Education

When I was a child, I wanted to be an artist. I read books on drawing and painting. I also learned some basics about color. All the teachings about color always start with introducing the 3 primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. We cannot get primary colors by mixing other colors. If we mix two primary colors, we will get the secondary colors, which are orange, green, and purple. If we arrange the primary and secondary colors into a circle, we get a color wheel. For the convenience of further discussion, we call this color wheel the conventional color wheel (shown as Fig. 1).

From the color wheel, I have learned the complementary colors. They are the two colors on the opposite sides of the color wheel. So red and green, yellow and purple, blue and orange are three pairs of complementary colors. I also learned that if we mix two complementary colors together equally, we will get a neutral grey. 

I never doubted the correctness of this color theory because all the teachings are the same. Even now, if you ask an artist to teach you about color, you probably hear the same thing. Since everybody talked about the same thing, it must be correct. So, I used this color model in my painting practice. After I started, I realized that color was not easy. It is not as simple as the three primaries, and mixing a correct color was a difficult thing. Many teachers give a formula to mix certain colors, and many artists have a special palette and use specific brands of paint to get the color effects they want. All of those theories, I have learned, do not have much of a practical use, and color became a highly experience-based empirical practice.

However, this kind of color practice bothered me. Before I turned into a full-time artist, I worked as an engineer for many years. My rational mind felt uncomfortable when I saw how artists dealt with color so ambiguously. I started to examine my understanding of color, and tested the correctness of theory with experiments. The first test I conducted was the complementary relationship. 

From what I have learned, I mix (1) red (cadmium red medium) and green (permanent green), (2) orange (cadmium orange deep) and blue (cobalt blue), (3) yellow (cadmium yellow light) and purple (manganese violet). I have added a little white to make the mixed color easy to see. The results of the above color mixings are shown as Fig. 2 below.

From the results we can see: 1) Red/green mixing gives a dirty yellow color, and it does not give us neutral grey. 2) Yellow/purple mixing gives a dirty red color, and it does not give neutral grey either. 3) Blue/orange mixing is really close to a neutral grey. In order to show the results more vividly, I put the true neutral grey next to the mixed colors. From this experiment, we have concluded that 2 of 3 of the conventional given primary/secondary color pairs are NOT complementary. If we stretch, we might see they are almost complementary. Please do not take my word for it. If you do the experiments yourself, you will know that I am telling the truth.

Now we have confirmed that the conventional color theory is not right, but it is not the end of the research. The immediate next question is: then what are the “correct” primary and secondary colors? What does the “correct” color wheel look like? With those questions, I continued my research. I have found other artists and scientists have noticed the same problem and the most of them accepted that the “good” color theoretical model was the Munsell color system.

Albert Munsell proposed his color system in 1905. He had mentioned that there are five fundamental colors. They are red, yellow, green, blue, and purple. He evenly placed these five colors on a color wheel. Most astonishingly, orange was not selected by Munsell. He called orange “yellow-red” and it is considered subsidiary to the fundamental colors. We may call it a Munsell secondary color.  I have made a Munsell color wheel shown as Fig. 3 below.

Now, let’s put only the 3 primary and 3 secondary colors from the conventional wheel on the Munsell color wheel. It looks like Fig. 4 below.

We can tell immediately that red/green and yellow/purple are no longer complementary. However, blue/orange is still complementary. We also tested the complementary relationships between the Munsell fundamental and secondary colors. We have proved they have true complementary relationships. For the color red, yellow, and blue, their corresponding complementary colors are blue-green, purple-blue, and yellow-red.

After I studied Munsell color theory I noticed another ambiguous area of the color system. Our definitions (or vocabulary) of color are quite vague. For instance relating to the color red, there are so many different kinds of reds. The color red is not one specific color, it covers a group of slightly different colors. We even give specific names to many specific reds, such as crimson, scarlet, maroon, and so on. Even the color pigments make so many different red paints such as cadmium red, alizarin, venetian red, and so on.

This crude way of defining colors makes me go deeper to study the color theory. I looked into the numerical model of defining colors. Munsell had talked about his numerical model for all the colors. In a nutshell, every color can be precisely defined by three numbers (or color coordinates): hue, chroma, and value. The Munsell color system has been published with a set of color charts. We can obtain the color coordinates of any specific color by matching the color sample with a specific color swatch in Munsell color charts. Although the Munsell color system was established more than 100 years ago, it is still commonly used by paint manufacturers and artists.

Time goes by so quickly, now we are living in a time when technology develops extremely fast. New pigments have been invented and we artists have many more colors to use than Munsell’s time. There are many vibrant colors we cannot get in the Munsell color coordinates since the Munsell charts are so limited. This problem has led me to study the computer color system.

I am going to skip the process of how the computer scientists developed their color system. I just simply present the color wheel that the computer color system uses. The following Fig. 5 is the computer color wheel. 

It is quite interesting that we can see that the computer color wheel is very similar to the Munsell color wheel, so I can predict that the complementary color relationship is correct on the computer color wheel. The color coordinates of the computer color system are very similar to the Munsell system. They can be converted back and forth. 

If we still want to use the concepts of three primary colors that we learned before, we can see there are two sets of primary colors. One set is red, green, and blue, (or RGB) and the other set is cyan (turquoise), yellow, and magenta (red purple) called the CYM system. These two sets of primaries are complementary to each other shown in Fig. 6

I am so glad my color research has clarified my color understanding. I feel much more confident when I use colors now.

Many artist friends might wonder why we should be bothered to understand the color wheel so rigorously. What is the practical use of this understanding? My answer is: it will help you to mix neutral grey much more easily. For instance, you may ask why blue and yellow are complementary on the computer color wheel? From your knowledge and experience, blue and yellow should give you green, not grey. Is that right? The answer is that the computer “blue” is very specifically defined. It is a violet blue. So it is complementary to yellow. The second reason is that human eyes are more sensitive to perceive greens in comparison with other hues. Any dirty green will appear very green to us. 

This clarification of color wheels is a tip of the iceberg in the color science. It gives me the curiosity to go deeper. I am happy to have a chance to talk about it with all of you.

When I wrote my book on painting with a concept, I listed five key elements for creating a  workable, harmonious painting: Values, Edges, Paint Quality (integrity of the paint), Agent  (you as the painter guiding the work), and finally, Color/Temperature. It’s the last element I’d like to explore here. 

When I began to paint, I saw local color first and foremost. It’s easier to see than values and edges. Beautiful reds, blues and yellows naturally draw the eye much like impasto  (opaque) paint will. Color, or the lack of color, has an inherent emotional feature. 

It’s generally accepted that color begins and ends with the Color Wheel. I never saw the relationship to the color wheel and the painting problems that were before me. Many teachers use it as an absolute truth to be rigidly followed. But, the color wheel is NOT an absolute truth. It only represents a theory. Theories are not absolute-they are grounded in principles but don’t contain the truth in an ultimate way.  

A theory merely points us in a direction.  

Included is an image of my palette used when I teach. To help students, I list below each color whether I view it as a warm color, or a cool color. To me, the neutrals, including Naples Yellow, are all cool; the yellows are warm with the exception of Lemon Yellow, which appears cool because it has less warmth than the other yellows on my palette. Likewise, Cadmium Red Light is the only red that appears warm. Alizarin and the other Cad Reds appear cool.  

The Blues are all cool with the exception of Ultramarine Blue. It’s the warmest Blue in the family of blues meaning it reads warmer than the others because of its mixture when produced and those materials used to create the paint Ultramarine Blue.  

Think about Cerulean, Thalo, Cobalt, King’s Blue…..they are very cool when used next to UM Blue. In a warm set up or composition, I would use UM Blue to complement the other components of a warm set up. 

Yellow Ocher is an interesting color. I paint with it to warm a background or turn an edge (cool).  It seems to absorb whatever temperature is placed near it. It’s an opaque paint so it has the quality of a neutral or cool hue. But, if painting a white cup, you could mix some yellow ocher to develop a shadow plane. It won’t drop the value too much but can assist the shadow in anchoring the object. Painting with black as a shadow for white objects is too abrupt or harsh. To me it reads “dead on arrival.” 

As we grow as painters, we begin to develop our own language and that language includes color choices. We become more sensitive to how temperature plays a role in our work. For me, I reach for a color based on its temperature and what is needed by the painting. What do I  mean? 

Let’s say you are painting a portrait. The subject is Caucasian and fair. Most of the flesh you paint will be colorless. But, there are moments on the face you want to come forward and show the topography of that particular fair model. Conversely, there are moments in the picture that will need to recede, or turn back. 

Cad Red LT is warm and it will read closer to the viewer. Cad Red Med/Cad Red Dark will recede more than Cad Red LT. Why? Because the Medium and Dark have more blue in them when they are produced as a color. Blue is a color which recedes. 

The principle here: Warm colors appear to advance; Cool colors appear to recede and give the painting a sense of air space and time. You must decide on the color structure of your painting EACH TIME you go to the easel.

A Word About Neutrals. 

Neutrals are used to change both the value and the temperature of a color. In principle, Black,  White, Grey, and Naples Yellow are used to cool down a color OR, to change its value.  Because they are cool, when mixed with any other color they will immediately cool that color  AND change its value. This is why I view color and temperature as married. I don’t understand them as being separate. Temperature changes are paramount to good painting.  

We don’t know these more advanced ideas when we begin to paint. How can we?  In closing, a few thoughts on color: 

-If you are having trouble incorporating a color into your work, take it off your palette for a  month or so. See if you can achieve what you need without it. 

-Each family of reds, blues, greens, yellow, blacks, etc., are warmer or cooler within the family of that color. Determine for yourself which is warmer and which is cooler within the family of color. 

-Using both cool and warm temperatures in the same painting will make more color disharmony and tension. (Think Vuillard) 

-A still life up, a model, an interior, etc., will be either warm or cool as a concept. Use the paints that will depict your concept. 

-Use a neutral to turn an object away from the viewer so the illusion of dimension is realized.  Do not use pink, red, yellow, orange for instance to turn an object as it goes into shadow. The illusion won’t work. Use cool grey, blue, or violet to help with your conceptual illusion. 

-If you break any principle in painting, know why you are breaking the principle.

-There are no mistakes…..only better choices.

Leveraging All of Your Senses to Create More Impactful Paintings

The importance of a strong composition is well known to painters. Once a good design is selected, we make choices and adjustments using our toolbox of techniques to create a  successful outcome. Some of these techniques include imagination, values, edges, paint application, color, line, and harmony. There is an underutilized technique to consider adding to your painter’s toolbelt: leveraging the dynamic senses of sound, feel, smell, and taste. 

After selecting a composition to paint, I ask this question: “How should this painting sound to  best reinforce the composition?” Adjusting the question by inserting other senses (feel, smell,  taste) identifies additional sense-based choices to consider adding to the composition. Answers to these questions are prioritized and worked into the artwork, as appropriate. 

Having a musical background, sound is a sense I gravitate towards. To reveal my approach, let’s  review a recent example of how I answered the question, “How should this painting sound to  best reinforce the composition?” The example is titled “Paris Rain”. It is shown below.

I’ll discuss five sense-of-sound answers that I chose to incorporate into “Paris Rain.” Similar to edges, there are harder and softer sounds. As such, I consider intensity and variety. I also take into account pitch and location to determine how and where to visually portray sound in a  composition. 

1. Swirling Water Flow (softer sound, close to viewer) 

The first subtle sound that was added to reinforce the composition is in the lower-left quadrant of the painting. The runoff of rain, as it flows down the sidewalk and into and around the drain,  adds a rainy day swirling sound to the scene. This is a softer sound. It offers variety to harder sounds. 

2. Slapping Windshield Wipers (harder sound, nearest vehicle shape to viewer) A second, sense-of-sound addition to “Paris Rain” is the windshield wiper on the Mini Cooper vehicle (located center left). This was done with a single upward brushstroke. It brings a  distinctive slapping (harder) sound to the scene. It connects the viewer to a sound that occurs when it is raining. The wiper blade was added to only the largest vehicle shape (closest to the viewer). The mind fills in the blanks through association. It “hears” windshield wipers on the other vehicles after seeing the one on the Mini Cooper. 

3. Swooshing Vehicles (varying background noise) 

The third sound included in the painting is the swooshing of the approaching vehicles. The choice of vehicles communicates varying noises. These range from the low-frequency rumble of the bus to the high pitched whines from motorcycles. They add authenticity to a rainy day  European city experience. 

4. Raindrops Hitting Umbrellas (harder sound, close to ears) 

The fourth example of intentionally adding sound to enhance the picture is the tilted, wet umbrellas. We all know the close-to-the-ear pitter-patter sound of rain hitting a tightly stretched water-repellant fabric. The visual cue of the angled wet umbrellas engages you in the scene. It connects you to a personal experience—the sound of rain beating on an umbrella a few inches away from your ears. 

5. Splashing Footsteps (moderate sound, near viewer) 

The fifth and last example of adding a visual sound clue is less obvious. It is the anticipation of the large figure’s foot (center right) about to step on to wet pavement. Raising the left foot adds more audible drama. The viewer anticipates a slapping, splashing sound. The dark foreground reflection of the figure deliberately leads you into the painting and to this foreseen sound. 

These five sense-of-sound choices (among others) are designed into the painting along with value, edge, paint application, color, line, and harmony decisions. As shown in the image below, the sounds are spread around the center of interest. Collectively, they reinforce the main idea of the composition (the emotional experience of a rainy day in Paris). They help to create a more convincing, successful scene.

Another way to look at the power of these audible cues is to delete them. Imagine the painting without the swirling water, slapping windshield wipers, swooshing vehicles, pitter-patter rain on umbrellas, and foot about to splash a wet surface sounds. “Paris Rain” would sound different. Its impact and emotional connection with the viewer would be reduced. 

Let’s look at another example of leveraging senses but in a different location and season. Winter cityscapes provide opportunities to have the viewer feel cold and warmth. Below is a recent example titled “Art Deco Building in Winter”. On the one hand, grey clouds, heavy clothing, blowing flags, and snow-lined buildings all reinforce the feel of the painting’s winter-based composition. On the other hand, a feeling of warmth emanates from the lights on the streetlamps, store windows, cab, buildings, and glowing globes above the fence. These visuals provide a welcome contrast to the cold features. Through the sense of feel, the cold and warm elements amplify the compositional intent.

The last painting example, “A New York Treat,” demonstrates the senses of smell and taste. Portraying smoke rising from chestnuts roasting on a NYC side walk vendor food cart adds smell to the painting. It helps connect the viewer to the memorable taste of chestnuts that are sold under colorful umbrella-topped carts found along the streets of New York City. 

As painters, we are not confined to a two-dimensional world. There are ways to add dynamic impact through all five senses. Before starting your next painting, be open to new possibilities to expand your toolkit. Ask the question: “How should this painting sound (feel, taste, smell) to  best reinforce the composition?” It will set your paintings apart from others. It will make a  more emotional connection with your viewers.