Bright and Muted Colors Activities by Mary Erickson, Ph.D., with Arizona art teacher, Marissa Vidrio

When artists work, they decide whether to use black, white and grays or to use colors. Ester Hernández Libertad (Liberty), 1987 etching Isabel Martínez VG Got Her Green Card, 2001 serigraph

If they choose color, artists have more choices to make. Which colors? Light colors or dark colors or a combination?

There is another important choice artists make about colors. Each color they choose can be bright or muted. Bright colors are pure or intense. Muted colors are not pure. Adding white or black to a bright color makes it less bright by "watering it down." Red muted with white Red muted with black

Another way to mute a color is to mix it with a little of its opposite (complementary) color. For example, a little green mixed into red makes a dull red. Mixing purple into yellow mutes the yellow. Mixing a little blue into orange dulls the orange.

If you mix several different colors you can get browns or even dull colors with no names, sometimes called "mud."

Muted colors around a bright color can make the pure color look even brighter in comparison.

Bright colors and muted colors give artworks different feelings or mood. Tony Ortega La Marcha de Lupe Liberty, 2006 serigraph Frank Ybarra Backyard Pachanga, 2003 serigraph

Which print has the brightest colors? What mood does each print express through the artist's choice of color? Tony OrtegaFrank Ybarra