Understanding how colours work
When mixed together,
Or maybe
How they don’t work together,
Feels very elusive
At the beginning I pick and choose colours in a random way. Having started out with a set palette of:
Ultramarine Blue
Prussian Blue
Cadmium Red Medium
Opera
Cadmium Yellow Light
Naples
White
After a few seasons painting with this palette two questions began to form:
What colour(s) do I use most?
And
What is the reason I choose them?
painting for me is about relationships
and one of the relationships I think about consistently in painting is
Colour
How I understand colour
Is vitally important to
To the efficacy of my painting
I am not speaking about technically understanding colour
Whether it is warm or cool
Saturated or not
Matching
Clashing
Classical or modern
A manufactured hue or original pigment
These are all technical issues.
To be quantified and tested on how the artist sees fit
I am speaking of something more elusive
How does this colour make me feel?
Or perhaps.
What does this colour activate in me that I wish to share with the world at large?
outside of all the technical issues what is it that is causing this colour, or combination of colours, to effect me in this way?
Yes,
The relationships between colours is important
But I am curious of the totality of their “conspiring” together and that groupings effect within me
Now
My instagram therapist has told me
The key to any good relationship is understanding
Firstly,
Understanding myself.
Then
Secondly,
Understanding my interaction with the other.
The other can be anything:
Romantic partner
Platonic friend
friend zone
A bag of chips
My reflection
The wind
A painting
Anything
Subsequently
When dealing with colours, in relationship to each other, where I am in control of colour choice (anytime I paint)
I find great insight in
Asking myself this question:
In this moment, within the totality of me, what colour would i be?
Haha so ridiculous
Hippie idealism
But humour me
Please there is a
Point
at this moment
(Which hopefully will be when you are painting from life😁)
what colour would you be?
Warm or cool?
Light or dark?
Take into account all things quantifiable that your senses are giving
But perhaps leave room for mystery.
For feelings and data you may not have any explanation for
Your gut
Intuition
Voice of god
Whatever
as this colour
If I am in a
relationship
Of any sort
mixing
(whether on the palette or visually)
With another colour
Regardless of whether or not the effect is
Appealing
I ask myself
Does the relationship of these two colours have the desired effect
Putting paint onto canvas is making a statement
A response happens with the viewer
It could be emotional, intellectual, or physical
If I consciously choose a colour (or group of colours) that represent the totality of me at the moment of creation, I have set up a palette that, at the very foundational level, that will be imbued with my voice
When asking a question in painting
With
Black and white
The answer becomes
Good or bad
Yes or no
Right or wrong
The fewer the steps (greys) between black and white
The more succinct my answer
In monochromatic painting (or drawing)
The decision comes down to
either one or the other
with as many decisions made as needed
An infinite amount of
This’ or that’s
black or white
In this way of thinking
Colour becomes
the subtle nuance
in a cut and dry world
of
black and white
Where each colour comes with a chance to communicate
At a level deeper than this or that
While in relationship to another colour
Sometimes the tool
Its ability to communicate
is subtle
The difference in a blue
(ultramarine)
That activates feelings of
coldness or fragility
Vs
The effectiveness of another blue
(cerulean)
in activating
warmth or strength
When these two blues mix the range of experience that a viewer has is subtle
If we changed out one of the blues in the first colour relationship and replaced it with a red
The range of experience available to the artist, and subsequently the viewer, in this new colour relationship is vastly greater.
When viewing a painting
(regardless of the subtle, or gross, variations in saturation and hue)
Our first reaction is with yes or no language
Good or bad
Like or dislike
Black or white
Monochromatic
The secondary reaction is where
nuance
is found
The subtlety of colour
beneath the surface
Of stark dichotomy
Where feeling resides
How is my response shaped through colour
Related to actual human relationships?
What if this definition of colour relationships is shifted entirely to my relationship with others?
You are a wonder
The colours you choose defy reason sometimes
We pick and choose
As we are picked and chosen
In what feels like a precisely organized random selection
Or
Laboriously crafted choice
What I create from these interactions
defines not only my paintings
But also
my experience on this earth
So that now every moment I am painting
Feels akin to comprehending relationships with people.
Initially, I randomly select colours, much like I choose individuals based on instinct.
Self-understanding is crucial in both contexts.
In this way I am actually
grasping my motivations
for colour choices and interactions with others.
Colours and relationships evoke emotional, intellectual, and physical responses, shaping our experiences.
Communication through colours and expressions in relationships conveys messages.
Nuances exist in both realms,
defying simplistic categorizations.
For now I sit in both worlds