Many people would argue that the Element of "Color" has the most effect on a work of art. Consider what our world would look like if everything was black, white and shades of gray? The effects of "Color" on humans has been studied many times. Artists have known that "Color" has a powerful effect on their works and on the impressions of the viewers. Let's see what "Color" is and just how it is used in the visual arts.

What would our world look like without Color. There have been many studies into the psychological effects of Color. Artists have used Color in such ways as to create a mood or feeling of a piece of work. This is done by using colors realistically and by using colors "creatively". Color is also a very important Element Of Art. Here we will take a look at the science of Color, how we have organized Color and how artists have used Color to express their ideas and feeling in their artwork.

The color wheel fits together like a puzzle each color in a specific place. Being familiar with the color wheel not only helps you mix colors when painting, but in adding color to all your art creations.

Primary Colors Primary colors are not mixed from other elements and they generate all other colors. Red Yellow Blue

This painting by Jacob Lawrence uses primary colors of red, yellow and blue

Secondary Colors By mixing two primary colors, a secondary color is created. Red + Yellow = Orange Yellow + Blue = Green Blue + Red = Purple

Intermediate, or Tertiary, colors are created by mixing a primary and a secondary. red-orange yellow- orange yellow-green blue-green blue-purple red-purple Intermediate Colors

The principles of color mixing let us describe a variety of colors, but there are still many colors to explore. The neutral colors contain equal parts of each of the three primary colors. Black, white, gray and sometimes brown are considered "neutral”. Neutral Colors

There are 3 properties of color: Hue- the name of the color Value- darkness or lightness of a color Intensity –Brightness or dullness of a color

Hue The hue is the name of the color

Value Tint – Add white to any hue to make it lighter in value Shade – Add black to any hue to make it darker in value

Tints are lightened colors. Always begin with white and add a bit of color to the white until the desired tint is obtained. This is an example of a value scale for the tints of blue. Tints

Shades are darkened colors. Always begin with the color and add just a bit of black at a time to get the desired shade of a color. This is an example of a value scale for the shades of blue. Shades

Intensity Adding a complementary color to a hue will dull the intensity of the color. Red was added to green to dull the color

Color Harmonies Colors can greatly affect your art work. You must choose your color combinations carefully. The color Harmonies are:  Monochromatic  Complementary (split complementary)  Analogous  Triad

Monochromatic A monochromatic color scheme uses 1 color with different values of that color

Picasso’s Guernica is done in monochromatic shades of gray

Complementary colors are colors opposite on the color wheel (violet/yellow, red/green, blue, orange)

This drawing by Picasso uses the complementary colors of violet and yellow A color is most intense when it is placed next to its complement

Analogous Analogous colors are next to each other on the color wheel. There is little contrast with this color harmony.

This painting by Picasso shows great use of analogous colors

Triad In a triad, the 3 colors used are equally spaced on the color wheel. This Mondrian painting uses red, yellow and blue

Violet, orange and green make a triad

Cool Colors This painting by Alice Neel uses cool colors Cool colors are: Blues, greens and violets

This Georgia O’Keefe painting uses warm colors (reds, yellows, oranges)

Picasso You have just learned some new things about color. What do you see?