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color

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Lyon:

--- Quote from: pjlyons on October 06, 2008, 08:57 AM ---Also, the one thing I've noticed with watercolors is they often don't have the full range of values--i.e. the art tends to lack the dark end of the value spectrum.

pj

--- End quote ---

I have to disagree with you here PJ. I use tube paints and can get very pale and very dark colors. I can even get an almost black with a combination of indigo and Copper Kettle (a non muddy version of Brown Madder). Before I purchased the copper, I used Alizarine Crimson, but the color isn't light fast, so the copper is better for images that will end up framed or where the original needs to stand up to time.

There are also dark colors in the green and red families. I probably have 100s of dollars worth of tube paints that I don't use but bought to try the color in my palette. Prussian Blue is another color I use frequently to achieve a saturated dark. I have about a dozen colors on my palette and can get a full range of values from them. E mail me privately if you want the names of the colors. :)

Barbara Eveleth:
Lyon is correct. Take a class or two or three and discover the difficult world of watercolor control. I had great teachers and after a few classes did very well. It is the toughest medium. My best teacher recommended lots of water on the brush.

olmue:
Keep it coming--this stuff is great!

ecm:
I loved my color theory class in college and I even held on to the book we used, ITTEN, The Elements of Color (A treatise on the color system of Johannes Itten based n his book The Art of Color). It's a fairly thin hardbound book (95 pgs.) that touches the main points of color theory according to Itten.

As a student, I was struck by the subjective nature of color. How colors *change* when placed next to each other. How they vibrate and seem to leap off the page or how they swallow and dampen the effects of light. I learned how to purposely express an emotion or implement an effect. To this day, I'm still learning. As a painter, color theory is a life-long endeavor, as well as, passion.

I think it important to learn about tonal values and color. After all, light plays a key role. For an intro and practical application, I highly recommend the book, Tonal Values: How to See Them, How to Paint Them by Angela Gair.

Lyon:
My use of color and knowledge of color theory took a huge leap forward when I took a watercolor workshop with Hilary Page. She is an awesome watercolorist in the fine arts, and has spent hundreds of hours working with specific color preparations to achieve the cleanest and longest lasting watercolor paintings ever. She is VERY specific on the color she wants used in her classes, by the actual chemical number on the tubes, and by the brands she uses.

If you ever have a chance to take one of her classes, I'd jump on it. She also has several books out on color usage and theory that should be very helpful. Of course, she is coming at it from a fine artist's perspective and there are some slight differences when working for reproduction, but I would take her class again in a heart beat.

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