34 THE BASICS
Properties of color
LEARNING MORE ABOUT HOW COLORS WORK
Playing with color can be a little like modern alchemy. Each pigment
has specic characteristics that will affect how it mixes with water and
how it ows on the paper. When different pigments blend, the results can
be spectacular—with new colors and beautiful effects, such as granulation.
Color temperature and bias
Colors have “temperature”: those
within the red, yellow, and orange
spectrum are generally referred to
as “warm” while those spanning
purple, blue, and green are “cool”
(see pp.120–121).
In addition, there are warm and
cool versions of a color—a cool lemon
yellow vs. a warm cadmium yellow.
In this respect, warm and cool refer
to “color bias.” A blue biased toward
purple is seen as warm, whereas a
blue biased toward green seems cool.
Color harmony
You can enhance paintings to no
end by the colors you choose to use.
With a little thought, you can create
some brilliant color relationships in
your work. It’s a good idea to start
thinking about your color scheme
beforehand and try out various
combinations; once you’ve settled
on a palette, stick with it and don’t
start adding colors as you paint.
Various approaches, shown on the
right, help artists make a painting
more harmonious.
Warm color wheel
This traditional color wheel, made from a
warm red, a warm yellow, and a warm blue,
produces colors that are rich and warm.
Warm colors appear to advance in a painting.
A limited palette
Painting with a limited palette of just a few
colors results in mixes that have a common
basis, producing works with great harmony.
An analogous color scheme
Evoke a gentle feel by choosing colors (the
purples above) that are adjacent on the color
wheel; the yellow pop offers a strong contrast.
Cool color wheel
This modern color wheel results from mixing
cool versions of red, yellow, and blue. The
mixed colors are bright and cool. Cool colors
appear to recede in a painting.
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35 Properties of color
Pigment properties
There are certain pigment
characteristics to consider when
choosing colors that affect how
they adhere to the paper and
their strength. They are either
staining (leave pigment when lifted
out) or non-staining, and appear
transparent, semi-transparent,
semi-opaque, or opaque. Some
pigments tend to granulate—a
feature that can be exploited to
add texture to a sky, for instance.
Also consider the issue of
permanence. Some pigments, such
as alizarin crimson, fade in light;
others, such as aureolin, darken.
Hue versions are more permanent.
A complementary color scheme
Complementaries sit opposite each other on
the color wheel (the red and green above)
and produce vibrancy when side by side.
A warm atmosphere
Painting with predominantly warm colors
creates warmth. To avoid too much coldness,
use warm colors when painting a cool subject.
Repeated colors
Repeating colors in different parts of a
painting creates harmony. Conversely,
using an isolated color will draw attention.
Transparency and opacity
Some pigments, such as alizarin
crimson (far left), are transparent
even when used straight from the
tube, while others are opaque, such
as cadmium red (left), which is
opaque enough to cover black when
undiluted but not when diluted.
Staining power
It’s good to know how staining a
pigment is when choosing a color
scheme in case you want to lift out
highlights. Phthalo blue (far left), for
instance, is staining while French
ultramarine (left) is non-staining.
Granulation potential
Watercolor paint is a mixture
of pigment and binder, such as
gum arabic. Some pigments will
separate from their binder and
water, creating a grainy texture
when dry. Certain pigments
(see left) readily granulate.
Ability to merge
Generally pigments will merge
depending on their relative mix
strengths. Color mixes of equal
water content will tend to just
blend (far left), but a mix with
more water will tend to bloom
into a mix with less water (left).
Transparent
Staining
Cobalt blue
Cadmium red
Terre verte
Light red
Cerulean blue
French ultramarine
Different strength mixes
Opaque
Non-staining
Equal strength mixes
Undiluted paint
is transparent
Undiluted paint
is opaque
Diluted paint is
semi-transparent
Diluted paint
is transparent
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