Color Can Be Easy as Pie!

Have you ever looked at a color wheel and thought it resembled a pizza pie? Or maybe, an apple pie or maybe a chocolate cream pie….Ok, maybe, I should have had lunch before I started thinking about color! Anyway, color theory can be easy as pie! Color wheels are tools that can be very helpful when deciding what colors to use in your painting. Some of us, as beginners, will rely on exactly what we see to determine what colors to use. Orange would be orange, a banana would be yellow and grass would be green. Seems pretty easy, doesn’t it? Well, easy can also seem kinda plain, or in some cases, even boring. What if an orange was really blue! Or a banana was pink? How exciting would that be? Once you realize you don’t have to paint something to look exactly like it is for it to be recognized, then, you have a whole world of possibilities to work with.

When beginning a painting, inspiration, in whatever form, is usually the catalyst. A beautiful sunset, a vibrant colored flower in a vase, or maybe a child playing in the sand; all of these would make great paintings.  Most paintings are not truly representational of the actual subject, unless, of course, you have staged the scene, as in a still life.  A successful painting, however, once the subject is determined, is all about planning. Whether you are painting from real life or perhaps a photo, the composition, lighting and color theme are all probably going to need attention. This is the time where, we, as artists, can take artistic liberties to create what we want to say in a painting. Color is just one of the tools we use to convey our inspiration to the viewer.

A color theme can determine a lot about the subject. It can portray the mood, temperature, time of day, a particular season, or where an object is located in the painting.  The process of determining a color theme can become quite confusing to an unseasoned artist. That is why a basic color wheel can be a great companion.

Color wheels provide a wealth of information in one, easy to use, tool. It’s practically a workshop on color theory in a portable, compact, form. You can take them wherever you go for an instant reference tool to solve any color dilemma.

I chose three different examples of the most common color wheels to evaluate; The Color Wheel by The Color Wheel Company, The Quiller Wheel by Stephen Quiller and The Goof-Proof Color Wheel by Robert Burridge.  All of these have the basic color theory material while a couple, provide more specialized information for watercolor and acrylic use.

Color wheels provide the user with basic information including the primaries, secondary and tertiary colors. Primaries include Red, Yellow, and Blue which cannot be made by mixing other colors.

Secondary colors are Green, Orange and Purple, which are made by mixing two of the three primaries together. The six Tertiary colors are products of mixing each primary color with an adjacent secondary color.  These results are usually displayed from warm to cool around the color wheel.

Other useful information found on a basic color wheel would include color characteristics such as Value, Intensity, Tints, and Shades. The value of a color is the lightness or darkness of the color. This can be achieved by adding water to a concentrated color to get different degrees of value; or by adding black or white to the color, therefore creating the tint or shade of that color. The intensity or brightness of the color can be muted or grayed by adding its opposite or complementary color on the color wheel. Color wheels can give you an instant view of what the altered color would look like. This means quick and accurate decisions while painting.

With practice, mixing and adjusting colors can become second nature. However, the color wheel becomes a tool you can’t paint without, by instantly showing you how colors relate to one another to create harmony in your painting. Harmonious color themes are what holds the whole painting together and make your eye follow through a painting like a road map. Think of your color wheel as a guidance system to allow you to deliver what you want to say in your painting and keep the viewer’s attention for as long as possible.

There are three basic color schemes shown on most color wheels, Monochromatic, Analogous, and Complementary. Monochromatic means one color. This is a painting created with only shades or values of one color, or in other words, it is a value study or grisaille. Artists have been using this color scheme for hundreds of years to plan what later become their masterpieces. Analogous colors are those that are next to each other on the color wheel. By choosing, at least two and no more than five, analogous colors in a painting you create instant harmony. This color scheme can also be used to determine the temperature of the painting depending on how many different colors you use. The last color scheme is Complimentary, which is using any two colors that are directly positioned across from each other, thus their opposites. This creates the most contrast in a painting than any other color scheme, therefore, making it more interesting. The complementary colors can also be used to change the intensity of each other by mixing them together, actually canceling each other out and eventually producing a neutral or gray color. It is by this definition, that you must use caution when painting with a complimentary color scheme as you can ultimately end up with lots of MUD! Because of this, it is best to apply the two colors separately on the paper to allow them to mix, instead of mixing them in your palette. This results in lots of vibrant colors and new mixes as well!  Other color themes to consider, include the Triad, which is three equally spaced colors as well as the Tetrad, which is the combination of any two sets of complementary colors used in a painting.

All of these color combination choices are at your fingertips when referring to a basic color wheel, however, there are other color wheels available that give you some extra specialized information such as the Quiller Color Wheel and Robert Burridge’s Goof Proof Color Wheel.

Stephen Quiller is one of the top names when it comes to color theory. He has produced several books and DVDs on the subject and has created his own color wheel. The Quiller Wheel is different than most color wheels in that he uses specific pigment names of paint. Instead of referring to Green, he gives names like Viridian, Permanent Green Deep, or Phthalo Green. These are names of colors that we all recognize as artists, no matter what medium you are using.  Also, instead of just putting the colors around the edge of the wheel, he also moves in toward the middle with color pigments that are becoming more neutral or less intense ending with gray in the center. This shows us instantly how specific pigments relate to each other, while still providing the basic information about color theory. This color wheel gives loads of understanding to its user. If you find this tool useful, check out Steven’s other books and DVDs about color theory, you are sure to improve your paintings in no time.

Another master of color is acrylic artist, Robert Burridge, who is all about charts and painting tools. This guy brings colors to its knees and to his own knees as well! Robert’s Goof-Proof Color Wheel simplifies color theory and gives you wonderful color schemes every time. It really is Goof Proof! The color wheel comes in a standard size for your studio and also a travel size that goes anywhere.

Robert explains, in his instructions, that his color system is based on a scientific approach widely used by the paint mixing industry; using five primaries, red, yellow, green, blue and purple, instead of the traditional three, red, blue and yellow. These five primaries are represented on his color wheel along with the secondary mixes positioned in between, giving you ten different color groups to choose from.  Along with this limited color selection, positioned from warm to cool around the wheel, Robert introduces us to a unique dial in the middle. When the dial is pointed to any dominant color, it automatically gives you the other three other colors to paint with; the contrasting Focal Point color and two Spice colors. So, initially, the Dominant color will be the most used color in the painting, with the Focal Point color used around the Center of Interest. The Spice colors are used sparingly just to add flavor to the focal point. No matter if you are painting realistically or abstractly, this system takes all the guesswork out of color theory and instantly gives you color combinations that work, every time! It’s Goof Proof!

So no matter what your needs are, when it comes to selecting a color, you don’t have to be left out in the dark. Color wheels can help make our paintings more appealing and harmonious just by making us aware of the possibilities. There are many, many other choices out there, beyond the ones I have featured today. This just means you have plenty of great reference material to choose from. Find the one that suits your needs or experiment with something new and different. The point is, there are lots of tools to help you when painting.  Tools like Mahl sticks, projectors, light boxes, viewfinders, and color wheels, all designed to take the work out of a painting and make your experience easier and more enjoyable. Artists are like good carpenters, building from the ground up. Carpenters have their hammers, levels and plumb bobs; and artists have their tools, too!  So, I say, if it keeps you painting, get out there and use as many of these painting tools that you can find, especially color wheels!

Have a Colorful Painting Day!