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DO NOT WRITE ONhttps://www.sophia.org/tutorials/elements-of-art-color

FORMAL ELEMENTS: COLOR

COLOR - The hue that is reflected back to the eye

Three properties:

1. Hue: name of color

2. Value: hue’s lightness and darkness (a color’s value changes when white or black is added)

3. Intensity: quality of brightness and purity (high intensity= color is strong and bright; low intensity=

color is faint and dull)

Color has a profound effect on us even though we may not be aware of it. Every day our emotions,

moods, mental acuity and even physical sensations—such as appetite—are influenced by the colors

that surround us.

Imagine that during the night while you were sleeping someone came and painted your walls and ceiling

black. How would it make you feel as you began your day? Now imagine waking up to a bright sky blue,

or a brilliant yellow, or a pale mint green.  This is a good exercise to get a sense of how much color can

affect you.

Artists and designers—as well as advertisers—use color very deliberately to make you feel a certain

way. Ever wonder why McDonald’s uses so much red and yellow? The colors red and yellow stimulate

appetite. Color in the clothing you wear can also have an unconscious effect on others.  

Understanding the psychological and symbolic effects of color, and color theory--how colors relate to

each other—can be a powerful tool not just in art, design, and advertising, but also in home decorating

and personal style.  A basic knowledge of color can strongly enhance anyone’s life—professional or not.

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COLOR THEORY: UNDERSTANDING COLOR RELATIONSHIPS USING A COLOR WHEEL

The Color Wheel is a useful tool to begin understanding how colors relate to each other. This is a

very simple color wheel which we will refer to throughout this section. I suggest that you make your own

in a sketchbook or journal. Creating your own color wheel and mixing colors will help you to understand

the concepts we are discussing.

 

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PRIMARY, SECONDARY, AND TERTIARY COLORS

       The color wheel is built on three colors: red, yellow, and blue. All other colors can be mixed from

these three colors (plus black or white).  You can think of them as the building blocks of color.  Often,

children's toys, clothes, books, furnishings and other objects use the primary colors, especially for

babies and toddlers.

PRIMARY COLORS are the main colors. You must have these three colors to create all the colors on

the color wheel.

PRIMARY COLORS 

Notice the use of primaries in the painting below. How does the use of color feel to you? You might think

of balance, basic, building blocks---what kind of emotion do these colors evoke in you?  In this case,

black and white are used to define shape in space, and structure.

 

       

   

 

BLUERED YELLOW

Summer 1965, 1965Hans Hofmann (American (born

Germany) 1880–1966)Oil on canvas; H. 72, W. 48 inches

(182.9 x 121.9 cm.)Gift of Renate Hofmann, 1991

(1991.428.1)     www.metmuseum.org 

Relational Painting No. 64, 1953  Fritz Glarner (American, born

Switzerland, 1899–1972)Oil on canvas  20 x 20 in. (50.8 x 50.8 cm)Gift of Celeste and Armand Bartos, 1983

(1983.579)  Source: Fritz Glarner: Relational Painting No. 64 (1983.579) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The

Metropolitan Museum of Art         www.metmusem.org

Stepping Out, 1978Roy Lichtenstein (American, New York

City 1923–1997 New York City)Oil and Magna on canvas; 86 x 70 in.

(218.4 x 177.8 cm)Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift,

Arthur Hoppock Hearn Fund, Arthur Lejwa Fund in honor of Jean Arp;

and The Bernhill Fund, Joseph H. Hazen Foundation Inc., Samuel

I. NewhouseFoundation Inc., Walter Bareiss, Marie Bannon McHenry,

Louise Smith, and Stephen C. Swid Gifts, 1980

(1980.420) www.metmuseum.org

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SECONDARY COLORS are the colors that result from an equal mix of two primary colors. (Refer to the

color wheel).  Red + yellow = ORANGE.  Yellow + blue = GREEN. Blue + red = VIOLET. 

TERTIARY COLORS are the colors that result from an equal mix of one primary color and one

secondary color (Refer to color wheel). Red + orange = RED ORANGE. Blue + green = BLUE GREEN,

and etc.  The word tertiary means third. (Some use the word Intermediate colors)

ANALOGOUS AND COMPLEMENTARY COLOR RELATIONSHIPS

ANALOGOUS COLORS are neighboring colors (next to each other on the color wheel). Green and blue,

yellow and orange, violet and red are examples of analogous colors.   When used together, analogous

colors seem to blend with each other.

COMPLEMENTARY COLORS Paired colors that are on the opposite side of the color wheel from each other. Red and green, blue and orange, violet and yellow are complementary colors. Complementary colors create strong contrast. They stand out. They draw attention to themselves. When equally mixed you create the neutral color brown. Complementary colors are often used in advertising, and sports team colors.

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SPLIT COMPLEMENTARY COLORS A color and the two colors on each side of its compliment

DOUBLE SPLIT COMPLEMNTARY COLORS Two pairs of compliments with one space apart on the

color wheel

TRIADIC COLORS Three colors spaced equally apart on the color wheel

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Compare the use of analogous or complementary color schemes in the following artworks. Notice how

each makes you feel. 

Notice how the colors blend together in the first three examples. The title of Albers' painting ("Soft

Spoken") fits with his use of analogous colors

Homage to the Square: Soft Spoken, 1969Josef Albers (American, born Germany, 1888–1976)

Oil on Masonite    48 x 48 in. (121.9 x 121.9 cm).Gift of the artist, 1972 (1972.40.7)

© 2010 The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New YorkSource: Josef Albers: Homage to the Square: Soft Spoken (1972.40.7) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Morning on the Seine near Giverny, 1897Claude Monet (French, Paris 1840–1926 Giverny)

Oil on canvas; 32 1/8 x 36 5/8 in. (81.6 x 93 cm)Bequest of Julia W. Emmons, 1956 (56.135.4)

Red, Ochre and White, 1952Fritz Bultman (American, 1919–1985)

Gouache and graphite on paper; H. 23, W. 29 inches (58.4 x 73.7 cm.)Gift of Estate of Fritz Bultman, 1994 (1994.437)

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In the next artworks, compare the use of complementary colors to the use of analogous colors. 

Compare the Bultman painting below (using complementary colors--the ochre color works like orange)

to the previous Bultman painting (Using analogous colors).

Blue I, 1958Fritz Bultman (American, 1919–1985)Gouache and graphite on paper; H. 29, W. 23 inches (73.7 x 58.4 cm.)Gift of Estate of Fritz Bultman, 1994 (1994.436) www.metmuseum.org

In the following example, Lawrence is using both analogous and complementary colors. Notice how the

red stands out strongly and becomes the focal point.

Pool Parlor, 1942Jacob Lawrence (American, Atlantic City, New Jersey 1917–2000 Seattle, Washington)

Watercolor and gouache on paper; H. 31 1/8, W. 22 7/8 in. (79.1 x 58.1 cm)Arthur Hoppock Hearn Fund, 1942 (42.167) www.metmuseum.org

Here Van Gogh paintings, one using analogous colors and the other using complementary colors.

Madame   Roulin   and Her Baby , 1888Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, Zundert 1853–1890 Auvers-

sur-Oise)FrenchOil on canvas; 25 x 20 1/8 in.

Robert Lehman Collection, 1975

La Berceuse (Woman Rocking a Cradle;   Augustine- Alix   Pellicot   Roulin,   1851–1930) , 1889

Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, Zundert 1853–1890 Auvers-sur-Oise)Oil on canvas; 36 1/2 x 29 in. (92.7 x 73.7 cm)

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VALUE: TINTS AND SHADESVALUE is the lightness or darkness of tones/ hue (color).

In pencil drawings, value is determined by the amount of pressure you apply with the pencil. The more

the pressure, the darker the value. A very light touch will produce the lightest shades. A classic exercise

in working with value is to take your pencil and draw lines back and forth on the paper, without lifting the

pencil, starting with the lightest values you can create and gradually adding more pressure to the pencil

to create progressively darker value, ending with the darkest hue you can create. See how many

different values you can create.  This will enable you to create the exact values you want in your work.

Lighter values can be added to a hue by mixing white (or a lighter color) with it. This is called a TINT.

Darker values can be created by mixing black (or a darker color) with the original hue. This is called a

SHADE. Practice mixing colors to create as many tints and shades as you can. The more you practice

missing colors, the more precise you can be with color in your own work.

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MONOCHROME AND NEUTRALS

A color scheme that incorporates tints and shades of only one hue (color) is called MONOCHROMATIC.

What kind of effect do you think that would have? Imagine a room painted and decorated with a

monochromatic color scheme, or an outfit that incorporates tints and shades of just one color.

The Picture, 2004Shishir Bhattacharjee (Bangladeshi, born 1960)Mixed media on canvas; 135 X 135 cm Image courtesy of the artist Source: Postmodernism: Recent Developments in Art in Pakistan and Bangladesh | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

 

NEUTRAL colors are considered to be whites, blacks, grays, browns and some tans. They are called

neutral because they are considered to have a minimal impact. (However, all you have to do is imagine

a room filled with office cubicles or a doctor’s exam room to see that we do have a response to neutral

colors)

In artwork, neutrals are used when the artist wants to emphasize structure or form over a response to

color. Cubists originally used only neutrals to call attention to the multiplicity of viewpoints they

combined. Some photographers prefer black and white over color photography, so they can emphasize

form.

In fashion, decorating, and graphic design, neutrals are used for the same reason, to emphasize

structure and form. Sometimes neutrals are used in clothing to keep from calling attention to oneself,

and in rooms to try to appeal to a wider group of people.

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WARM AND COOL COLORS

Some colors are called WARM because they tend to feel warm; while others are called cool because they tend to feel COOL. Warm colors are Red, Yellow, Orange and all hues in between. Cool colors are Blue, Green, Violet and all hues in between

The use of either predominantly warm or predominantly cool hues has a markedly different

psychological effect. For example, to some people cool colors feel more calm, while warm colors may

feel more energetic. An equal use of cool and warm colors would balance the psychological response.

In addition to the psychological aspect, there is an optical effect of warm and cool colors. Cool colors

appear to recede, while warm colors appear to come toward the viewer.

Compare the feeling of the two rooms below.  One uses primarily warm colors, while the other uses primarily cool colors.

 

 

 

The Croome Court tapestry room, Worcestershire, 1758–67 Designed by Robert Adams (English, 1728–1792)

Plaster, pine, mahogany, bronze-gilt, marble, lapis lazuli, steel, and tapestry   H. 27 ft. 1 in. (825.5. cm), W. 22 ft. 8 in.

(690.9 cm), D. 13 ft. 10 3/4 in. (423.5 cm)Gift of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, 1958 (58.75.1–22)  Source: Robert Adams: The Croome Court tapestry room,

Worcestershire (58.75.1-22) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Room from the Hewlett House, ca. 1740–60Woodbury, New York  9 ft. 3/4 in. x 17 ft. 3 in. (panel)

Gift of Mrs. Robert W. de Forest, John B. Dunn, William B. Codling and Edwin N. Rowley, 1910 (10.183) 

Source: Room from the Hewlett House [Woodbury, New York] (10.183) |   Heilbrunn   Timeline of Art History | The

Metropolitan Museum of Art

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INTENSITY

INTENSITY refers to how pure a color is. The purity of a color is determined by whether or not a color is

mixed with other colors and to what degree.  The most intense colors are those that are not mixed with

other colors. Less intense colors are those that are mixed with other colors (including black or white).

These colors are called more muted. Like complementary colors, intense colors attract attention. A color

scheme that attracts the most attention is the use of complementary colors with a high degree of

intensity.

A good place to observe the contrast between intense and muted colors is looking across a river or a

vast landscape. The colors on the same side of the river, or those closest to you in the landscape are

more intense. Those on the other side of the river, or far away in the landscape are more muted. This is

known as atmospheric perspective. If you want to create an illusion of great distance or space, use a

contrast of intense and muted colors.

Notice the difference between the two paintings below. One uses very intense colors, while the other

uses muted colors. Compare the feeling and effect of intensity of color.

 

 

Room from the Hewlett House, ca. 1740–60Woodbury, New York  9 ft. 3/4 in. x 17 ft. 3 in. (panel)

Gift of Mrs. Robert W. de Forest, John B. Dunn, William B. Codling and Edwin N. Rowley, 1910 (10.183) 

Source: Room from the Hewlett House [Woodbury, New York] (10.183) |   Heilbrunn   Timeline of Art History | The

Metropolitan Museum of Art

André Derain, 1906Maurice de Vlaminck (French, 1876–1958)

Oil on cardboard    10 3/8 x 8 1/4 in. (26.4 x 21 cm)Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection, 1998

(1999.363.83)© 2010 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP,

Paris      Source: Maurice de Vlaminck: Andre Derain (1999.363.83) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Hammamet with Its Mosque, 1914Paul Klee (German, born Switzerland, 1879–1940)

Watercolor and pencil on paper         8 1/8 x 7 5/8 in. (20.6 x 19.4 cm)

The Berggruen Klee Collection, 1984 (1984.315.4)© 2010 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn       Source: Paul Klee: Hammamet with Its

Mosque (1984.315.4) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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PSYCHOLOGICAL COLOR AND SYMBOLIC COLOR

PSYCHOLOGICAL COLOR VS. SYMBOLIC COLOR

Most of what we have studied so far considers the psychological effect of color, in other words, how

people may feel when they are exposed to certain colors. This is a very personal thing that varies from

person to person, but there are many similarities between people. Certain aspects of color theory

involve a more optical response, how the eye perceives color. For example, complementary colors

attract attention, and warm colors seem to come forward while cool colors appear to recede.

Symbolic color is universally (or culturally) accepted use of color to represent something specific. Flags

that represent different nations, sports teams, cultural rituals such as weddings and funerals, and

holiday themes are all examples of symbolic color. Everyone (within a specific group of people) accepts

that symbolic colors represent very specific things. An emotional, or psychological response to symbolic

color is a response not to how the color feels, but to what the color represents.

How does the use of symbolic color affect the meaning or content of the two paintings below?

Freedom of Speech, 1990      Faith Ringgold (American, born 1930)Acrylic and pencil on paper  24 x 35 3/4 in. (61 x 90.8 cm)Purchase, Gift of Hyman N. Glickstein, by exchange, 2001 (2001.288)Faith Ringgold © 1990  Source: Faith Ringgold: Freedom of Speech (2001.288) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Flags, 1968Jasper Johns (American, born 1930)

Lithograph with stamps  34 x 25 in. (86.4 x 63.5 cm)Gift of Dr. Joseph I. Singer, 1969 (69.701.2)

© Jasper Johns/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY  Source: Jasper Johns: Flags (69.701.2) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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This Jasper Johns painting has a very interesting visual effect. Stare at the upper portion for a few

moments and then quickly shift your gaze to a white surface, like a wall or a sheet of paper.  You should

see the flag in red, white, and blue.