Color Notes: Quick Summary

Here are some recent thoughts I posted on facebook regarding color. As I said there, none of this is new. I am blessed to have had some of the best instruction in the world. I simply took good notes and ran it through the "Lori filter." Now, I am sharing with you. Pass it on!

COLOR TERMS:
Hue--name of the color as in the color spectrum; the specific wavelength.
Primary Colors--Yellow, Red, Blue
Secondary Colors--Orange, Violet, Green
Value--how light or dark the color on a scale of grays--If 1 equals 5, or middle gray.
Chroma--how pure or intense the color is. Any color that cannot be easily called by a color on the spectrum is considered a neutral and is low in chroma.

TIPS TO IDENTIFY COLOR:
Glance, don't stare, with your eyes wide.
Trust your first impression of the color.
Try looking at something a few feet away from the object.
Look for warm and cool relationships.
Imagine mixing the color.
Give your mind and your eyes chances to rest and reset often.
Avoid painting in harsh lighting situations.
Eyes squint to identify value; open wide to identify color.
Ask yourself, "Is it a color that is slightly neutral or a neutral that is slightly color?"

MIXING COLOR:
For neutral, mix all primaries together. Lighten value with white. To mix high chroma color, begin with the nearest hue, correct its value, then correct its intensity with either a touch of your neutral, the color's complement, or a color analogous to it on the spectrum. To mix low color chroma, begin with neutral, lighten to correct value. Add touch of the proper hue to bend the neutral to the direction you need.

To understand what colors you are working with, their values, and how to identify warms and cools, try these worksheets. The first one is simply a gray scale card (much like you would buy).

The second is a chart where you identify the colors on your palette in terms of light and dark; warm and cool. Fill in the boxes with a touch of color from your palette. I have only included enough boxes for MY palette of colors. If you use more, you'll need more boxes. To get you started, place yellow in the first box to the left (under the warm column).

The third is an exercise to help you understand how a color works in relationship with other colors around it. Mix the colors as shown, tint each one time with white. Using A, B, C, and D, rank the color samples warmest to coolest.