What is COLOUR? The word around you is full of colours. Most painters are interested in colour.
There is a lot of theory about colour and as you get more involved with the effects of colours in your paintings, you will want to find out more.
Here are some KEY TERMS which you need to know about to help you mix and apply colours so that they work for you.

PRIMARY Colours
SECONDARY Colours
These are RED, BLUE and YELLOW.
They are called Primary because we cannot mix them using any other colours.
But if we mix Primary colours together we can make many more colours. 		You can try mixing Primary colours together to make
Secondary Colours - ORANGE, GREEN and VIOLET.
Look at the Colour Wheel below.


The three concentric circles contain the PRIMARY colours (center circle), RED BLUE GREEN the SECONDARY colours (middle circle) and the outer circle contains the colours which are made my mixing together touching PRIMARY and SECONDARY colours.
You may find that you need to use different reds, yellows or blues to mix the secondary colours.
A red, like ‘brilliant red’ will give you a different violet than a ‘crimson’. Try both and see what happens.

If you look at the two inner circles you can see the COMPLEMENTARY colours. They are opposite each other on the diagram.
RED and GREEN, BLUE and ORANGE, YELLOW and VIOLET are all COMPLEMENTARY.
This means that they are not HARMONIOUS, they do not blend.
If you place COMPLEMENTARY colours next to each other they increase the visual effect of each other. That is that GREEN next to RED makes the red look ‘redder’ and the green look ‘greener’. Artists use this understanding to make the paint look more vibrant on the canvas.

If you look at the outer circle, the colours closest together are HARMONIOUS. They blend well and do not clash.
Colours around the oranges on the wheel are the WARMEST colours and those around the greens are the COOLEST.
Artists use this knowledge to influence the MOOD of the piece.
You can also change MOOD by altering the TONES of the colours by adding different amounts of BLACK or WHITE.

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Try:
Experimenting with combinations of colours. Be careful how you mix your colours.
Keep your water and brushes clean.
Make swatches on scraps of paper and notes about the colours which you use.
Choose a colour and try adding small amounts of black or white .
Do the colours become more ‘BRILLIANT’ or more ‘DULL’
Try:
Using different samples of coloured paper to apply the paint to.
Does the effect change?
Does the colour appear to change?
Try:
Diluted washes of colour laid on top of each other. Let each layer dry before putting the next over.
Try:
Using layers of tissue paper to create ‘washes’ of colour.
Try:
Cutting or tearing strips of painted paper.
Lay them in a variety of ways: Weave them, cross them, lay them next to each other, alternate two colours.
Tear them smaller and overlap them like scales on a fish.
Be methodical- use just two colours, then try three.
What interesting effects can you make?
Try:
Camouflaging a scrap torn out of a magazine. Can you mix the colours carefully enough to make the scrap blend in?
Try:
Mixing as many different greens, oranges or violets as possible. Be methodical and make notes if you find colour mixes you like. Give your mixes names like ‘sunset gold’, ‘violent violet’ or ‘peapod green’. Be as inventive and wacky as you like.
Can you also include references to times or situations when the colour could be used in your work e.g; you mix an interesting purple which you feel would be a colour to be used in painting a red cabbage or you discover a cool green which you would use in a print project you are planning on a landscape theme.
Try:
Collect examples of interesting natural colour- leaves, flowerheads, feathers, shells, pebbles and try to match the colours. You may find a change in the colour as it dries. Why is this?
Perhaps you need to try another medium? Do pastels stay ‘true’ or gouache or oil paint?
Experiment with as many media as possible.
Try:
Exploring SHADES and TINTS of a colour by adding small amounts of black or white to a primary or secondary colour.

Try:
Looking at one of the focussed pieces and try to mix the artist’s palette.


 
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