Color and Color Harmonies

 The Color Wheel

 1. Primary:      Red
                        Yellow
                        Blue

2. Secondary:  Purple
                        Green
                        Orange

3. Tertiary:       Red-Purple
                        Blue-Purple
                        Blue-Green
                        Yellow-Green
                        Yellow-Orange
                        Red-Orange

Hue: The name of the color from the color wheel.

Value: Refers to the relative lightness or darkness.

                  1. A color lighter than the hue's normal

                      value is known as a tint.

                  2. A color darker than the hue's normal

                      value is known as a shade.

Intensity: The relative purity of a color.

                  1. Also known as Chroma or Saturation.

                  2. Lower intensity by adding black, white,

                      or the color's compliment.

 Color Harmonies

1. Monochromatic: Variations of the same color.

Nocturne in Blue and Gold (Old Battersea Bridge), James Abbott McNeil Whistler. c. 1872-75. Oil on canvas, 23 3/4 x 18 3/8"


2. Complementary: Colors directly opposite on the color wheel. Red and Green, Violet and Yellow, Blue and Orange, (colors that react with one another).

 Pool in a Brook, Pond Brook, New Hamshire, Eliot Porter. 1953. Dye transfer print.


3. Analogous: Colors adjacent to one another. Red, Red-Orange, Orange.

Houses in Provence: The Riaux Valley near L'Estaque, Paul Cézanne. 1885. Oil on canvas, 25 1/2 x 32"

On the Terrace, Henri Matisse. 1912. Oil on canvas, 45 1/4 x 39 3/8"


4. Triadic: Any three colors that are equidistant from each other on the color wheel.

Room by the Sea, Edward Hooper. 1951. Oil on canvas, 29 x 40"

Primary Colors, Nancy Glazier. 2001. Serigraph on canvas, 22 x 37


5. Restricted Palette: Limited to a few pigments and their mixtures, tints, and shades.

"The Jewish Bride" Portrait of a Couple Dressed as Figures from the Old Testament, Rembrandt. 1667. Oil on canvas, 47 3/4 x 65 1/2"

Possibly a picture of Isaac and Rebekah from Genesis 26:8, based on themes presented by the artist in the same time period.

6. Open Palette: No color restrictions, often attempts colors that are true to reality.

St. Luke Drawing the Virgin, Rogier van der Weyden. 1435. Oil and tempera on panel, 4' 6 1/8" x 3' 7 5/8"