1. Colour Theory
Lecturer: Mark Parkin

2. A & O Aims; to explore the fundamentals of colour theory & its origins
Objectives; Investigate the primary, secondary, tertiary, analogous colours, and other various aspects of colour theory applied to painting & the arts.

3. Colour Theory Origins work 'Opticks'.
In 1672 the English scientist Sir Isaac Newton, published his first, controversial paper on colour theory followed 40 years later by his
work 'Opticks'.
When Newton shone white light through a triangular prism, he found that wavelengths of light refracted at different angles, enabling him to see the separate component colours of the spectrum.

4. Newton’s colour wheel and a modern equivalent
Colour Theory
Origins
Newton’s colour wheel and a modern equivalent
By taking the violet end of the spectrum and linking it to the start point (red), Newton created the first colour wheel.

5. Colour Theory
Origins
Goethe’s Triangle
Johannes Wolfgang von Goethe - disagreed with Newton's interpretations of the refraction of light. Goethe's 'Theory of Colours', (written in 1810, translated into English in 1840) disputes that Newton's prism experiments proved that light splits into its component colours.

6. Colour Theory
Origins
Aristotle -Greek Philosopher
Philosophical School
Of Lyceum
Born: 384 BC
If Newton was right, then white light should split under all kinds of circumstances but when he himself shone white light on to a screen in a room, he found that the centre of the image remained white and colours appeared only at the edges.
This led Goethe back to Aristotle's ideas; blue is the first colour to appear out of darkness (and most visible at night) and yellow is the first colour to appear out of light (and the most visible colour in light conditions).

7. � Colour Theory Origins
Goethe
Newton
Newton’s studies into colour were scientifically based, Goethe was more interested in the psychological effects of colour.
Goethe believed that it was important to understand the human reaction to colour and his research embarks on the beginning of modern colour psychology.
Since Newton, further work with colour was essentially concerned with appearance and vision, Newton’s findings are strictly scientific.

8. Colour Theory
Origins
Works by Georges Seurat (pointillism)
& Paul Signac (neo-impressionism)
Scientific study led to great strides in art - the work of Chevreul, a nineteenth century French chemist who, in studying the chemistry
of dyeing, developed a colour system that became the heart of pointillism and neo-impressionism. Artists such as Seurat and Signac only ever used Chevreul’s fundamental palette of colours.

9. Colour Theory
Origins .
Sir Isaac Newton developed the first circular diagram of colours in Scientists and artists since have studied and designed numerous variations of this concept. Differences of opinion about the validity of one format over another continue to provoke debate. In reality, any colour circle or colour wheel which presents a logically arranged sequence of pure hues has merit.

10. Colour Theory Fundamentals
Primary Colours: Red, yellow, blue
Three pigment colours that cannot be mixed or formed by any combination of other colours. All other colours are derived from these 3 hues.
Secondary Colours: Green, orange and purple These are the colours formed by mixing the primary colours.
Tertiary Colours: Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green & yellow-green.
These are the colours formed by mixing a primary and a secondary colour. That's why the hue is a two word name, such as blue-green, red-violet, and yellow-orange. .

11. Colour Theory Fundamentals
Cool Colours: Psychologically cool colours are often identified with calm, peace, and serenity. The visual effects are that when used effectively objects can recede in the picture plane.  
Warm Colours: Warm colours are generally associated with energy, brightness, and action, and tends to draw immediate attention to the eye. Visually objects tend to become closer and more dominant in the picture plane.

12. Colour Theory Fundamentals examples
Complimentary colours
red & green
blue & orange
yellow & purple
Complimentary colours are opposites on the colour wheel such as red and green. Because there’s a sharp contrast between the two colours, they can create imagery with a notable contrast and impact.

13. Colour Theory Fundamentals Triadic Colours:
Triadic colours are evenly spaced around the colour wheel and tend to be very bright and dynamic. Using a triadic colour scheme creates visual contrast and harmony simultaneously, making each item stand out while making the overall image intense.

14. Colour Theory Fundamentals Analogous colours Analogous colours
Analogous colours sit next to one another on the colour wheel-red, orange and yellow, for example. When creating an analogous colour scheme, one colour will dominate, one will support and another will accent.

15. Colour Theory Fundamentals
Tints, tones and shades are variations of hues, or colours, on the colour wheel.
Tint is a hue to which white has been added. red + white = pink.
Shade is a hue to which black has been added. red + black = burgundy.
Tone is a colour to which black and white (or grey) have been added. This darkens the original hue while making the colour appear more subtle and less intense.

16. � Colour Theory Fundamentals Are Black & White colours?
1. Black is the absence of colour (therefore not a colour)
When there is no light, everything is black. Go into a photographic dark room, there are no photons of light therefore there are no photons of colours.
(photon-visible light particle)
2. White is the blending of all colours and therefore is a colour.
Light appears colourless, Sunlight is white light that is composed of all the colours of the spectrum.  A rainbow is proof when wavelengths of light change. The sum of all the colours of light add up to white. This is additive colour theory.

17. molecular colouring agents in nature
Colour Theory
Fundamentals
Are Black & White colours?
molecular colouring agents in nature
Are black and white colours when they exist as pigments or as
molecular colouring agents?
These black and white cats created by coloured crayon’s. The colour is generated by pigments.

18. Colour Theory Fundamentals Are Black & White colours?
Are black and white colours when they exist as pigments or as
molecular colouring agents?
Black is a colour, chemists will confirm this.
Combine all three primary colours (red yellow and blue) You will not get a jet black, but the point will be clear. The history of black pigments includes charcoal, iron metals, and other chemicals as the source of black paints.

19. molecular colouring agents in nature
Colour Theory
Fundamentals
Are Black & White colours?
molecular colouring agents in nature
White is not a colour but in some cases you could say that white is a colour.
Technically, pure white is the absence of colour. You can't mix colours to create white. Therefore, white is the absence of colour in the strictest sense of the definition.
When examining the pigment chemistry of white, ground-up substances (such as chalk and bone) or chemicals (such as titanium and zinc) are used to create the nuances in white in paint. White paper is made by bleaching tree bark (paper pulp). White is a colour in the context of pigment chemistry.

20. Colour Theory Colour Harmony
Harmony is something that is pleasing to the eye. It engages the viewer and it creates an inner sense of order, a balance in the visual experience. When something is not harmonious, it's either boring or chaotic.
The human brain rejects what it cannot organise or what it cannot understand. The visual task requires that we present a logical structure. Colour harmony delivers visual interest and a sense of order. In summary, extreme unity leads to under-stimulation, extreme complexity leads to over-stimulation. Harmony is a dynamic equilibrium.

21. Colour Harmony Formulas
Colour Theory
Colour Harmony Formulas
1. A colour scheme based on analogous colours
Analogous colours are any three colours which are side by side on a 12-part colour wheel, such as yellow-green, yellow, and yellow-orange. Usually one of the three colours predominates.

22. Colour Harmony Formulas
Colour Theory
Colour Harmony Formulas
2. A colour scheme based on complimentary colours
Complimentary colours are any two colours which are directly opposite each other, such as red and green and red-purple and yellow-green. In the illustration above, there are several variations of yellow-green in the leaves and several variations of red-purple in the orchid. These opposing colours create maximum contrast and maximum stability.

23. Colour Harmony Formulas
Colour Theory
Colour Harmony Formulas
3. A colour scheme based on nature
Complimentary colours such as red and yellow-green in this example. In the illustration above the opposing colours create maximum contrast and maximum stability without being offensive to the eye.

24. Colour Theory Colour Contrast
Colour contrast is how colour behaves in relation to other colours, this is a complex area of colour theory. Compare the contrast effects of different colour backgrounds for the same red square.

25. Colour Theory Colour Contrast
The red appears more brilliant against a black background and somewhat duller against the white background. In contrast with orange, the red appears lifeless; in contrast with blue-green, it exhibits brilliance. Notice that the red square appears larger on black than on other background colours.

26. Perception & relativity of colour
Colour Theory
Perception & relativity of colour
The relationship of values, saturations and the warmth or coolness of respective hues can cause noticeable differences in our perception of colour.
The small purple rectangle on the left appears to have a red-purple tinge when compared to the small purple rectangle on the right. They are both the same colour as seen in the illustration above. This demonstrates how three colours can be perceived as four colours. Observing the effects colours have on each other is the starting point for understanding the relativity of colour.

27. Colour Theory

28. Colour Theory
Exercise-1: Create a colour wheel combining primary, secondary & tertiary colours.
Exercise-2: Create two paintings either abstract, figurative, still life or landscape paintings using Monochromatic, Analogous colour schemes. The paintings should be a minimum size of 60 x 50 cm utilising warm or cool colours.

29. Colour Theory-FIN