Color Theory Archives – Celebrating Color

How Do You Mix Gray with Purple?

May 18, 2021 By Carol McIntyre

Learning how to mix various grays, is important in our painting world. We need de-saturated or gray-like colors give our eyes calming places to rest. These wonderful colors also help to make our more intense or saturated colors sing. What do I mean by GRAY?

I am referring to grays that carry a hue, such as a green-gray or a blue-gray. I am also referring to a gray that either leans toward a warm gray (carries a titch of brown) or a cool gray (carries a titch of blue.)

It is important to note that none of these grays are created by mixing white with black. By the way, I never mix gray using black and white because it is dull….it has little life to it.

When I begin to mix grays, I always ask myself, “What is the color opposite of my base color?” As you know, the opposite of purple is yellow. There are basically two yellows available to us. They are a green-yellow and an orange-yellow. Which yellow will yield the gray I am looking for? Watch the video below for the answer.

Please pass the vlog along to others who may be interested.

Gratefully and colorfully yours,

Carol

How Do You Mix Turquoise?

November 21, 2020 By Carol McIntyre

A few of you have asked me, “How do you mix turquoise?” Even though I include many blues in my paintings, I don’t think I have consciously mixed turquoise. Curiosity got the best of me.

When we think of turquoise, many of us probably think of the stone. As you can see here, there is a fairly large range of hues.This got me thinking. What is the difference between aqua, turquoise and teal? Google did not disappoint. Here is one photo my researched revealed. I find it interesting because I have probably referred to all three of these hues as “turquoise” as some time or another . How about you?

Here is One Approach to How to Mix Turquoise?

I did a little experimenting and determined the three main tube colors needed for mixing turquoise are: blue, white and yellow. The next questions are: which blues and which yellows? Intuitively, I made an assumption that my blue would be a green-blue and my yellow would be a green-yellow. However, after further thought, I decided I needed to include a red-blue and an orange-yellow to see what would happen. I wanted to see if I would be surprised. [Read more…]

Let’s Mix Green! Workshop

April 28, 2019 By Carol McIntyre

Do greens ever frustrate you?

Or would you like to efficiently mix natural-looking greens with just a couple of tubes of paint?

Or do you get overwhelmed with all of those yellows and blues, and then wonder which to use to mix your green?

My next Let’s Mix Green! Workshop will be held in Colorado Springs, CO.

Eliminate the angst and learn the joy of mixing the greens you want in this 1-day workshop. Stop using those acid-looking tube greens and learn to mix natural-looking greens with an easy-to-use approach.

During this workshop, you will learn:

The color bias of your yellows and blues and why this is critical when mixing color
Which yellows and blues you want for your working palette
How to mix bright and dull natural-looking greens
Why tube greens are not necessary
If you are a plein air painter, which few tubes you need to achieve the greens you want
How to mix greens for all four seasons

Carol will demonstrate throughout the day to assure the information is processed to everyone’s satisfaction. If time allows, we will paint a “greens only” painting.

This workshop is for: Advanced beginners* of all tube-based media (i.e., watercolor, oil, acrylic, water mixable oils) who work in any style.

Upon registration, you will receive a supply list and how to order lunch if you choose not to brown bag.

Questions? Contact Carol McIntyre at: 719-510-0006 or carol@mcintyrfineart.com

Carol is the recent author of “I Just Want to Paint: Mixing the Colors You Want!” and she has worked in all major media and styles. To view her painting portfolios and learn more about her book, click on the tabs above.

Signed copies of “I Just Want to Paint!” will be available.

Join us for this fun and exploratory workshop.

Date: Friday, May 17th

Time: 9am – 4pm

Location: LSJ Gallery, 218 W. Colorado Avenue, Colorado Springs.

Cost: $85.00. Only 8 spaces available.

Register via this Facebook Event Page:

*Advanced beginner is a painter who has completed a minimum of 15 unsuccessful and/or successful paintings.

Seeing Colors as Values

April 8, 2019 By Carol McIntyre

Learning to see colors as values is not easy. In fact, I believe it is a trained skill. It is also something many of us, myself included, resist doing because it takes time and concentration. However, the use of values is one of the most important elements in creating effective paintings. Some artists will state, and you have probably heard this, that values are more important than color.

Oh, but we LOVE color! Yet, if you don’t know your values, then your colors will not carry the visual message you want to communicate. Value is defined as: the lightness or darkness of colors.

Why is Seeing Colors as Values Difficult?

[Read more…]

Which Colors Are the Most Controversial?

March 20, 2019 By Carol McIntyre

Are some colors more controversial than others? What do I mean by controversial colors?

I am referring to the colors that cause different, if not opposing, emotional and intellectual responses. Controversial colors evoke both positive and negative reactions either separately or simultaneously.

Which color is the one that comes to mind first when considering its positive and negative impact on viewers?

Most likely the first controversial color to come up is the color red.

Psychologically, red can symbolize love, sensuality, passion, energy and romance, whereas it can also convey hate, war, danger and fear. For some of us, it is a color of agitation and for others is is more calming and not scary at all. The shape of the color can also have an impact. Hence, a color cannot be isolated when analyzing your perception of it, but needs to be considered within a context. Our life experiences also add to our different perceptions of color.

Fore example, in my painting Crimson Fusion, some viewers would perceive the red as drips of blood, whereas others, like myself, see it as energy breaking through to the next level — as if it is being set free. (I think I need to change the title of this painting, don’t you?)

The interpretations of this painting have been quite varied and I believe it is because of my use of red. Feel free to look within my portfolio of paintings to see my diverse colors schemes and explore your reactions to them based on the colors used.

The other color I believe is highly controversial is yellow. This may surprise some of you. Yellow is often considered the color of happiness, fun, warmth, the sun and child-like activities. Yet, it is also the color of caution — think of road signs — as well as illness. We love seeing yellow out in nature, but it is the least liked color within our homes and fashion. It can be a jarring color and is not considered calming. (I am referring to the more saturated yellows.) I have been told be gallery owners, that paintings with a lot of yellow in them do not sell as well as paintings with a small amount of yellow or no yellow at all.

What are your thoughts and reactions to the color yellow? What other color do you think is controversial? Orange perhaps? What are the possible positive and negative reactions to orange?

On the flip side of this discussion, which colors are the least controversial? I my opinion these would be blue, green and most purples. I would love to hear your thoughts. Please write them in the comment box below.

If you found this post interesting, please share it with others.

Colorfully and gratefully yours,

Carol