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Color Theory and The Artist

Color Theory is one of those subjects that we Decorative Painters, sometimes take for granted and don’t see the necessity to learn and really understand. If our dream is to become skilled artists, it's one of those subjects that shouldn't be avoided or ignored. Paying close attention to learning it’s many facets will enable one to grasp the true significance of creating three-dimensional objects.

Creating an Illusion
All art is an illusion, if you think about it, a blank canvas is a flat, one-dimensional surface. With the use of our brush, we push and pull colors together, blending them on this flat surface, manipulating the normal qualities of pigments, adjusting the hue, value, intensity and temperature of that certain color, to give birth to our illusion. Our very own painting. We constantly adjust these colors so they relate to each other and to the painting as a whole. All this, in an effort to fool the eye and to create an optical illusion of a three dimensional object. Without considering the nuances of color, and how they interact and compete with each other, we can get ourselves into a whole lot of trouble.

I tend to think that’s when ‘mud’ was invented, at two o’clock one morning......And the Lord said..... "And on the seventh hour…..YOU create MUD!" how many of us painters can relate to this experience? When we tried to mix a particular color, it was two a.m. and your local art store was closed! We mixed and mixed and mixed, only to have a volume of paint that was fruitless? We could've painted the whole basement floor with it, there’s surely enough, and Lord knows, it’s the right shade of mud! The frustration builds and we have to quit painting until you can buy more paint at the store

Decorative painting has evolved over the last thirty odd years into an industry where many of the methods of teaching and instruction depend on the recipes and colors suggested by the original designing artist. This system has proven itself as an extremely successful way to introduce painters to the world of decorative painting. It has also been a great way to showcase the individual styles of the original artist, but it has oftentimes failed to stress this fundamental need for the 'theory of color' as a tool, for new and experienced painters alike. Even as our Decorative Painting Industry evolved, the basic format for instructional patterns and books has pretty much stayed the same. Instructions can be minimal, and list colors as a set recipe for a particular project. No fault of the designers, but this has become the accepted norm in writing instructions. When one follows the steps exactly as the author intended, there seem to be no problem (until you run out of paint at 2 a.m.) This is a great way to learn to execute a particular painting style, but doesn't help with individual creativity through the use of color knowledge.

Independence or Dependence?
As student skill levels grow, so should their independence, what we see instead, is sometimes their dependence on the written instructions as many feel insecure about painting without a safety net. It's this same method of teaching teamed with a formula for written instruction that has created some deficit within our industry. In some cases, there has been little emphasis placed on teaching artists (within our industry) to be independent thinkers when it comes to choosing and adjusting color. It has also stumped many in the eventuality of creating and designing their own work. Many may have fallen prey to this phenomena and instead of the situation improving through education, we see more of the dependency on this style of learning and teaching, so the cycle continues. This is a huge issue, and may just be my observation, but this missing link of art theory overall, is what has lead in my opinion to a split or natural divide within our industry, and on a more serious note, to the ultimate demise of many of our Tole and Decorative Painting shops in the last 5-10 years.

How does that saying go ... give a man food, you feed him for a day, teach him to plant, you feed him for life? This applies to painting in the same manner. Teach a decorative painter a project, they'll paint for a while, or teach a decorative painter to become an artist and they'll paint for life? Which do you think would benefit the industry in the long run.

I have written an article on this topic called 'Changing tides'  page of my website, 'Changing Tides in the Decorative Art World'

A New Day
Why do some have a questioning attitude towards decorative artists in general. It can't be anything to do with technical ability. It might be a perception that we don't have an understanding about art theory in general. As a larger painting community, other traditional artists may appreciate more about the paint they work with, and how it performs, hence they wink at those who rely on the written directions and recipes of other artists. When I attended Nationals in Indianapolis, I discovered The Traditions paint system, ‘JansenArt Traditions’ At last I thought, Paint with a 'program' and a vision, with the emphasis on Color Theory and mixing! Back to the basics again, where decorative artists can learn this fundamental skill. A friend talked me into working with it. What's exciting about this concept, is, it's surprising how quickly one can learn about color when you begin mixing your own paint. By default you figure it out real fast, and with the help of a little education the possibilities are endless!

From the Beginning
In our industry of decorative painters, when novices can learn this approach right from the start of their painting career, the learning curve will be changed dramatically. One can only imagine how steep it will be for the more experienced painter to suddenly find themselves benefiting from some of the same color advantages that oil painters have had for years. It concerns me when artists I meet tell me they don't know how to use a color wheel. We have to wonder why they have not seen this as a key aspect of painting? It's like bacon and eggs... the two have to go together. Without color knowledge, artists may shy from more challenging subjects because they don’t possess the color information needed to sort through the potential problems that a certain composition might present.

In workshops I am sometimes asked by students ‘what color should I use to fix this?’ It’s an automatic request and a very common one at that, when a student gets stuck on a particular area of a painting. From any teacher's point of view, the easiest and fastest response to this question would be to give them the right answer. Easy, but not helpful. Instead, working with the student on an individual basis, helping them sort through the mental color questions would be more beneficial to the student in the long run. Of course, I realize that this concept is often utterly impossible under scheduled times, like convention and seminar classes, due to the size of the class and the time restraints put on teachers, so the easiest way is often what happens, tell them the answer and wish you could do more!

How Do You Eat An Elephant?
Armed with color knowledge, an artist can work through problem areas of a painting by knowing what questions to ask him or herself. It's the process of elimination. In understanding the qualities and characteristics of color, one is able to use this knowledge to breakdown the problem into smaller manageable bites, and is usually able to identify where the actual problem lies and attempt to fix it. Is it in the adjustment of tone, value, temperature etc.?

Instead of being so totally overwhelmed by one HUGE problem like "my painting doesn’t look right’ to ‘the left side of the green apple needs to be duller so it will recede’ now the artist can zone in on a smaller problem and attempt to fix it. Color Theory teaches you what mental questions to ask, and through this process of elimination, problems can be solved and sometimes avoided.

Painters can miss the point that Color Theory, though a very complex subject, by itself, can be a life’s work, but the basic understanding of how the color wheel works, gives the most novice painter, a clearer understanding of the essential qualities of color. Opening the door for them to another world of choices and absolute freedom for the artist.

An ‘Aha!’ Moment
I can remember the day, the actual moment and where I was sitting, when I made the discovery that color had two basic temperatures, and these were determined by the quality and quantity of light. Very early one morning, I was at the kitchen table watching the light pour in through an open window. I observed this ray of light dance on my coffee cup. It was miraculous! I saw it for the first time! I actually saw it! I heard trumpets and harps! ... well not quite, but it was momentous none the less! Making this connection was the biggest breakthrough in my painting career. I had spent too long painting and muddling through elementary concepts, but when I made this simple discovery about the relationship between temperature and light, my whole world opened. It was one of those Aha! Moments. Since then, I have had many, but that simple 'window' of understanding, seemed to lift the veil from my brain and allowed me to actually see what I needed to see. For others, the ‘Aha! Moments’ are different, and can come in the middle of the night, (that's when your spouse thinks you're nuts!) but all of these moments come from the greater understanding of color theory as they apply to art concepts.

Harmony and Balance
Color knowledge sets one painting apart from another. A successful painting exhibits a clear message as it communicates to the viewer what the artist is trying to convey, but mostly, a successful painting will be in harmony and balance. I remember walking around the Certification Display Room at Nationals this year in Indianapolis, a (new) painter turned to me and asked, "What's the big difference between all the passing boards and the non passing boards?" to her, they mostly looked great, yet she couldn't identify exactly what made them so different. Without attempting to explain all the details etc, I just said to her, "You'll notice that the passing boards appear to be quiet, and at peace with themselves." She looked at me for a moment and then I could see in her eyes she now had a 'new' perception of what harmony and balance meant! Harmony and balance exhibited through a greater understanding of color theory equals peace and quiet!

Without a doubt, we've all created questionable paintings at one time or another, and that's a natural part of the learning process. But tackling the huge subject of color theory, in a step by step, bite by bite manner, can solve many a painting problem and avoid several others in the future. I hope all who read my words will be encouraged to find classes and programs that will offer you this theory. Ask your instructors to start a program, even if they know nothing about it, learn together! I know there are so many artists who will love this subject once they get into it. Yes it takes a little time, but so worth the rewards! If you attend conventions or seminars, try to take as many color theory classes as you can. Even if you have taken one already, take it again and again, you will learn more about this wonderful and exciting subject every time it is explained to you. If self education is your only avenue to this material, then go to the library, or buy a good color theory book to study. There are, within our industry, dozens and dozens of teachers who like myself, believe that this information is as important as the paint itself.

Neadeen Masters CDA Nov 3. 2003.

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