Color and Paint
an Introduction with Jane Davies
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Color Vocabulary
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TheColorWheel
Thecolorwheelisadeviceforillustrating
relationshipsamongcolors.Thoughthereare
in7initevariationsofhue,wecommonlyrefer
totwelveofthemaroundthecolorwheel:
red,red-orange,orange,yellow-orange,
yellow,yellow-green,green,blue-green,blue,
blue-violet,violet(purple),red-violet,and
backtored.
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Primarycolors–red,yellow,andblue–are
thebuildingblocksofotherhues.Theyare
equidistantonthecolorwheel.
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Secondarycolorsarethosemadebymixing
twoprimaries.Orange(red+yellow),Green
(yellow+blue)andpurpleorviolet(blue+red)
aresecondarycolors.
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Tertiarycolorsarethoseinbetweenthe
secondariesandprimaries:red-orange,yellow-orange,yellow-green,blue-green,blueviolet,andred-violet.
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Complimentarycolorsarepairsthatareoppositeonthe
colorwheelandhavethehighestcontrastintermsofhue:
red/green,purple/yellow,orange/blue,red-orange/bluegreen,andsoforth,areallpairsofcomplimentarycolors.
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Analogouscolorsarethose
nexttoeachother.Red,
orange,yellow,forexample;
violet,blue-violet,andblue;
green,blue-green,andblue,
forexample.
Complimentary Colors
copyright 2016 Jane Davies Studios
Analogous Colors
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Color and Paint
an Introduction with Jane Davies
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Huereferstowhatcoloracoloris.Blue,green,red,pinkish-orange,yellow-green,etc.
Theseareexamplesofhue.
Valuereferstothelightnessordarknessofacolor.
Tints and Shades of Red
SaturationorIntensityreferstothebrightnessor
dullnessofacolor.
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Tintsaremadebyaddingwhitetoacolor,sothey
areoflightervaluethanthecoloratfullstrength.
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Shadesaremadebyaddingblacktoacolor,sothey
areofdarkervalue.
Tonesaremadebyaddinggreytoacolor.
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Tints,shades,andtonesareoflessersaturation
thanacoloratfullstrength.
Tones of light purple
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RecommendedPaletteofArtists’Paints
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Red • CadmiumRedMedium,NaptholRedLight,orPyrroleRed
• Quinacdridoneredormagenta,orsomeotherMagenta
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Orange
• CadmiumOrangeorPyrroleOrange
• QuinacridoneGoldissortofintheorangerange.Ican’tmakeartwithoutit,but
maybeyoucan.Goldenisthecompanythatmakesthebestversionofthis,andnow
theycallit“QuinacradoneNickelAzoGold”.
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Yellow
• CadmiumYellowMedium,orHansaYellowLightorMedium-goodprimaryyellow.
• IndianYellowHueisagorgeoustransparentyellow-gold.
• NaplesYellowisopaqueandmuted.
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Green
• HookerGreen,SapGreen,orJenkinsGreen
• PthaloGreen,whichisanintensebluishgreen
• GreenGold,auniqueolive/yellowgreen,verytransparent
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copyright 2016 Jane Davies Studios
Color and Paint
an Introduction with Jane Davies
!3
Blue-Green
• PthaloTurquoise(transparent),orCobaltTeal(opaque),oranyturquoisethat
appeals
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Blue • Ultramarine(coolblue)
• PthaloBlue,eithershade(warmblue)
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Purple
• PermanentVioletDark,thoughyoucanusuallygetasuccessfulpurplebymixing
yourmagentawitheitherofyourblues.
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Black
• CarbonBlack,oruseBlickMatteAcrylicsblack
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White
• TitaniumWhite,oruseBlickMatteAcrylicswhite
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BudgetPalette–thebareminimum
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Primaryred(likeCadmium,etc.)
Magenta(muchbetterformixing)
Orange
Yellow
Green(lightorpermanent)
Turquoise
WarmBlue(pthalo)
Black
White
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Getasmanybasiccolorsasyoucanaffordinaprofessionalqualitypaint.Myfavorite
printmakersareGolden,Sennelier,andHolbein,buttherearealotofgoodbrandsavailable,
andyoushould7indwhatsuitsyouintermsofconsistencyandavailability.Supplement
yourprofessionalqualitypaintswithstudentgradepaints.IuseBlickMatteAcrylics
forwhiteandsomeneutrals.IrecommendNovaPaints(availableonlyat
novacolorpaint.com)andLiquitexBasicsforlesspigment-richpaintsofdecentquality.
copyright 2016 Jane Davies Studios