The Color Wheel

COLOR EXPRESSION

Color preference is very personal. With practice and time, as you develop on your painting journey, you will begin to see similarities across your palettes and painted pieces. These similarities represent your personal style and are your unique expression in the world of color.

You can learn a lot about your color preferences and personal aesthetic simply by observing the colors you’ve surrounded yourself with. We are strongly influenced by the visuals we have all around us. Take a moment to lift your eye from the page and take in your surroundings right now, be it your garden, your mother’s kitchen, or on the train riding into work. Ask yourself: What colors am I drawn to? What colors make me feel calm and at ease, or energized and excited? What colors do I think look good together? If I were to recreate them in paint, and put them together on my page, do I feel excited about how that would look? Pause and take a moment to think about the colors in a favorite room in your house or a favorite place you’ve visited. When you think of the colors in that place, what do you feel? Whatever comes up for you now is telling you a lot about your color preferences, which will guide your color expression as you paint!

I began my own painting journey with intuitive color choices, soaking in color from my experiences, the treasures lining my bookcases, and my garden in every season. As I’ve grown and developed in my craft, I’ve learned that many of my intuitive choices can be expressed through age-old artistic terms. What a joy this was to discover! For instance, I realized that several of my pieces were already reflecting complementary triad color schemes, and only then did I intellectually understand why they worked so well together. While I firmly believe in using your intuition, it can also be helpful to have a few guidelines as you hone your eye and preferences.

In this section, I provide a quick review of color relationships and some practical color guidelines that have helped me. Mixing colors to make a satisfying and original composition is a skill that takes time and practice to learn. If you’re interested in a deep-dive look at color theory and how different color combinations relate to one another, I suggest getting a book dedicated to the subject. Color Choices by Stephen Quiller or Interaction of Color by Josef Albers are good places to start.

THE c OLOR WHEEL

The color wheel is a circle of colors that shows the relationship of colors to one another. When you’re looking at the color wheel, you’re essentially seeing a color rainbow. The natural order of colors is the same one you’ve known since elementary school: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. When the two ends of the rainbow are connected, the traditional color wheel is created. An orderly circle of lovely color!

But the color wheel isn’t just a pretty rainbow circle—it actually teaches us a lot about color theory.

HERE’S WHAT YOU cAN IDENTIFY IN THE WHEEL:

Primary colors: These are the three colors that cannot be created from any other colors: Red, Yellow, and Blue—often referred to by artists as “RYB.”

Secondary colors: These colors are created by combining two primary colors and are commonly referred to as “OGP.”

RED + YELLOW = ORANGE YELLOW + BLUE = GREEN BLUE + RED = PURPLE

Tertiary colors: These are the colors you can create by combining a primary color with a secondary color. For example:

YELLOW-GREEN YELLOW-ORANGE RED-PURPLE BLUE-PURPLE

Warm colors: Yellow, orange, and red are generally in the warm spectrum of colors. But like Michael Crespo says, it’s all relative. A red can be considered cooler as it blends and approaches violet.

cool colors: Blue, violet, and green are considered part of the cooler color spectrum, but green can move up in warmth as it approaches yellow.

Neutral colors: These include blacks, whites, grays, and browns. Neutral browns, grays, and blacks can be created by mixing primary colors in the wheel. Some people consider these neutrals “muddy.” I often see the color of bark, leaves, and compost in these colors and enjoy them on my palette.

Each color in this wheel can be stretched to produce many values within that one color.