The Quirks
Most colors schemes follow the rule of compliments pretty well. The dark colors, however are real troublemakers. Viridian is pretty easy because its compliment is derived from Alizarin. Violets and Blues give some students fits because the compliments are fairly light (at least on our palettes) and don't help much with the shadow making process.
To start with, the compliment of violet is, what? Come on, think about it. That's right, Green. No, yellow. No, orange? No. Yes, Orange. Definitely, orange! Right? ..... Learn the color wheel. You will be quizzed. The answer is Yellow. If you add Cadmium Yellow Light or Yellow Ochre to a mixture of Ultramarine and Alizarin, well, it's not going to make it very dark, is it? Let's look at it another way. For the light side of the violet thing that you are trying to paint, adding white is fine. For the dark side, get rid of the Ultramarine, or most of it anyway, and use Viridian instead. Yes, Viridian. Think about it. Technically, you are combining red and blue (violet) with yellow. It really doesn't matter where you get the red, yellow and blue, you just need to combine them in a certain way. How about combining blue and yellow (green) with red - or - Viridian with Alizarin. If the object that you are trying to paint is blue you might try adding its comliment, orange (red and yellow) which would again be too light. Instead, try combining green (blue and yellow) and red. In terms of paint it would be, again Viridian and Alizarin (and a little Ultramarine) but in a different proportion.
This brings up an interesting point. If you haven't already noticed, each color that is mixed for the dark side of things is actually a combination of all the primary colors. Think about it this way: look at the color wheel and you will notice that first, the compliment of a primary color is a secondary color, which is made up of two primary colors. Second, the compliment of a secondary color is a primary. This is usually where I loose some students. They normally repeat this several times slowly then look at me with a blank stare. Not to worry. If this part confuses you, don't worry you're not alone. Forget it for now. It's just an observation and a different way of looking at it. At some point however, this may help to clarify many color mixing issues.
The Poor Misunderstood Red
Sometimes the name that we give a color can effect the way we see a color and ultimately how we mix a color. I've never been a big fan of naming colors like Kelly Green, Beige or Mauve. These names don't lend themselves well to color mixing so, when it comes time to mix... well, what color is Kelly, anyway? The word Beige in a classroom is usually preceded by the phrase "I don't know." And, we can't even decide on how to pronounce the word Mauve. These words muddy-up the whole color mixing process, not to mention the colors.
I Got The Pinks
Sometimes the problem is more deeply rooted as in the word Pink. If we add white to blue we get light blue. If we add white to green we get light green. When we add white to red however, we get Pink. Pink is a word more established than the aforementioned Mauve. It engenders a whole gender. The problem with the word Pink is that it prevents us from seeing the color for what it really is, light red. Poor misunderstood red, the most noble of colors, it must share its spotlight with that interloper, Pink.
Every student new to painting will at some point ask the question "how do I lighten red?". If you're a fan of Pink then the answer is: you can't. If you believe in the separation of red and Pink then chances are good that what you're trying to paint is probably as light as you can get. What a lot of students don't understand is that If we use Cad. Red Lt. for the lightest red (without making Pink) what you have is a color that is gray in tone. Not dark and not light but mid-tone. See the illustrations below:
The lighter red in this painting is mostly Cad. Red Lt. It is probably the lightest red that can be achieved without using white.
Now let's look at the image in black and white or greyscale.
Notice how dark this red area is. What most students perceive as a light red is actually a mid-tone red.
We can see in the color image that the red on the table is bright but as we see in the greyscale image, it is not very light. Never mistake bright for light.
Now look at the diagram below.
Students are forever trying to make color a as light as color b. The result is either something too pale or too orange (if you add Cad. Yellow Lt. to instead of white) and far too frustrating.
White
Finally, I've been dancing around this for the better part of four posts. How does white officially factor into all of this? It's pretty simple, It's used primarilly to facilitate most of our basic color theories.
The Paint
I normally use Titanium White because it relatively warm straight from the tube. I usually tend toward warm whites so this saves time. In general, white areas on a painting are somewhat thicker so when choosing a brand look for something thick. It should have little, if no extenders. Opasity is paramount in a white, so when you find one with these qualities you can be assured that it will be opaque.
Uses
White is used in several different ways. I'll breifly discuss three of them. First, it is used to lighten all the other colors on your palette. Without it almost half of the colors on our palette would never be seen. I'm refering of course to the three darkest colors Utramarine, Alizarin and Viridian. In regards to color mixing the rule of thumb for white is "use as needed." That having been said it is often mis-used. Many beginner s will use far too much white either because they can't think of an alterative of because they are trying to adjust colors while there is too much white canvas showing. Painting on a white surface will cause all of your colors to loof too dark (this may also be said of mixing on a white palette. But that's another lesson). The rewsult is a pasty image.
The second way to use white is for highlights. These are the reflections usually from the primary light source. Basically they are applied heavily slightly larger than needed then they are "carved" away until the desired size and shape are achieved. The white used for highlihts is always tinted in some way either by adding an orange to make them warmer or some painters add the compliment of what the highlight is sitting on.
The third way that white is use, is when you paint something that is white. As with highlights, the white used to paint this object will need to have other colors mixed in. White should never be used straight from the tube no matter how tempted you may be. This rule also applies to every color. There are an infinate number of colors in the spectrum and only seven on our palette. The odds are pretty good that you can mix a better color than any that comes from a tube. Choosing the proper color for a white object is tough. I've often asked new students what color they see and without fail the answer is "white." Without training it is difficult but I keep coming back to the rule of compliments. There is little color in a white object so the only thing left to influence it is the light that is shining on it, either direct or indirect. If a white object is being lit by an incandescant bulb the it will the color will be warm. Think orange, yellow-orange or red-orange. Consequently the dark side will be its compliment, blue, blue-violet or blue-green. Sometimes it's easier to choose a color by looking at the dark side. Again, look to the compliments. You should, of course never overlook the natural tint of the object itself as this does have an effect on its appearance.
There two other major color influences which are reflected light and local color. I promise to go over these in future lessons.
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In our next lesson I'll begin to discuss tools and materials.
(c) 2010 Holm. All Rights Reserved.
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