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COLOR THEORY
A wonderful experiment
COLORT}TEORl
I switchedoffthe light andwalkedinto a dark room where the¡e were three südep¡ojecto$. Each projecto¡had a coloredfilter: one red, one green,an other blue. On the wall hung a whitc sheetthat se¡vcdas a sc¡cen. In the dark, I pressedthe buttonof the filst projector;the light cameon and a red ci¡cle appearedon the screen(figufe 3). Then I switchedon the secondprojector. A circle of green light was prcjected beside the red (figure 4). I ñoved the red beam onto the g¡een and a brilliant, lum¡nousyellow shape appeared.(YELLOWI Any amateu¡ painter, howeveÍ limited his expericnce,knowsthat grcenmixedwith ¡ed givesyou b¡own,a dark brown,a kind of chocolatecolor; but . . . yellow?) I switchedon the third projecto¡with the blue filter and movedthe blue circle on top of the yellow.Thc mixturc of red, green,and bluecreateda patch of WHITE LIOHT (figure5). At that moment,it felt as if rny wholc experienceas a painterhad collapsed. I felt an urgeto showsomeonethis extraordinary phenomenon.Extraordinary to me, a painter,who wantedto testwith his own eyesthe strangetheory of Thomas Young, a famous nineteenth-century E¡glish physicist,
Threc beam6of light, oDe d¡rk blue.oneintensered. andar¡other gre€n,wh€nsuperimposed ¡ntense on oneanother,giveá cl€¡r, brill¡ant white light; in oth€r words, theyreconshuct¡ight its€lf.
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Lieht and its colors lrn.rginr thrt il is a \üfirn!'f rilcrnr)(nl: \ou ir¡c in rllr.ouIrr\ lh. cirrlllr\ drnrIi it hrL\ lu!r iLine.i rLnd lr\ l slrrnqf Irrl(lo\. thc \un i\ \till \hini|lg iri lt 'rIls iIto thc \..1 lir llr..1!irr. rirdrLLu nltrrnrrfi¡c slr u¡ptrr|\ u lrrr lirsliciIch r)l .o1or it r.rinl)(\\. I n r h . ¡ i \ 1 i r l r r c .i I r \ \ r i l l l l L r i n ! . . \ . \oLr Irir\ ilLr(rd\ kr¡(\\. \\lrcn ri|irr (lrot\ rrrci\( r:r\sj¡'nr thr.un. thr\ r r c ¡l f , r ¡ r i l l i o r t ' o l ! l ¡ s f r ' f r s . ( l i \ I t r \ i n l l h e l r ! h l r n r ( )l h c \ r \ L o l o r \ L , l llrf firi|lh(,s . \ h o L ) ll N o l r r f ( l r . ¡ \ r i r r s r ! r i . I \ i r i r ( N . r \ 1 o I r \ r p r r ) i l u c c ( lt l ) L ' t ) l r . r x r n r r f ( ¡ n o l t h r f r i r r h o \ \ i n h i \ h ( ) L r \ e1 l f \ l r L r t h i n r s r l lu f r n ¡ c l ) n r I l . l . l \ , l i t r k r L ) ( ) ¡ r ¡¡ril 1.1 in ir lhin h!irr (il ll!h1. thr cqui\rlrnt ol r sirgl( sunrir\. rhfr)Lrrh ir llll! h()1. Ih.r h. jft.r.rl,t.(l th. f i r \ \ \ r t l l r I n \ r n i r r r i i | | l g u l i r ir] i i \ r ro!l rn(i nllrnr!.il ro rll\|cr\f thú \ \ h i t . l i S h ti n r o l h . . o l ( ) r \ L , i l h . \ f i 1 ,'¡rlr (lirur. h).
( olot! ol thr \rLt¡unt \lr¡gcrrlrl l{rd \ ellt¡t
l)ark hlur I .,rl \ c i üs L r t r r . r h c I h ! \ r i r \ r \ L r, L r ! , l r L t \ p c r i n r f n l l l r l 1 \ , r \ t l r r L , l . l \ , ' r r !, , \ \ l l r l e \ ü $ l L i r r , i : \ i , ,/ \ l N , r \ \l L , n\ l i g h r i n t o t l r f \ i \ r o l t ' r \ ( ) 1r h ( \ 1 , ! . l J L r n r .\ ' ( r u n ! r r , ¡ r ¡ ¡ s r r ¡ r ¡ , rl/r : : h t l l r protc(tfd \i\ .ol()r l,riu¡. ,il hrhr ,,rl l o p ( ¡ l o r r ci l | ] o l h c f .l h . \ i \ r d l o r \ ( ] l l l r r \ t f r l r u m . i t I r r (l J h l r i I e di r \ h i t r l i ! l T o u r ) i l e r s t i I r r it h r r t ¡ h r s i , : u lI h c r t , , I r . n L r n \. h c \ i | l l o u s f ] 1 r ¡ s c . ( l i r f k! o l { i r \ ( ' f c r r . r l i ! h r ú r c r ) | t , \r h e n I r i \ e ( 1 .\ , i L r h i 1 \ . t { ) r . n r . ! n h c . l h i L lt l r r . c r . L , ¡ r sr r e t h c ( ' ( ) l o r (s) l I g h t . I l t d r t r er , ' l o t s1 ' r o je(1.ij lr\ hc.rnr\ ol liirht Ih.r irlrrire r h . r l l e c t s o l n i r t u r . rhl g h t l . r l l l h L L \ . \ o L r( i r n s ¡ \ t h r l u h t n t o u r ¡ L t ,l r n t , : , ' l o r L i ll i q h l l ( i ¡ ¡ ( ) r h . r . I h . r r r \ l u r . \ l l
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COLORTHEORY
ct\,e you a more luminous, Iithtef li+h! color. tor tnstance,by mixingthe lighr cotorg¡ee¿r and the üght color ¡ed vou wilfobtain a lighrerlight colo¡ yello9,. Youngalsodemonstrared anotherim_ porta,nlcolorfaclor. By experimenting wrtnhlscotorlamps,he showedbv the processof elimination that the sü colors of the spect¡um could be reduced to threebasiccolorsof the samesDectrum. He fouDdthat with iustth¡eecolors,_red, g¡een, and d;rk blue, h€ couldreconstruct whiteIishtlfisure 7). And he realizedrtrat by-mixin-gthose tnree cotors¡n pairs. be could obtain threeothers:cyanblue. magenta,and yellow.As a resukof this exDerimentYoungwasabfeto identifytheprimary and secor¡d¿rycolors of the sDectrum. You can sec thcm in the rouare below (figure8).
COLORTHEORY
Absorptionand reflectionof light
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All objectsreceivethe three primary light colors: blue, red, and green. Someobjectsreflectall the light they receive,while others absorbit. Most objectsabsorbpart of the light and reflect the rcsl. This law of physicscan be summedup as follows: All opaqueobj€cfs,*hen theyare illuminated,havelhe propertyof reflectingall or pa¡t of the light theyreceive. No one has unmvclcdthc mysteryo[ why objectshavethe cokrrsyou seein thcm, and no othcrs.Why is a tomato red?You do knowthatwhena tomato is illuminatcd,it rcccivcsthc thrcc p¡imary colors*blue, green, and redabsorbsthe blue and greenl¡ght rays, and rcflcctsthe rcd ones.As a rcsult,
you seeit as red, In fact, eventhis pageis receivingthe three invisible light colors-blue, green,and red. When the light colors hit the surface of the page, they bounceoff; thisreflectionis the sumof the three light colo$, which is the white of the page. If an illuminated objectis black,the oppositcwill occur. ln theory, when the th¡ee primary light colors hit a black illuminatedobject, they will bc totallyabsorbed.Thisleavcsthe object w¡tholt light, ¡n the dark, so to speak, whichis why you seeit as black. At the bottom of this page(figure9), you can sec thc cffcctsof absorption andreflectionon variouscoloredcubes (whitc, black,rcd, yellow,andmagenta), Notice the colorsthat rcflect and the colors that absorb, giving each cubeits particularcolor.
COLORTHEORY
You have seen the colors of light _painf the objectsthey comein conYour pdmary colo¡s will be the s€condarycolors of light and vice tact with. Whenthe threepdñary colverso;your second¡rycolorcwill ors of light are mixed in pairs. they be the primary colorsof light. crcateth¡eeother l€¡ter colors,which eventuallyreconstructlight fsclf-the colo¡ lvl¡i¡e-whcn they are all mixed No* I will explair why this inversion togcthcr. But it is obvious that you cannot of valuestakesplace. -paint with light. Or rather,you cannot createlight colorsby mixilg dark Addit¡veand subtracfivesynthes¡s The mixturesof pigmentcolorsalways Moreover,you cannotavoidthe sixcol- mea¡. subttuctin| l.8rr, i.e., always ors of the spectrumif you want to goingfrom light colors!o dark colors. achievethis ir¡¡itarionof thc effects If you mix the pigment colors cyan producedby light. blue, magenta.and yellow-three obAnd so, what are yoü to do'?lhc an- viouslyluminouscolors-you will obsweris to simplyvary the primacyof tain black.You obtainthc oppositecfccrtaircolorsin relat¡onto others.. - fectswhenyou mix the light colors(figstill keepingthc six colorsof thc spcc- ure$l0 and l1). trum as the basis.For example: Fig. 10,Additivesynthesis. .\
Fis.
Subtractivesynlhesis,
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COLOR THEORY
Light, color, and pigments :q l2 Wñen lght ''p¿ nls an oqect. n does so by addiñq dilrerenr colored rays oi 9t1rat by addrt)ve smF 9 13 Whe¡ you pá nl" wrth prgme¡t coors. you do so by sll)ü¿cl ñg rght obtanng the colors by slolf¿cron, of s!¿tr¿c-
How light "colors" an object Aatditivesynthesb:To obta¡¡ the secondarylight cobr yellow,thc light color rcd is addedto the light colorgreen; whenthcy are mi\ed. a lighterlightcol
Hol' pigments"color" an objeca Subtractive synthesis: To obtainthe scconda¡ypigmentcolor green,you mix cyan blue and ycllow. ln colors of light, blue ahsorbsred and yellow absorbsblue. The only color they bolh reflect is g¡¿e[, which is obtainedbv the subtroctivesynthetisof blue andrcd.
Knowing about thc origin and the tones,and colors,in the modelbelow. thcory of colorswill help you undcr- are classifiedinto primary and seconstand'howthe polychromcof shades, dary colo¡s(figurc l4).
l6
COLORTHEORY
F¡9. r5. Ths coor wheel shows voú lhe crassifcatio¡ ol pig. me¡l colofs, st¿rti¡g rromthe thfeepfméry colors(¡dlcatedby rhe etter P). Whon mixed n parfs,l¡e prmaryco ors pfoducerhe lh.€e s e c o n d a rcyo o r e( ¡ d car€dby rhe letters) When the secondary coo6 ar6m xedwrh Ine pnmarycolofs,you g€t re arv coorc lrnd c¿tedwrh rhelelterf)
Mixing magenta with lellow createsa /€d
Mixing lellou) \aith .!an blue arezlesa grcen
Mixitrg clan blue witli magenta createsá da* blue
Br m¡rrnr ¿ primarycolot with the closestsccondary color, you can .fcrr. J trliary pigmenfcolor: Finally. by mixing the rertiarics l¡.rü lrÉn witb thc secondaries,you can creatc dnothcr darker range callcd the "quaterna¡ies-' You c¡n continue this processand producean infinite numberof (>:tt shades.
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COLOR THEORY
colors Complementary By underslandingthe theory behind colorandlight, yol¡ canobtainanycolor on yourpalctlc.Next,youwill nccd to know how pigmentcolorscomplemcntone another. COMPLEMENTARY PIGMENT COLORS Intense blue eompleme'¡E Jello'tt' Red coñplements clan blue Green complements mageñta (and
whatuseis Now.you mightbe saying, thisinformalion aboutconplementary colorswhile I m painting? Well. . . bok at it thiswayrif youobservethe prcvioustableof pigmcntcol ors carcfully.you will nolice that the complementary colorsarc alwaysoppositeonc anotherin all possiblc com" (darkbluecomplements yelbinations vcrsa. don't forgct-red low-or vicc cy¡n blue. and so on). complements 'fo they put ¡l anotherway. bccause have the complenrcnlary, thcy ¡re And to a pai¡ter,this leastin comnron. mea¡slhc chanceto createsu¡prising lucontrasts. to paint cxlraordinarily minous shadowsor inlcnse backgrouDds, ofpainting lt ¡lso means thepossibility with a raogcof broken"colors.obtainedwith a mixtureof uncqualprocolorsand porlionsof comple|nenlary whitc. But this is a subiectthal I will toninS. leavefor lalcr-whenI discuss and.tbeart of tcndcncies and r:rnges. colors. harmonizing
Fg 20 fre úse .r . o m p l e m e n t á r t. o o . s 6 owsvoL lo olrt¡ n |re móstdensecoorcon r f á s r sA r r n eD e gn n n g Dt llr s .e.trúrY the post ñipresso¡ stsa.a the ióúvrsrs emphas
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,ed coor .ortrásts ¡ rne, o¿.r ngs an exd¡De or ris sqe s rn s rerrorlrc: o. ol A n d r e D ¿ r ¿n s p án r . g t l t s ¡ m , ¡ s r e . 6rdgÉ Lpivale.o ccion,
F l g s .1 7 , 1 8 , a n d 1 9 The rheoryof compeme¡lérycoors can be s u m m e ou p n m e s e o a g G m s :w ¡ e n M 0 p marycolo6 lmagen la ánd cyan bue) are mxeo,youoD¡ana séc ondary color lrnrense blue).whosé coñple r¡entis the prmarycoor that was not ñcluded ln the prevousm¡x1úre (y€low).8eádñ9 you can eachdragr¿m s e et h ¿ tn t e n s b eu e s the complement oi ye. low; red¡s the compementol cyanbluetand gree. s me compeme¡¡ or ñagen6 áno
(.OIOR TIIFOR\
MAGFNTA ls thc compl€meflt of GREEN CY^N R¡,UEls the comphmcntof RE[, (andviccrersa) COMPt,¡)MIJNTARY PT(iNINNTCOI,ORS 'l heJ ¡lrc thc s¡me as the primary lighl cobr$-bluc, groe , and rcd. S¡ncelhcso(ohrs trkc s$l¡1'lighi, rvhcnfirircd lhrl (rc¡lr black.
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Colortheory:summary
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P.rintingNilh pignrcrrtcol)¡\ is the oppositeprorossto tho on{r:rpplicd to lighl. Nli\ing pigment colr)rs¡l$.tts invoh{'s taking .r$át light. subtracl¡restnthesis. For instance.br mi\ing thr thrce primarr llgr¡¿r¡ colors, t{Ju (reálc bl¡ck.
U,,$(\fr. lht c¡rlorsof the sptctnrn¡can l)f lL'undlr,rh in the colorsof light and ¡n
U U U Z S Z c o l o Rr H E o R y
COLORSOF LIGHT
PRI]IIARY Red
PRIMARY
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ST]CONf)ARY Clan blüc
o M agent¡
M¡gcnts
Yellol{
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. Thescllght colo$ ¡rc the s¡m€ plgment colors(right) us€dby ¡ psinaer.
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Yello*
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D¡rk bluc
. This coincidenceollows an a.list to imitate the effectsof lighi in ¡llúm¡noled objects and io repro. duce all lhe raues of color lhal nalure has lo offer.
MEXICAI PLANTEL I O T EC A UNIVER
CONTRAST
Contrastthroughtoneand color Pigment colors ¡rc aclually a poor comparisonto ¡he colors rnd lights f()und in nature. l he f(rllowing iesl Nill sho\y tou an €xample of thc diffcrence betwccnnaturaland piBmenlcolorinS. Imaginea Nhite wall lhat has a small hole. which boks into a bldck spacc w¡thout lighl. If tou were ¡o print. with blackpainr, a shapecqual t() tha¡ of the hole Dexl to it. vou would see lhat lhe black painr would lransform into a dark Srayand n(f the rcal black of dürkncss(figurc .18). ln ordcr to imil¡te thc real conlrnsts. Nhich exist betweenthc colorsin nalure. you have lo use a sericso[ rulcs bascd on lhc frclors of contrastbelwecn lor¿r and aoLr'.1. A contrast prcduced lhrou-qhlír,¡r does not involvccolorl instsad.it de¡ls rvith thc lightncssor d rk¡css of a cctor. For inst nco.¡ blirckhosidc¡ wb¡tc.a d¡rk gfirv rDd ir light gr¡v. or ¡ conr' t)inarionof blirck.gray. and whitc ¡rc cxirmplcsof ioD¡l conlrasts,A dark bluc and ¡ lighl bluc i\ ¡nolhcr tonitl ¡lo$c!cr. il lou print d¡rk rcd beside u dürk bluc. ]rou obtain thc conlr¡sl ('l onc cok)rl\'ilh ¿nothcr.A color contrrst is bascd on thc diffcrenccs thal c\isl bclNccn t$o colors.Finally. if the bluc is d¿rrkand thc rcd is lighl, contrastgilcn by lou achicvc¡ doL¡ble .o1¿r'¡nLl/rr¡¿,rt thc samc lime (figurc 19).
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COLORAND CONTRAST
The law of simultaneous contrast
' 1cn you have an are¡ of light color 'Ile lbllo\\'ins conclusionscan be ¡dd' 'J irnotherarca of d¡rk color. and cd t{) lour slud\ of colorl - prrnr the s¡me coloro¡ topofbolh . \ellow lemo¡rand r red tomato itt A cobr appe¡rs darkcr whcn - r¡se-vou \rill Bel thc optical ilthe color around it is lighter. . ,n lhal lhe ycllowof the lemon.or A color apprars lighter when - rdd of the lomato. placcdon the the color around il is darker. . :r surfaccis darkcr than the same : lhced on the black background :-:r. 50 ¡nd 5I). I'his is known as .it||t:¡]us aoüLfa\L
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COLORAND CONTRAST
Maximumcolorcontrasts To obtaina maximunr conlras! thro(gh tone.youjuslh¡ve rc painlblacknext 10 while.But what aboutfindingthc ma\¡nrum conlrirsl through co¿o¡: whichcolorsshould!ou use?Blueand grccnl Red and yellorv?Videt .lnd rcd l
Fg 54 H€nrMatsse 1r869 r954) Po¡¡¡¡f o¡ Madr¡ne M¡rrsse, a so khown ¿s Porrfár¡ Fov ¿ Fne Ars l.¡useJm. Cope¡hage¡ t rsr (he posr mpresso¡ sls ¿nd t h e ¡ l h e ; d ! v s r sp a n t co¡(asrs Dy l!rrapos. n s c o m p e m e n r ¡ r yc o . Yo! see n r¡ s pd nl i9
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Nlarimumcolor contrastsran be producedfrom the juxtapos¡lion of complementarJ colors (ligure
The numberof complemenlarvcolors is al¡noslintlni¡e.Il is not rcstricled.as one might believc, to an cxclusive combin lion ofthc primary¡nd seconoafv colors. Fronr \h¡t \,ou have learncd so far.
hcrcaresomepointsto remcmber: Whcnplacedsidcby side.two colors canbe enhanced in thci¡ tone and in their color. On lhc other hand. the phcnomenon of successiYe imagesirlso takcsinto account the maximumcolor contraslprovide{iby the conlplcmen' tilr! colors.ll becomes evidentlhal r of ¡ts color cfeatesthe appearancc complementary color in ¡ts neighboringcobr or shadc. It was thc color physicist, Chevrcul. who discovered and stundardizcd this lmporlanlphcnomenon.
COLORAND CONTRAST
Inductionof complementary colors ly that althoughthe two g¡eensale identical,the one situatedotr the yellow rectanglehasa slightbluishtone, whilethe oneon the bluercctanglehas a slight yellowish tone. The f$t rectangle(figure5ó) is receiüngan inducTest for yourseif this unique phenom- tion of blue,the complementary of yelenoridevelopedby Chevreulwith the low. The inductiorialso givesthe tri¡riangleson this page. ansle a blue¡ creen tha¡ the second First, sta¡e lbr half a minute at the rectangle.The effectsare reversed green triangle on the yellow back- figure57. ground,and then at the greentrianglc on the dark blue background(figures 56and 57).You will noticcimmediateA color will cast its coú¡plem€ntary color onto a neighboringcolor or sh¡de.
Fgs 66 and 57 lf yoLr lookior halfa m nuteal rherra¡gleoñ thó blue background andlhenal the tnañgleoñ lhe yellow background,you willseé|heinduclion ol cor¡plemeñbrycoors
There ,s a y€lowish to¡€ on lne tnangre with tha b!e b¿ckglolnd, ¿¡d a blu¡sh tone on lhe rriangle w¡lh lhe yellow back-
I 45
COLORAND CONTRAST
From theory to przictice Delacroixoncesaid,"Give me mudand I will paint the sk¡n of a venus - . . with the conditionthat I can paint a¡ound her the colorsI want." Deldcroix knew that with ceftain colors in the background,it is possible¡o crcatc a delicrtefleshcolor. On one occasion,someonebegged Rubcnsto acceptas a pupil a young man who wasvcry kccn and very willing "He will setdetor anything.To begin with. he couldhclp you paintthe backgrounds,. , ." "Ah. he can painl backgrounds?" Rubensasked. 'Bring him along right away;I havebeen paintingfor years. and I havcneverbeenableto painta properly." background Rubens.likc ail great artists,had a premonitionof the moderncolor theories. Thatis whyhc thought that thc task of paintinga b¡ckground. while appearing simple.was in fact vcrycomplex. You are now going to study thescthcorics from a practical point of view. To do this. you will be us¡ngas an example,an by rnc thc orr il painli¡g Parnungoy artistFr¡ncescSerra. Fi8/r¡¿-58.Here is an inage
of a youngmodel. dressedin a white blouse and a browD skirt againsta white background.This is an cxample of simultaneouscont¡ast. Against a whitebackground, the toneof the face is dark, grayish,and leaning toward green- The blouse looks more gray thanwhi¡e;the book is alsopart of this brownish,grccnishtonality. FiBurc59. This is the resultof the induction of thc backgroundcolors. I havepaint€dthe samefigu¡c on a reddishbackg¡ound;I havealsomodified the color of the skirt, givingit a mo¡e c¡imsonshade.The resuhsare bad. The red background,leaningtoward crimson.is the worstcolo¡for the olive greencolor of the faceand the blouse. Sincethe crimsoncolor castsits conplementarycolor. green, onto the neighboringshade.it only uddsmorc greento the cobr of thefigure. with Now, I will showyou an example a ycllowi$hbackground,with a range of golden colors,.includingochres. siennas.yellows... Fig¿¿re ó0, No goodeithe¡.First of all. the backgroundbecomcstoo imporplace,whenthecotant.In thesecond lors of the figurc receivethe induction of the yelbwish backgrou¡d,they becomemorc gray.The backg¡oundco' lors casl thcir complementarycolor. bluc (the compleme¡tary of yellow). makingthc color of the face and thc blouscpalerandmorefaded.
COLOR AND COh'TRAST
Figurc 61. Here is F¡ancescSer¡a's magnificentpainting.lt showsyou the bestbackgroundcolor match.The one which, throughthe inductionof complcmentary colors. ha¡monizesand matchesthe color of the head, the blouse,and the ski¡t. The colors are not only pleasingto the ey€. but they are alsooriBinaland a¡tistic. FrancescSerras picture is undoubF edly brilliant. It showsan cxtraordinary knowledgeof color aDdthe theoriesyouarelearningin thisbook,which, in short,may bc delinedas follows:
Another important lesson can be lea¡nedby studyingthis painting by SeÍa. It showsyou that in painting,as in drawing,the artistneedsto work on the wholepaintingat once,lookingat the cntirc picture,stainingand painting the entire sudace,and gradually transformingor matchingthe colors. For example.you mustneverpaintand finish a figuIe without stainingin the backgroundwith a color that will bc compatiblewith the figure. Remember,Chevreul himself wote this definitivephraseon the subject:
Beeringin mind therule ofthe inductionof complementary colors, you can modifys colorby changing the .color of the background that surrounds¡t ao ¡ascomple. mentarycolor.
Putting3 brushstrokeof coloron a canYasis nol just stainingthe canvas with thc color on lhe brush.lt is alsocolor¡ngthe space aroündit rdth its complementary c0ror.
fHI USE AND ABUSE OF WHITE AND BLACK
The color gray is 507owhite To paint the light blue of a cloudless sky or the dark red of a flower, it seemsnatural, in thcory, that you would have the help of white and black. But beware!By r¡singwhite or blackfor a light blue, a dark red, and so on, you can fall into the "g¡aytrap, " cspeciallywhenyou are paintingwith opaquecolors. such as oil, tempera, pastel, and so on. Rememberthat whitc is a color ¿nd will be treatedas such in the mixture.Emilio Sala,the art teacher,wasright whenhe wrotc:
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Th€ greatestdilticulty wilh oil p¡lnt¡ngis 10makethe whitevsn. ish. The fact is that white creatcsgray; white is a basiccomponcnt-no less th¡n 5070,togethcrwith black-of the color gray. AddingPh¡leto ¡ p¡rt¡cularcolor mc¡ns,bothin th€oryand in pr¡c. tice, turning the color aogr¡y. Haveyou cvcr heardaboutthc cxper¡mentwith coffeeandmilk'¡Ifyou takc two glassesof coffec, with the same amountin each,and add wat€rto one glassandm¡lk to the othe¡,you will scc that the water makesthe color of the coffeelighter,leani¡g loward red. orange,gold. . . . It reactsin a similar way to the r¡ixture of w¿ter with a tra¡¡sparent color sr¡chasa wafercolor. While in the other glass, lhe milk transformsthe color of the coffeeinto a dirty sienna,a di¡ty ochre, a gray crcam.. . . It reactssimilarly to the m¡xturcof a white color-an opaque color-with another cqually opaque color (figurc63). This experimentwill help you to unde$tand an ¡mportantrule: Adding white 10a m¡xlureis not th€ only w¡y to obaa¡¡a lighaer color.
{I
THE USE AND ABUSE OF WH]TE AND BLACK
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.
AND BLACK
The color gray is 507oblack You will scethat the useofblack is just asdangerousasthe useof white.Takc a bdght yellow, such as the primary pigmentcolor, anddarkenit by adding black. Nolicewhat happens: when I mix the yellowwith thc black, the ye)bw becomesdirty. a gfay. As I graduallyblendin the black.it gives me a shadethat is clearlygreen.¿ dirty to grecn.whichin no way corrcsponds yellow. the the ideaof darkening In ord€r to banishthis error once¡nd for all. you have to imitate the mix_ turescreatcdby light in natureitsclf Indeed,the solutionis lo bc foundin the spcctrumof colors itself. In the caseof yello'"v.for example.you can seein thc spectrumthat the da¡kness comesfrom the rcd side.As the reds arc transtbrmcd inlo oranges.they graduallybecomelighter until they reachthe cnlorycllo$ . . ¡nJ thenlt blendswith thc greensand the blües (tlgure 64). So. if you wcrc tu bre¡k down the ¡angeof the color ycll()w. you wor.¡ld bcginwith bl ck, thena !l_ il slcnnl.an oletred.anor¡ngeslcnnit. yellrrw. ir neutrr I orüngc)cllow,a d¡rk m y e l l o wJ. l e m o n! e l l o s l n i x t u r co f ycllow.grccn..rndwhitc).¡rcl fin¡lly a whitc(figure65). To conlirm this thcoty. figurcs66 and 67 showa graphicex mple of how to lighten^nd darkenlhe colorycllow
t Orangc
Blark
52
THE USE AND ABUSE OF WHITE AND BLACK
Fg 66 BAD: The ábuse oi wh te ¡¡d b a c k i s s h o w ¡ h e r ei ¡ the ovefal graying oi the coor yelow The p an t ¡ g i s a s o s p o i e d by ihe greenlo¡es thlr appear n ¡ne snaaows Ths s¿qoodexampe ol what not to do whe¡ pa¡r hg wth opaque
F s 6 7 G O O D :T h ¡ s pa¡r n9 is q! te d ffe. e ¡ r w h e n y o u u s ea l the colofsoi ¡h€ sp€c, lfumto dárkona.d lght e n t h ey e l o wq u a l t yo f ¡he mode, l acqunes a g r e a t e ff e a l s m ¿ n d m o s to f a l , a g r e a l e r
-53
THE USE AND ABUSE OF WHITE AND BLACK
'
Paintingwith the colorsof the spectrum The langeofcolorsprovidedby the solar spectrumshowsyou the best mixturesto useto lightenand darkenthe primarycolor, cyanblue. You cansce for yourself- in the diagram of the speclrum,that on the lig¡t s¡de.the blue is vergingon grce¡. Wlile on thc dark side, it endsin an intense.dark blueleaningtowardv¡olet,whichis rep¡cscntedon color chafts by ultramarine blue. So you can see that in a b¡cakdownof the color blue. there is a greenishtendency(a bluishgreen)in the ligl¡t parts.a neutraltcndcncyin thc center.and a violet te¡dencJ.a blue lhat includespurplc. in thc dark parts.It is evenposs¡bleto seein the darker parts a deep vidct Llclorcyou rcachthc totallyb¡¡ckzone. Now I will comparethe subjeclof¡ jug and some blue flowers. first p¡intcd only wilh blue.black.and whitc.and then with all thc neccssary colorsrequircd for the subjcct (figures70 a n d7 l ) .
'::1.1(
Coh¡lt
BL¡ck
blu€
THE USE AND ABUSE OF WHITE AND BLACK
Fs 70 BAD: A blue subject p¿ nred exc! svey wrh b¡ue ánd mxed wlh whte and back, gves an mag€ ke th s one. lt has poor c o o r n g ; r n e f er s ¿ p r e domrnance 01 grays that m¿ke lrre lfue coor oJ the objects
sF."ffi'ü; : g 7 l G O O D H e ¡ el s . r nted wth ¿ 6nge oi res 'ke¡heonerlus'ned l¡ Jig!re 69. r¡pafe ths rmag,. . rh ln€ pr€vrousoñs ' I 7 0 ) A n a l y z er h 6 r orng oi ths pcrure 'I you wll seo rens, d iferont b ú6s, .'pes ¿n0voers, ¿s , as back, whrch 'ohas zes lhe slblect
,¿ff:¡;t
55
rHL t sL AND A8l stl?!ll!!li
Finally, here is a breakdownof red' usins the colots of the spectrumas a mod;l onceagain.with black There musrbe a mixtureof blackandvlolcl fottowedb) crimson.red.orangercd. o¡angeyellow,pink(pink.yes,butone thatls t;ghtl) hngedwith yellow,-cs yuuwillsee.sincethisis thecolortnat lnrders on ¡ed in the sPectrumwhen the red becomeslighter)' followedfinallyb) $hite {frgure73) wlththe use The Dai¡tinqof tomatoes. of onlv ¡cd, black, and white in figure 74. and with the useof illl colorsin the red spectrumin figure75. showsyou once aqcinthat it is be\l to maKc white v;n¡sh as muchas Possible"' In short,the importantthing is to discove¡the chromaticstructllreot a color as it lightensand darkens.This te¡dencv.as YoualreadYkno$'.may ne the colorof (he obiects influánced'by andtherL' the themselves. ¡onalcolor. ln condltloneo which arc flectcdcolor, the of intensity and color thc turn, by atmospncre lisht and the intervenrng mind. you in factors these K'eeoing hav; ttiudsc if the light3reasleantoward veilow,red, or blue Then You must ;roceed accordingly.completing the mixtureby addingwhite As far as the dark areas are conce¡ned You mustreúemberthat: Black, in itself, is not enoughto representa lsck of lighl
56
i¡9
q!¡\¡
Fig 74 BAI
.e!
Fig.75. GOOD rñ€
ilt
'I
HE L SF AND ABLSL OT WHIfF AND tsLACK
F l g 7 4 . B A D ]y e s . . Judgingby the shape anorhe dr¿wina, these are tomatoesBut not ¡eally.Tomaioesdonr haveihat dirty brow¡ ¡sr co|or,orth€laravish red. This is ¿ póor'exarnpe parntedby an amareur w¡rhno expeF €ñce, who just tghr, ened $e red with whne and darkonedit
Flg.75. GOOO:Thess ¿re tomaloest8y r¡ixrngredandyelow (6nd wn l€, or colrsa)i fed ano cfmson,and btuo a¡0 sren¡¿and gfe€n, rn€ lrue cótor ot tho slqect was prodlced r n s r sa p e t e d e t . m p¡e oi th€ sot¡r spÉcüum, ¿nd rhe b¡éakdow¡ ot red ¡6pfo-
57
Twelvecolorsare enough For the purpose of this study. I have chosen a selection of oil colors. Oil is the king of paints, from which the names. definitions. and cl¡ssifications uscd in othcr mediums such as wate¡color.tempera.pastel,coloredpencils, ancl so on have been established. In figure 77. you can see a selectionof lhe n1osl *idely used colors. But rememberthat the cobr chartsprepa¡ed by oil paint manufactu¡ersinclude a far greater number of colors. The enornlouscolor rrnge used by the manul¡clurersrespond. first, to the artist s nced :rnd ability to choose the colors he considers to be in current use.and second.to the opportunityto choose and extend the normal range wi!h onc or more specialcoloN. I give a btal of tburteencolors-including black ilnd white-which are considcrcdthc most widcly used.But I shouldalso mention that this rangc can bc fcduccdto tcn colorsonly. -li) givc \rou an idc of this smallcr sclcclion. I havc mrrkcd the ten most necThcrcforc, ossarycolorswith asterisks. il you h¡d to reducethe color range, you could do wilhout thc other four Spcrkingof this list. Ict me now try to i[]s$er ¿rrearlier quest¡oD.The amatcur iirund it strangethat. since it is possible1ocomposeall colorsjust with lhe thrcc primary colors---
haveto mix blueandyellowin un€qual proportionsand then add a Iittle white to the mixture. ln shof. cachof thesenonp¡imary.olols hasa particularcolortendency,extremelydifficultto obtainif it hasto be imitatedwith a mixtureof primarycof ors. Chemically,this imitation is not possible.becausethe chemicalcompositionof eachcoloris differcnt.Yef low ochre.for example,is composed of specially composed natural earths; while in bluc. thcre is iron ferrocyanide; in pu¡ple, there is cochineallacquer; and in yellow,there is cadmiüm sulphate.Thesethree chemicalcompounds, no matter how they arc mixed. cannot give the exact shade suppliedby the chemicalcomposition of yellowochre. ln thc followingpages,you will sec a bricf studyof eachof the colorsin the charton thc oppositcpagc.Thcrc is alsoa discusion aboutthe shadcsand qualitiesof eachcolor when they arc mixed with othcr colors.Thc study provesthat it is practicalandnecessary to paint with more than threecolors.
Cadnriu
l'e
Cadmiumlemonlellorr Cadm¡um Jellow medium* Yellow ochre* Burnt sienna Burnt umt)€r* Light vermilion+ Deep madder*
gra'€n Permatr€nt Emerald green* Ultramarinebluedeep* Cobait blue d€ep* Prussia[ blu€* Titanium white* Ivory black
otl
USE AND ABUSEoF WHITE AND B;(.K
Cadhiuh b.non
ye
ore
ft"*",-"H.
COLORSCOMMONLYUSEDBY ARTISTS
A studvof the colors morc and driesmore quicklythan the zinc b'hite.Silver lvl¡i¡¿makesil pos' sible to achievemorc texture. with paint madef¡om thick pastes.but the disadvantage ¡sthat it causescracksor fissuresbecauscof its thickness.Z¡rc )/¡¡f¿ is mo¡e transparentand more fluid. but ¡t d¡ics much morc slowly. which m¿kesit difficult to wo¡k on a paintingwhile it is drying. The con' posit¡on of ¡i¡¿ni¡¡mry/¡¡l¿is somewherebetwe€nthe two. whichis wh\ it is more w¡delyusedthan the others Titaniumwhite There are gcnerallythree classesof ln any type of opaqucmedia,sucha. white in oil painting,classifiedby the oil. tempera,or p¡stel,wh¡teis oftcr namcssrlv¿¡\'hie, zinc v,h¡tc.and ti- uscd,becauseit is a part of mostmir. tan¡umwhite.l¡ is usefulto know that tures.This ¡s why rvhitepaint is mansilver white is morc opaque, covcrs ufacturcd¡n largetubes(figure7li). This study rcfers to commoncolors. For the mosl part. these tones and shadesare commonto any classof co! or media. In any box of watcrcolors. tubesof ternpera.of caseof pastelsor colorcdpencils.you will lind the same cadmiumyellowlight. yellowochre. cobaltblue.ultramar¡ne blue.and so on. They are manufactu¡edwith the samcshadc.or one very similar.and they usuallyhavethe samename.
COLORSCOM
,'-,|
PF *'-"i 1'"(
E
"*"".7,.,e r,,^F"'81'^lriQ
f-t*'{ COLORS COMMONLY USED BY ARTISTS
Yellows Cadmium Icmon ycllow and cadmium rello$ medium Look al thc No \cllows comingout of th!-ir tubcs (figurc 80) and noticc the m rkcd diiierencc in sh¡dE between thcnr. The citdmiunrlemon yellow (figurc 80 A)is lighlcr.with a slightgrcenish lonc: rhc cad¡niunl\'cllow medium (fiSurclif) Ii) is d¡rker and leansl()ward orirnge.lho\c lcn(lcnciesconfirn the Ic\$n in thc pre\i()u\ chaplcr (seefigure 65). \\tcrc il is eriplirined rhüt. bccausc oi lcllo*"\ placcnrcnl in thc spectarn,a liShl \ello$ leanr toward qrcen ¡nd a d¡rk Icll(xr lcansro$ard rcd. As lou p¿rint.r'ou have to remcmber thcs{'basicdiilercncesbcc¡use.as vou shullsee i n ¡ n o n c n t . ¡ ) c l l o w( o r t h e color loLr h¡ppen lo he Lrsing)nixed \\ith othcr coloft ñill a¡\¡\'s reflcclrhe originalr'cllou or color usccJ. Lcl us l)eginb! looking rt figurcs81 ln(l 3l: thc\c vcll()wsarc mixcd with *hilc. In thc cadnriumlcDronyclk)w. thc cr¡l¡rris nrrint.rincd(thourh it turns imncrccptibl\t(xy¡Kl erccn):but $ith thc cirürriunrycllow nrcdiuln.thc originul cok) is lrllcrcdto a crc my color. Thcn nole lhrt b\ r¡li\inl¡ .¿rlr¡irn lcn¡¡n ttllt¡:. o(l¡t, vltit.,.\nd rcd, il is |ossibli, t() oblitin a $i(le range ol Ilcshcolors(ligurc ¡il A). Ne\t. notrcelhc mixlure of cadmium !'cllow Dediu|n Nilh red nnd crimr)n: \ou ca¡ sce th¡l thc cad|niunlvell)$ lnediunrrakfs lhc brillianceir\\'avfronr the ()rrngcs.pirrricul¡rlvwhcn nrired (r crinr\onshadc)(figurc t\ilh ,¡¡lr1¿¿, tit A ). Bu1 lhe influcnccol each color r\ lhc moslroticcirhlcin lh! rni\turcsoldr¡.r' ¿/¿/r.:r¿rlri¡n!l thc lhrce blucs:.i)/)r¡lr. uln¿nnti,r:. !t1d P,r/rrid/¡.Stud\'thc\e partsol ligure'sNl irndtil. S.. ho\'the cadnrrtmlc lon vc11o\\achicvelia luminous |arict\ of grecn\-ligh¡ and brillii¡nl:s hilc in ¡hc nli\ture\ \\ ith ¡hc c¡dIniunl \fllo$ nredium.thr gr'rfn\ N"otc.too. lhat Nhcn the sreensrrc mixcd *ith (rúd¿ ó¿k ritld ultmntut¡n¿ ó/¡ft,.ther bccom!'{ra!: ¡hc reasonior
61
this is that the blues are complemenlarv to the yellows (figure 8l B). Thc mixturc that goes thc darkef is the ullramarine blue mixed with the cadmium vellow medium (figure It2 B). which confirmsthe generalrulc thal. when mixed. complenentafy colors producc blackStudy all thcseeffecls.Remcmberi¡r lutu¡e lhc possibilitv of iUuminatin€t" with the cadmium lemon vcllow or ''darkeningwilh goldcn oranges with the cadmiumyellow medium.Keep in nlind ¡he diffcrcnr rangesof greens: lhc fact that to obtai¡ra light. bright green.you have!o usccadmiumlemon yello\\r 1o achicvegoldcn.sap grecns. usethc cüdmiumyellow med¡um.Rcmcmbcr. too. that !hc\e grecn-greens rre bcsl obtaincd '¡rrlh tnerukl grec and PÍussian blue; sincc ultramarine á/re is the complemenlof yellow,¡t wi¡l give you dirty, grayish greens.
FIG,80B
COLORS COMMONLY USED BY ARTISTS
Fig.81: CADMIUM LEM
Prüssian blu€
CADMIUMYELLOW
,",,-Gf'---'t
Cobalt blue
Ultramar¡ne blue
COLORS COMMONLY USED BY ARTISTS
Ochreand siennas YellorYochre and burnl si€nna tsy mixing vellorv ochre and maddc¡ (a crim$n shadc)¡nd a little whire. you can obt¡in burnt sicnna(figure84 A)t and by mixing burnt siennawith yellow and a littlc while. you can ge! lellow ochre(figure8,1B).Theseare two sim il r colors. with the diffcrence being thc tenclencvof one toward yellow and the other to$ard cfimson.This similarity att¡cts the mixtu¡es of rhese colors with othcr cok)rs.In mixtu¡eswith ochre. yellow lvill appear.With burnt sie¡rna.the tendencvlvill be toward a Bolh colors conl¿tinwhite; thcre is nrore in the ochre than in the burnt sicnna.And both colorscontainblue. which mc¡ns that the two coloÉ cao tunr grrY. In tigure 6,1C. you seethat thc ochre nrixcd with white and red givcs¡ ileshcobr. When ochrc is mixed with red or a crinrcn sh¡rlc.a r¡nge of earth colors nnd s¡!nn¡s,csserrlial to an artisfspalollc. is ohtaincd. Miricclrvith cncr¡ld green. the ochre produccs brownish but luminous Srccns.irs it docs lvhcn mixed with Prussi¡nbluc-¡lrhouSh with this mixturc a Ll¡rkergrccn is obtained. Fin¿rll),. whcn mixed wilh cobat blue nd ullraDrafiDebluc. yelluw ochre produce\crilyishbrowns, Now look a1 the mixrures obtained with buf¡t sicnn¿: the s¡lmon coklr produccdhy thc ¡ddirion of whilc (fiSurc ii5 A)t th!'monoroneth¡t comcs ironr nririn!t il \\ith \cllo\\. rrd. rnd crrnsoDtrnd rhc richne,isof ¡hc !rrr\ Lonesobtilincdh\ nriringir rvirhemr'i ald greenand bluc (ligureS5 B). \orrce th¡l $ilh encr¡ld rtrccn (iri com plement¡rvcolor). black or r d¡rker tone rs produccd(figurc S5 C). Fronl thcsecolor\ $irh rhe \.1rian¡spro!ided b) lhc cobalt.rnd1ll¡ramrinc blue\_a ve¡! rich rangcof g¡ir\s a¡d bro\\nsis obl¡iDed.\hich is essenrialfor paint, ing shadows areasth¡t ¿re not com pletelvblack.
Raw sienna This color is simila¡ to yellow ochre. with the only differenccbeingthat it is darkerwithin the sameshade. When raw siennais mixedwith whi¡c, yellow.and red (figure86 A). you can obtaina wide rangeof fleshcolors. Raw siennacan also be darkenedby graying.When mixedwith blues,you can produce an exceilentquality of greenishgrays(figure86 B).
FIG.8 3 C
COLORSCOMMONLYUSED BY ARTISTS
:.'-i:-:
re
COLORS COMMONLY USED BY ARTISTS
Red and crimson Cadmiumred and úadde¡ when you comparethesetwo colon, you'llnoticethe markedbluishtendency of madder(or crimsonFa primary color that cannotbe reproducedwith other colors(figures87 A and B). You have aheady seen tbe results thesecolo$ givewhenmixedwith yellowsand ochres(figures81, 82,84, 85, and 86). However,it is worth examining these brushstrokesof madder combinedwith lemonyellowandwhite (89 A). They p¡ovidea wide rangeof flesh colofs, cteams, oranges, and ¡eds.whichare very usefulfor darkening. Also notethe luminouspink producedby the mixtureof whiteandmadder (89B). As for the mixtureswith greensand blues,both the cadmiumred and the maddercan be darkenedwhen mixed with emeraldgreen-sincethis is thei¡ complementarycolor, especiallyfor madder. In the area indicatedas C, wherethe black is darkest,you can seethat the madderhas beenmixed with emerald greenand bufnt umber(be carefulnot to confusebufnt umberandbr¡rntsienna). Make a note of this combination for obtaininga perfectblack.
or is cleaner;the pu¡plesappeartransparcntevenin the shadowareas(D). Finally, notice how the mixture of madderwith Prussianblue producesa violet almostas da¡k as a black (E). To a ce¡taindegree,this black is the result of the rule of complementa¡ies: Prussianblue has some greencoloring, of madder. andgeen is thecomplement
^$
FIG.87A
madder+ cmeraldgreen+ burnt umber= black This deep black seemsmore perfect than blackitself. It is a blacktha¡ has a ce ain tendencytoward crimson. green,or brown; a black!ha! ¡s probably more in tune with thc dominant colo ng of the model-greenish.crimsonish,brownish-within a black ¡oning. Let us now considerviolets and pr¡rplesobtainedfrom mix¡uresof red and madde¡with bluesand a bit of white. Violets and purples a¡en't as clean when they ar€ composedusing red ratherthan madder.In the violetsand purplesobtainedfrom madder,the cof 68
FG. 878
COLORSCOMMONLYUSED BY ARTISTS
COLORSCOMMONLYUSEDBY ARTISTS
Burnt umber and emeraldgreen Burnt umber Bu¡nt umberis a colorsimilarto black, w¡th thc only differenccbeing that it hasan carthy.dark brownshade.This shadeis visiblein mixtureswith white and yelklws(f¡gure9l A). Notice thc peculiariryof th€secolorings:the burnt graywhenthe umberis m¡xedwith whire;the yellowsthat turn loward ¡ sourgreen.a kind of yellow¡sholivegreen. Burnt umbershouldalwaysbe on your palette.It is not only indispensable for obtainingblack:it is the idealcolorfor brcakingup slridentslrokcs.and the bestcolor for producin8grays(91 B). while thiscotormaybe dange¡inthc pAintcr, hrndsofan incxpericnccd it is in the hands aDinvaluable instrument of a professional. rvhois c¡pabl€of using ii in thc right mersure.takinginto irccountthat il is a nccessary color and a usefulsubslitutefbr black-without beingco|)plete¡v black. Bccauseburnt umber ¡s an eminently dark color. il is easylo use It fo composc another perfect black basedon fhis combination:
With the blues and white, üis color gives dch ranges of bluish greens, which when mi,xedwith yellows can produce all k¡own and possible greens.It alsoproducesvelvetyblacks in combination with bumt umber, madder,andPrussianblue(92B). It is a color that appearstransparentin manylight and dark shadows;a color that is presenton the paletteof every expen anrst. ln shoñ, emeraldgreen is the only greenyou need to obtain all imaginableg¡eens.
FIG.90A
burnt umbe¡+ medder+ Prussianblue= black _fhis black, as you úay haverealized. givesthe artist a chanceto enhancea bluishor purpletint that may be in the coloringof the model. Emerald green As w¡th the other primary colors, greenis a necessary color. _fhc emerald ¡ond¡¡fl has a slightly bluishgrcen,whichis usefulin obtaining a wide rangeof greensin combination with yellows. You can also producea rangeofgreenbluesby mixing cobah. ultramarine,and Pruss¡an blues. Mixed wirh while. it givcs a bluish greencolor (92A). which.whe¡ mixed with lemon yellorv.makesa fine luminousqual¡iyof palegreens.
70
FIG.90B
COLORSCOMMONLY USED BY ARÍSTS
COLORS COMMONLY USED BY ARTISTS
Blues Cobalt blue deep, ultramarine blue deep,Prussianblue ln order for you to distinguishthe characlcristicshadesof eachof these blues.I havebrokenthem down with whiteandthcnmixedthemwith madder and a little whiteto makcthreeviolets.
And black? Is there no black in oil colors? Yes, there is, but why run the risk of grayingaoddirtyingeverything? When it can be better obtaincd,with a finer color sense,by mixing crimson.burnt umber, emeraldgreen, and Prussian blue? ln any case.it can be said that ivory Cobsltbluedeep,a blueblue black usedwilh careis a useful.even Thc proof lh¡l cobalt.a luminousand magnificent,color. transparentcolor. is lhe finest "blue blue is that it alwaysappearsin shadows. lmagine a radiant l,hitcwashcd wallin full sunlightt if youexamine its you will find that the colorsl¡ucture. shadows on ¡hewall.whcthertheyare gray.bluc.or violet.\\,illinclude cobalt blue in thcir composition. Picturea stain of luninous bluc-a light blue-placcdin nature.bathedin sunlight.in full radiancc. ¡nd./ouwill see cobahblueappearagain.I! is a neutral color bluc. madcof light and brighF Ultramarinebluedeep,¡ violetblue A gr l otrlaincd withcobaltbluedeep ¡nd 8r¡y obtaincdwith uhramarine bluc deep can be diffcrentiatedbccausethc liitlcr showsa ¡eDdency toward crimso¡.This justjfiesthe uscof L¡ltr¡nafineblue dcepin any opaque or darksh¡dow.tsulfirsrvoumustsee if the blue.or the dark partsthat re, quircblue.in yoursubjecthavca tcndencytolv¡rclthe r.,l¡ml b/¡¡cofcobalt or thc r'l¿1¿l b¿r¿'ofultrdnarine. Prussian blue, a radiánt bluc 'lhis is a very intenseblue that can donrinateanothercolor. but can also. if usedwilh cuution.producccxtraordinary lrrnsp¿rentshades. In conbinalion wilh white. it has the quality of graying a¡rd. at thc same time. of illuminalingilny color. Remernbcrwhcn vou painl dark tonesor Iones in shndow Dot to abuseit. Mix it '"\,ilhothcr blues.
'72
COLORS COMMONLY USED BY ARTISTS
COBALT BLUE DEEP
It i:!
HARMONIZING COLORS
The meaningof "range" Music... painting... combination of sounds. . , combinationof colors , . , an obviousanalogy,However, litlle attentionis paid to analyzingthe laws of harmonizationthat govern painting. You will see that, along broadlines,theyarc compa¡able to the lawsof music.The first and most important coincidenceis in lhe word In facl. the wo¡d /¿ngecomesfrom the systemof musicalnotes inventedby Guidod Arezzoin the twelfthcentury. Hc cstablishedth€ classicorder of a sclle of sounds representedby the nofcsdo. re, mi, Ja,so, la, ti, do. Consrderingthat thissystemis pe¡fect.you cansaythat: The word ra¿georiginellJmeant a succession of soundsorderedin a particularway, whichwascon. sideredp€rfeca. By analogy.in painti¡g the wotd ranSe appliesto the succession of spect¡um colors.This is basedon the ideá that this color succession,as it appears whenlight is dispersed, presentsa perfect order. And so, it is not strange that by extendingthisconcept.you can applythe term to any scaleo¡ ordered color succession, suchas the onesyou secon this page.For instance,the exampleof a tr¿r'mcolor range(figtres l09 and 109A); ^ cool ranSe(ll0 and ll0 A). anda brokencolor range(llL and 111A).
88
HARMONIZING COLORS
89
IIARMONIZING COLORS
The rangesof colors I will now discussthe rangesof colors. ln order to hav€a better understanding of how to applythis t€rm to painting. you shouldlook at the opposite page,figureI14. This is a rep¡oductiori of the spect¡um,with its inñnite variety of colors,tones,and shadesiit is perfectly ordered and basically inclüdcsthe primary,secondary, andtertiary colors.From left to ¡ight: Magcnta, crimson,red, orang€, yellow,l¡ght gr€en,green,emer. ald green,cyar blue,ullr¡¡¡¡¡¡ine bl¡¡e, dsrk blue or purple, and v¡olet, You should think about translating thesecoio¡s into tones,for example, into a seriesof grayswhosevaluesare in acco¡dance with the o¡der and to¡alit¡esof the spectrum(figure115).By do¡ngso, you w¡ll alsoobtaina perfect succession of orderedelemer¡ts; in this case.a r¡nge of g,'au. In addition,you canseethat the ñeani¡g of the word range can rcfer not only to the orderedsuccession of the coiorsin the spectrum,but also to ¿ part of thc spectrum----even to a single color of thc spectrumbroken down ¡ntoa scale.or range,of differenttonalities.Hence,you cancometo the followingconclusion: RANGE ¡s a¡ry successionof J,er' fectlyorderedcoloreor lores. Figs I t2 and I13 J M. Panan6n, Fohe s idetal), prvate colé.¡oñ FereG¿classc etample ol ¿ @l colof r¿nge, wm a predoñnance oi blues ano grens n he ongna colo.s Below 6lh6 sáme panr ng fepfoduced . báck añd w¡lre, corespond n9 lo lhe de¿ol ¿ raDgeas a slccesson ol per lect y orderedcoors o¡
90
HARMONIZINC COLORS
F i g s 1. 1 4a n dl 1 5 f h e coor Bñgeor lne spec lrum; below l rs a ra¡ge ol ochres and tellows,which can be €presenreooy a r¿¡ge or glayco/o¡sfhe ye bw ano gray ¡anges cor€spondro rhe de¿ ol a súccession ol per
Í!
9t
The rangesmostoftenusedin color harmonization I will illustrate this lesson*ith the following iñagesl Flgure 116. Here is a spect¡um range, in the fo¡m of a circle,composed oI the primárycolors,yellow,cyanblue, and magenta(the t¡ianglesin high reüef); the secondary colorr,green,da¡k blue, and red (the üar¡gles on the sa6e level as the outer circle); and betweeneach primaryand eachsecondary color, the tefiary colo$, light g¡een, emerald green,ult¡amarineblue, violet, criñson, and orange(the trianglesin low relieD, Study the complementarycol-
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orsiDthistable;theya¡eeasyto locate if you ¡emembe¡that they are always the colorsir direct opposition. Flgüre121.I¡ this palette,o¡ ¡ange, you canseethe mixtureof eachcolor in the spect¡umrat¡ge. Ftgurei117, r1t, U9, 120,Finálly, hele you have a chanceto see and paintedwith studyvariousexamples of colo¡s. eachrange
IIARMONIZING COLORS
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HARMONIZIN-G COLORS
Melodic range Lct n1ebegin with the first and simplef r ange.or harnronizationi The melodic range is composedof a single color. broken down into 1rro diffe¡€nt tones, and ¡ncludes black and }hite.
ln figures1ll and l2l. vou can seeexalnplcsof mclodicr¡rngesp¡inled wilh ¡n ochrc-sienna color and Lllack(lcft) ¡nd a bjue and hlack color (oppositc P¡gc). -lhc resultsobtai¡rcdwith ¡ nrclodic ran¡c arc su|prisin,:in spiteol its simpliciti. l1 showsrou that it is possiblc lo ol)llin a grcal $cLrlthof shades. brrring in mirrdlh¡l lhe colorsall or iginirtelronr ¡ sing||.colof. with tho ad(liti(nr1)l \,"hile¡nd black. In fncl. the sccrcloi thc Inclo(iicrrnge is b¡scd on pn)t)crlyrdminrstcnnglhc whilc rnd thc bl¿rrkin rclxlion ro lhe color r¡n8e (scc lhc bl!rc i1luslr¡lion).Firsr. you nrusl rrnrcnrbcrthrl by Drixingwhile lunll blircli rou pft¡dLrcei¡ ncw color ir ncLrlful !rir,"-in(jcpcndcnl of thc rrnge color. Ancl seconll.feüentber thirl l)oth thc \\hilc rnd the black. \\hcn mi\ed $irh rgi!cIlcolor.will¡rodil! theif shLrde to producca somcwhat (lill¡rcnl cold (Do you fecallthe lesr)n on pirres50 lnd 51. with thc cx ¡nplc ol the bl¡ck and whitc cotTee'l) I his tvpc ol ch nqc ir ¡he color ranse cirn c¡usc ¡r lol ol dan¿ge when ]rou rrc doing i¡ full-colorpainting.But in ¡ monochron¡ticp¿rinting. suchas the one on rhis piue. i¡ is highl! beneficiai and ¡clvantrgcous1()use.r range like ¡his Ll¡c. lo clrrroboralc thesc ren¡fks. look a¡ lhc p¿lcttcranScin fis ufe 1ll. Noticc holvthe toneswereobt¡ined onl\' *ith the color blue. The color ¡ppcarsfullr s¡turatcd\rhcn it is nr\cd r\ith $hilc Whcn it is mixed with bhck. it Lrecomes a darkefor lighter grav. Studr carefi¡llvthe ovcriL,! cfa! shade\that are a produclofblack rnd $'hite and the other sbade\rthe
gray appears with a slighr touch of Finally.look at thc picturc to seehow this palettewas applied. The ntelatlicrungeo\\es its name l() the meaning of thc musical term ltr¿Lr.1r. Bec use. it is indeed the song . . . solo.with no accompirniment. ll is ihe song \,ou sing to rourself. thc samc songtha! vocalists sinc.indcpcndcnlof
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HARMONIZING COLORS
Fg s r 2 2a n d1 2 3( e í r ) M chelángelo,Mádo, ú wnh Child MiclÉangeromaderhs dfáw¡n9 on ¿ lighr yetow ochre p¿per Dfawng w t h s € n n aa n d b á c k
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c h a l ka n d b r ¡ g ¡ g o u t l h e w h i r e sw t h w h t e ch¿k, he acheved a tion Q¡ lhe opposii€ page, vou c¿n see ¿ ponrart oi wnsto. Churchil that pa nlec w t h b a c ka h db l u ew á ¡e.color,using also thÉ white oi rhe papef fh s s a n o ¡ n eor x a m p eo T¿ co orharmonzarionpa¡n1 ed vi rh a ñe¡odic Én
HARMONIZING COLORS
a mixture of complementarycolors W}len you mix two complementarycolors, g¡een and red, for example,do you know what happens?You get a very dark, almostblackcolor.Suppose youmix themin unequalparts . . . you will obtain either a dirty ¡ed, leaning towardsienna,or a grayishgreenwith a reddish tendency-acco¡ding to whether there is a predominanceof greeno¡ ¡ed. Finally,imaginethat you tone down both colorswith white and then mix them together. By doing so, you will obtain a wide rangeof g¡ays:somestainedwith ¡ed, otherswith green,othe$ with sienna, some even with an och¡e tint, and so o¡, The harmonic ¡ange of grays is achievedthroughr¡ixturesof complementarycolorsi insteadof usingonly two complementarycolors, all the complementarycolors are used. The followingis the formulal
The h¡rmonic rango of gr¡ys, through th€ m¡xture of comple. mentary colors, ¡¡ composedof pairs of complement¡ry colols mlxed ln unequalproportlonsand grayedwith white.
givesa rangeof neuThis cornbination tralizedgrays,extremelyetf€ctiveand of high artistic quality. A range in which the t¡ue dominant color is gray . . . but with enoug¡colorfor th€ picturenot to look subdued,úonotonous, or di¡ty. Seefor you$elf, look at the colorson the ¡angepalette(figure 135).Noticehow the white is decisive in eliminatingstridentnotes,attenuatirrgcolor, btrt nof tone,and enhancing cont¡asts.This is how you obtain an exceptionalpicture, with subtle harmonizationthat is delicatein color,yet energeticin ton¿(figüres132and 134). Finally, rememberthat the choiceof compl€m€ntarycolors and dominant colorsdependson the subject.
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HARlrfo\lZI\G
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Flq 134 J M P3': ñú, Leñohade, .' vare colleclon The .¡ lreme qla ¡¡es ol i.¿ gfays, ¿ ñxrúre o coñpl¿meni¿ry coloi5 r ¡ u n e q u a r p a ñssr a v e c with white, É eviden: here wlth aLlits expres sive possibLitiesThere s no need lor back to obtain these delc¿le shadesr just rhe com b nation ol the compe rnenlary colofs wrn
