MATERIAL GUY - PART 2

MONDAY, 27TH FEBRUARY 2012

COLOR THEORY - PART 2

A FEW PEOPLE HAVE ASKED ME ABOUT WHY I'M TALKING ABOUT COLOR THEORY AS IT DOESN'T REALLY RELATE TO THE CERAMIC ARTIST OR POTTER.  I BEG TO DIFFER! THE MORE THAT ANY ARTIST KNOWS ABOUT COLOR, THE BETTER IN BEING ABLE TO PRODUCE WORKS OF ART IN ANY MEDIUM. IT GIVES FREEDOM TO INTERPRET AND EXPLORE AND IS FUNDAMENTAL TO ANY ART IN BEING ABLE TO DEVELOP COLOR SCHEMES.

TODAY'S POST IS A CONDENSED VERSION OF CHAPTER 4 IN MY 2004 BOOK "MAKING MARKS".  THAT CHAPTER  JUST TOUCHES INTO THE FULL JOHANNES ITTEN COLOR THEORY.

PRIMARY COLORS:  BLUE, RED AND YELLOW

THE PURE HUE IS HORIZONTAL IN THE CENTER OF EACH COLOR SWATCH. TINT IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ADD WHITE TO THE HUE. TONE IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ADD BLACK TO THE HUE.

ANALOGOUS COLOR SCHEMES

ANALOGOUS COLORS ARE RELATED COLORS FROM A PIE-SHAPED PIECE OF THE COLOR WHEEL. THEY ALL HAVE ONE HUE IN COMMON, SO THINGS CAN'T GET TOO WILD.STARTING WITH THIS COLOR SCHEME, MORE HUE CONTRASTS ARE POSSIBLE. THIS MEANS MORE FREEDOM AND EXPRESSIVE POTENTIAL, BUT IT IS INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT TO MAKE GOOD COLOR COMBINATIONS. THESE ARE ANY COLORS DIRECTLY NEXT TO EACH OTHER ON THE COLOR WHEEL.  IF YOU START WITH ORANGE AND WANT ITS TWO ANALOGOUS COLORS, SELECT RED AND YELLOW. A COLOR SCHEME THAT USES THESE COLORS PROVIDES A HARMONY AND BLENDING OF THE COLORS SIMILAR TO WHAT MIGHT BE FOUND IN   NATURE.

THERE ARE A NUMBER OF VARIATIONS ON THESE THEMES THAT CAN BE FOUND IN THE BOOK.  MONOCHROMATIC, SPLIT COMPLEMENTARY,  TRIADIC, TETRADIC, WARM AND COOL COLORS ROUND OUT MOST POTENTIAL SCHEMES.

THE ELEVEN POINT GREY SCALE

THE GREY SCALE IS WHAT ESTABLISHES TINTS AND TONES WHEN USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH PURE HUES.

ALTHOUGH THE AVERAGE PERSON CAN SEE ABOUT 17,000 DIFFERENT COLORS, THERE ARE ONLY ABOUT 130 DIFFERENT ARTIST'S COLORS SOLD. SO, IF YOU HAD A TUBE OF EVERY COLOR MANUFACTURED, YOU STILL COULDN'T DUPLICATE THE RANGE OF COLOR THAT IS FOUND IN NATURE.

THE DARKEST DARK THAT YOU CAN SEE IN NATURE ISVERY MUCH DARKER THAN THE DARKEST PIGMENT YOU CAN BUY. THE DARKEST BLACK PAINT IS ABOUT EQUIVALENT TO A MID-TONE IN NATURE, AND THE MOST BRILLIANT WHITE YOU CAN MAKEIS DARKER THAN MOST OF THE LIGHT VALUES IN NATURE. SINCE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DUPLICATE THE RANGE OF HUES IN NATURE, THE ARTIST USES THEIR COLOR TO REPRESENT COLORS IN NATURE.

IN THE NEXT POSTING ON WEDNESDAY, 29TH MARCH, 2012,  WE WILL LOOK AT GEOLOGICAL SPECIMENS AS A STARTING POINT IN DEVELOPING CERAMIC GLAZE AND COLORATION.