Element-Color
With Color Schemes
Color Wheel
Artists bend the color spectrum into a circle
which organizes the colors
Color wheel organization
Colors are arranged on the color wheel by how they are mixed together
Yellow-orange
COLOR WHEEL
When the spectrum is
organized as a color
wheel, the colors are
divided into groups
called primary,
secondary and
intermediate colors.
S
P
S
P
S
PRIMARY COLORS
Primary colors are the colors yellow, red and blue
These colors can not be made by mixing other
colors…..however,
it is possible to mix all the other colors of the
spectrum using the primary colors.
Yellow
Blue
Red
SECONDARY COLORS
• Colors made by mixing two different primary
colors
GREEN
ORANGE
VIOLET
INTERMEDIATE COLORS
• Intermediate colors are made by mixing one
primary color and one secondary color.
Yellow-orange
Yellow-green
Blue-green
Blue-violet
secondary
Red-orange
Red-violet
Color Schemes
Colors artists group together that look good when
put with one another
• Triad, complementary, analogous,
split complementary,
• Warm, cool, monochromatic,
• Neutral
Triad Color Scheme
Any three colors spaced at
an equal distance on the
color wheel such as the
primary colors, or the
secondary colors.
Piet Mondrian, Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow c. 1930
Complementary Color Scheme
Two colors opposite each other on the
color wheel
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Boating on the Seine
Vincent van Gogh, Night Cafe
Analogous Color Scheme
Three colors that are next to each other on the
color wheel: the colors have a common hue.
Yellow-green, green, blue-green
Warm Color Scheme
Colors associated with warm things: fire,
sun, heat
Cool Color Scheme
Colors associated with cool
things-such as ice and
grass
Split Complementary
Color Scheme
One color and the
two colors on
each side of its
complement
Red-orange, yellow-orange, blue
Split complementary color scheme with yellow, red-violet and blue violet
Neutral Color Scheme
Colors such as
black, white,
gray, or brown
that are not on
the spectrum.
Monochromatic color scheme
One color and all its tints and shades
What color scheme is used?
John
Biggers
Shotgun,
Third
Ward #1
1966
Artistic expression
• Colors can make us
think of certain things
or feel a certain way.
• What do you think of
when you see these
colors:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Red/green
Blue/gold
Black
Pink
Blue
Yellow
Gray
Red
Critique this painting by
Picasso.
Look closely at the color
and values used
Think about why he used
only the color blue
Would Picasso’s Man with Guitar look
as sad if he chose a different color?
Pablo Picasso
The Old Guitarist, 1903
Oil on panel, 48”x32 1/2”
The Art Institute of Chicago