1. THE POWER OF COLOR
Visual Elements
Color

2. Visual Elements 2. Color
the element of art derived from reflected light
has the strongest effect on our emotions
creates the mood or atmosphere of an artwork
3 qualities: hue, value, and intensity

3. Hue a particular wavelength of spectral color to which we give a name
colors of the spectrum
a color as it is named in the color wheel

4. The color wheel shown here is based on twelve pure hues and can be divided into primary, secondary, and intermediate hues or colors.
Primary colors – red, yellow, and blue cannot be produced by an intermixing of other colors
Secondary colors – orange, green, and violet resulted from the mixture of two primaries
Intermediate colors – red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet, and red violet are formed by combining a primary color and a secondary color

5. Warm colors and cool colors
The difference between warm and cool colors may come chiefly from associations.

6. Warm colors - vivid and energetic
- appear to expand and advance
Cool colors - give a soothing and calm impression
- appear to contract and recede

9. Value relative lightness or darkness of a hue
changes through additions of white and black
lighter version (+white) – tint
darker version (+black)- shade

10. Blue in a range of values.
Shade
Tint
Range of values from black to white

11. Intensity relative purity of a color
refers to the brightness (high) or dullness (low) of a hue
also called chroma or saturation

12. Red in a range of intensities.
Adding white/black/gray or another color to a pure hue reduces intensity.
Red in a range of intensities.
High
Low
Gray

13. Mixture of different colors appear duller and darker since pigments absorb more and more light.
Subtractive color mixture

14. Combination of the light primaries (red-orange, green, blue-violet) produces lighter colors.
Additive color mixture

15. Tonality
refers to the overall effect of a work of art when one color and variations of it seem to dominate the whole
also referred to as color scheme, which are color groupings that provide distinct color harmonies

16. Color Schemes/Color Harmonies 1. Monochromatic
composed of variations of the same hue
pure hue is mixed with black and/or white

22. Color Schemes/Color Harmonies 2. Complementary
involves colors directly opposite each other on the color wheel
Complementary colors
-Side by side: contrast strongly and intensify each other
-Mixed: form neutral grays

27. Color Schemes/Color Harmonies 3. Analogous
combines colors next to each other on the color wheel

29. Symphony in Grey and Green (c. 1866-72). James Whistler.

32. Color Schemes/Color Harmonies 4. Triadic
composed of any three colors equidistant from each other on the color wheel

35. Optical Effects of Color
Afterimage
- an image which persists or remains in negative after the original stimulation has ended
- results from the excitation and subsequent fatigue of the retina due to prolonged exposure to a visual form

38. Optical Effects of Color
Pointillism – dots (points) of pure color are placed next to each other
-attributed to Georges Seurat
- color sensations from small patches of different pure colors placed close together forming a new color

39. A Sunday on La Grand Jatte (1884-86). Georges Seurat.

40. Detail from A Sunday on La Grand Jatte (1884-86). Georges Seurat.

41. Lucas ( ). Chuck Close.

42. Lucas ( ). Chuck Close.
Detail.