The Science of Art: How Artists Use COLOR
Primary Colors Primary colors include red, yellow, and blue. They can be mixed to create all colors of the rainbow. They are the foundation of the color wheel. Dance at Bougival, by Renior Source:
Secondary Colors Secondary colors include orange, green, and violet (purple). They can be created by mixing the primary colors. They are also located on the color wheel. Improvisation 31, by Kandinsky Source:
The Color Wheel The primary colors are red, yellow, and blue. The secondary colors are orange green, and violet (purple). Starting at the top and moving clockwise, the colors in order are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet (purple)-the same as the visible light spectrum. (ROY G. BV)
Complementary Colors Complementary colors are pairs of colors that are located opposite from one another on the color wheel. Red and green Yellow and violet (purple) Blue and orange They appear to vibrate when placed side by side. Homage to Bleriot, by Robert Delaunay Source:
How is this useful in art? Artists can make use of the science of color. Physically mixing colors may dull them. Colors placed side by side may allow our eyes to mix them (optical mixing), especially from a distance. Street, Dresden, by Kirchner Source:
Pointillism Pointillism is a technique of painting in which many tiny dots (or points) are combined to form a picture. These dots may be as small as 1/16 of an inch in diameter. When 2 complementary colors are placed side by side, each will appear more vibrant and intense than if viewed separately. Hafen von St. Tropez, by Signac Source:
Georges Seurat Seurat was an artist who used pointillism. An example of his work is A Sunday on la Grande Jatte. It took him 2 years to complete this painting. It is estimated to contain about 3,456,000 dots! Source:
Sources of Information How to Teach Art to Children, by Joy Evans and Jo Ellen Moore “Monet, Renior, and the Impressionist Landscape,” Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Sources for Works of Art Slide 2, Dance at Bougival, by Renior ( Slide 3, Improvisation 31, by Kandinsky ( Slide 5, Charing Cross Bridge, by Derain ( bayreuth.de/cjackson/derain/p-derain1.htm) bayreuth.de/cjackson/derain/p-derain1.htm Slide 6, Street, Dresden, by Kirchner ( Slide 7, Hafen von St. Tropez, by Signac ( Slide 8, A Sunday on la Grande Jatte, by Seurat (