BASIC ART:Color Wheel
name
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The Vocabulary of Color:
Color is one of the most expressive elements in art because its quality affects our emotions directly. When we view a work of art we do not have
to rationalize what we are supposed to feel about its color; we have an immediate, emotional reaction to it. Color begins with and is derived
from light. Where there is light there is some color. Where there is no light there is no color .When light is weak it is difficult to distinguish
different colors (i.e. dusk and dawn). When light is strong, color is likely to be more intense. Each ray of light coming from the sun is made up
of waves that vibrate at different speeds. When light waves hit an object they reflect back wavelengths. When we see color our sense of vision
is actually responding to the wavelengths of light passing through (glass) or reflecting off an object. White consists of all of the colors in the
color spectrum. Black is the absence of color.
Color – the visual response to the wavelengths of sunlight identified as hues (red
orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo or blue-violet, and violet)
Color Spectrum – the band of individual colors that result when a beam of white light is broken into its component wavelengths, identifiable as
hues.
Hue – designates the common name of a color and indicates its position on the spectrum or on the color wheel.
Intensity – the saturation, intensity or purity of a hue. A vivid color is high intensity and a dull color is low intensity.
Local Color – the color as seen in the objective world (green grass, blue sky, red barn)
Primary Colors – the preliminary hues that cannot be broken down or reduced. These are the hues from which all other colors on the spectrum can
be made.Red, yellow, blue.
Secondary Colors – a color produced by mixing two primary colors. Orange, green, violet.
Intermediate Colors – colors resulting from mixing a primary and a secondary color. (Red-orange, red-violet, yellow-orange, yellow-green, bluegreen, blue-violet)Notice the primary color is always listed first… red-orange, yellow-green, blue-violet
Complementary Colors – two colors directly opposite each other on the color wheel. A primary color is complementary to a secondary color. (Red
and Green, Blue and Orange, Violet and Yellow)
Monochromatic Colors – colors having only one hue; The complete range of color from white to black.)
Analogous Colors – Colors that are closely related in hue. They are adjacent or next to each other on the color wheel.
Split-Complementary Colors – a color and two colors on either side of its complement.
Warm Colors – colors that exude the quality of warmth. (Red, orange, yellow).
Cool Colors – colors that exude the quality of coolness. (Blue, Green, Violet).
Tint - adding white to a hue
Shade – adding black to a hue
Directions: Paint neatly into
the shapes, only using the
primary colors. Mix all hues
thoroughly in the palette
before painting on the paper.
Do not share palettes. When
you are finished, clean your
palette and brush and place
this paper on the drying rack
with your name written on it
in pen or marker.