warm violet like a mauve or red wine color; if blue is stronger, the color will lean toward a deep indigo.
Although neutrals such as grays and browns aren't typically included in a wheel-based color chart, I show them here to make the point that they can usually be mixed in with your warm or cool swatches without altering the predominant mood too much.
EVEN NEUTRALS HAVE TEMPERATURE
Although so-called neutral grays and browns can often work well with both warm and cool palettes, they can, in fact, be categorized as either warm or cool. Even a black can be warmer or cooler, depending on the content of its pigment.
Warm & Cool Variations
If you're an artist or feel particularly sensitive to color, you already know that color can profoundly impact the mood of an artwork or design piece. Color is deeply connected to human psychology, memory, and feelings.
I like to share the following experiment at every color class I teach. I learned it from one of my teachers in college and found it to be extremely powerful and instructive.
1. Begin with a drawing of anything you like: a nature scene, animals, the sun or moon, a human figure, a character — it's up to you. I chose a floral composition.
2. Either transfer or redraw the drawing twice, on two different pieces of watercolor paper. Paint one drawing exclusively in warm tones, the other entirely in cool ones. Be restrictive, making sure to swatch your colors before painting to confirm which are warm and which are cool.
Note that although you're painting exactly the same piece, different feelings will arise in response to each version. When you're done, you'll see a drastic difference in their "moods": Even the time of day and climate can feel different, depending on the temperature of your color mixes.
For example, I experienced two very different sensations when I viewed my paintings (see opposite). One isn't better than the other; they're simply different. Try this out and you'll be amazed by the power of color!
USING COLOR AS A CREATIVE TOOL
Color might even inspire you to try something new. I painted my warm palette first, then my cool one.
While painting my cool florals, I decided to make the background dark blue, and my intuition told me to add a few sparkly stars. Just using that color inspired me to add a specific detail. It's a small but important example of how color can guide us.
Keep in mind that the feelings I got from my experiment don't necessarily have to match yours; it's about getting in touch with how the use of color alters our artwork and can affect our — and our viewers'— response to it. Color is indeed a powerful tool, and using it to develop palettes that suit and enhance the subjects at hand and influence a viewer's emotions is a beautiful and wildly interesting part of painting.
Watercolor Paints for Swatching
A big part of color mixing is experimenting with paints you own or take the opportunity to try so you can discover your personal favorites. Throughout this book I'll share a few tips that mention specific colors and why I like them. Having said that, I wholeheartedly encourage every artist to come up with a collection of favorite pigments from what you may already have on hand.
You don't need to have any of these paints in your personal collection to create amazing color palettes and paintings. Discovering your favorites through experimentation is such a special part of making art. Here's my list of pigments that I find particularly special and one of a kind.
PAN WATERCOLORS
I use watercolor pan sets as a base. Pan sets usually come with a mixing palette built into the box and that is exactly where I do most of my mixing. I add some of my favorite tube and liquid watercolors into this pan set to create my own unique colors. The three major pan sets I use regularly are by Winsor & Newtown, Schmincke, and Sennelier.
Winsor & Newton was the first large pan set I acquired, and until this day I haven't found another brand's Yellow Ochre pigment that I enjoy as much. My personal palette has a lot of earthy tones in the mix, and this is just the perfect texture and balance between bright and deep.
Schmincke was the second large pan set I invested in, and I've used this set almost daily for the past five years. It's super-high quality and also has some noteworthy colors: Venetian Red. Their browns in general are fantastic, but this brick-like color with hints of orange is perfectly opaque and bright.
Jaune Brilliant Dark. A creamy opaque watercolor, light yellow. I don't paint human figures, but I've been told it's amazing for skin tones.
And finally, my latest large pan set is from the French brand Sennelier. The quality is similar to Schmincke — they're both outstanding — but each brand has certain pigments that I prefer:
Dioxazine Purple. An intense, bright pure purple.
Pyrrole Orange. A bright and bold orange; a great pigment for mixing warm tones.
Brown Pink. The name is kind of a mystery for this specific desaturated olive green, which I find lovely and unique to this brand.
Yellow Deep. My favorite warm yellow, the pigment is so bright and sunny.
Cobalt Violet Light Hue. Highly luminous and brilliant, a great warm violet to have in a pan set.
Opera Rose. A bright pink that's great for mixing with blues for brilliant violets.
Emerald Green. A cool and brilliant bright green.
TUBE WATERCOLORS
I have a special place in my heart for each one of these paints for different reasons.
A majority of the tubes I keep buying are by Holbein. This brand has some very distinct pigments and tends to have some really nice opaque watercolors that can be handy.
My preferred Holbein tubes include:
Opera. A bright neon pink. I've tried a few different brands of this pigment and found Holbein to have the most punch and a creamier texture.
Shell Pink. A pastel pink, slightly opaque, similar to a gouache paint.
Lavender. Opaque watercolor that works great as a periwinkle when mixed with a peacock blue.
Lilac. A pastel-like, light purple I've not found in other brands.
Leaf Green. A bright, bold, almost neonlike yellow-green.
Pyrrole Red. A really nice warm red.
Viridian Hue. A bright forest green, vibrant, that works as a great base for mixing a large range of greens.
Daniel Smith is another brand that I enjoy specifically in tube form. It has all kinds of natural pigments with some great texture and granulation. My preferences:
Cobalt Blue. This is a classic primary blue that works great for mixing and creating a variety of cool tones.
Quinacridone. Also called deep gold, I like its vibrance and earthy granulation. A perfect rusty orange.
Payne's Gray. This is a great alternative to black; also works great for nighttime sky paintings.
Ivory Black. Yes, there are different shades of black! This particular black is warm and semitransparent.
I don't have a large collection of Winsor & Newton tubes because I have one of their large pan sets with most of the colors I use. But there is one pigment that I specifically enjoy using in tube form:
Mauve. A rich, warm, vibrant violet color.
LIQUID WATERCOLORS
Of all the brands I've tried, Dr. Ph. Martin's is perfectly bright and a great addition to my pan sets. In other words, these paints are so bright that I rarely use them on their own.
Instead, I mix in touches of liquid watercolors with my pan and tube mixes to make my own one-of-a-kind color combinations.
These colors are so bright, and in some cases even neon or fluorescent, because they're dye-based instead of pigment-based. I most enjoy the Radiant Concentrated line of Dr. Ph. Martin's. The colors that I find to be most special are:
I like all of these colors for the same reason: they're extremely bright and vibrant.
A NOTE ABOUT WHITE GOUACHE
There will be a few occasions when I suggest adding hints of white gouache to your mixes, specifically when making pastel tones. This is a great trick if you're looking for more of a chalky consistency instead of a transparent wash. Holbein works great, but brand doesn't really matter.
CHAPTER 2Inspired Palettes
When studying art history in college, De Stijl always stood out for me because it was so distinctive. De Stijl, which translates to "The Style," was a Dutch art and architecture movement founded in 1917. Also known as Neoplasticism, the approach has many strict rules, including using only vertical and horizontal lines and rectangular shapes in black, white, gray, and primary colors (red, blue, and yellow).
For this palette's primaries, use your purest pigments. For instance, a neutral blue like cobalt or royal blue is a better fit than an indigo or navy (both of which lean toward violet) or a turquoise (which tends toward green).
For the texture swatch, I decided to create my own De Stijl composition.
TECHNIQUE NOTES Swatching this movement is challenging because of its many restrictions. Although I limited myself to black and the three primaries, I followed watercolor's lead and swatched those colors in different values by modifying the amount of water in each swatch to create some visual variation. Note that this is the only palette in the book where the colors aren't mixed together.
Shimmering Impressionism
Nineteenth-century Impressionism, originally centered in Paris, is famous for a specific style of brushstroke that is repetitive, relatively small, and uses lighter tones of paint to allude to the effects of reflected light.
The movement's name comes from Claude Monet's Impression, Sunrise, painted in 1892, when an art critic in France published a satirical review of the style. Hence the name "Impressionism." Another inspiring painting is Monet's Vétheuil in Summer, 1880. In this scene from the Seine River, the shimmering effect of repetitive brushstrokes on water demonstrates the importance Monet placed on representing light accurately.
In honor of this movement, I experimented with mixing color by laying out numerous short brushstrokes. The direction and value of each stroke is incredibly important to create enough contrast.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Color Harmony for Artists"
by .
Copyright © 2020 Ana Victoria Calderón.
Excerpted by permission of The Quarto Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
PREFACE HANDS-ON COLOR THEORY The Color Wheel Color Harmonies Color & Temperature Warm & Cool Variations Watercolor Paints for Swatching INSPIRED PALETTES Capturing moods and playing with textures in beautiful swatches of watercolor mixes that reflect a variety of visual inspirations Notable Art Movements Expressive Skies Colorful Cultures Animal Wonders Cities, Towns & Destinations Influential Eras Remarkable Landscapes Florals & Still Life Mineral Riches Human Hues TEMPLATE RESOURCES ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABOUT THE AUTHOR INDEXRelated Subjects
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