Colour

​So much to say about colour!  Books, and dare I say doctoral dissertations have been written about the subject.  Here we will attempt to explain some of the major colour schemes and their effect with fabulous illustrations from the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

​First, let us look at the colour wheel.  This is by no means the only colour wheel, but it is the most accessible and straight forward.  Many early learning students come to know the primary colours and also learn that yellow and blue make green (that was in a television commercial from the 80’s as well.)  If you ever poked through a box of crayons you’ll know the names of the tertiary colours, like green-yellow, even if you didn’t know it’s called a tertiary colour.  If you look at my colour wheel you will see some shapes in the middle, an equilateral triangle, and isosceles triangle, a square, and a rectangle.  These help us plot a few of our colour schemes (groups of colours.)

Monochromatic

​A very basic understanding of Greek tells you that this means one colour.  A monochromatic colour scheme is one colour in different tones.  A tone is the lightness and darkness of a colour.  In this Yoruba cloth we can see tones of dark and light blue, along with some blue-green.  This creates a unified effect; good for design, and also good for asking the viewer to explore the subject matter carefully.

Analogous

​An analogous colour scheme can be defined as four or fewer adjacent colours on the colour wheel.  When together they create a unified effect that is just a little off balance allowing the artist to aim for a specific, emotional response in the viewer.  Look closer at the painting and the photograph below.  What emotional response can you elicit from each?  How is the Sanford Robinson Gifford different from the William Christenberry in the use of colour and its effects?

Complimentary

​Complimentary colours are those that are directly cross from another on the colour wheel.  This colour scheme is more often used in design, think of sports team logos and colours.  The effect is to have strong contrast simultaneously with a balanced effect.  Can you see how the blue and orange in Henry Inman’s painting achieves this?

Split Complimentary

​ A split complimentary is the isosceles triangle on the colour wheel.  Choose a key colour, find its compliment, then use the colours on either side.  Some prefer to use the compliment in this scheme as well.  It’s up to you.  A split complimentary allows one colour to be dominant, could be for design or specific emotional reasons, and the others colours to help support and balance the key colour.  In the Kay Hassan collage here, the artist is split complimentary to create a dynamic and balanced image.

Triad

​A triad can be plotted by using the equilateral triangle on the colour wheel.  The triad is an exciting colour scheme because the colours will both support and contrast with one another.  Keep in mind that not all of the colours need to be at the same tonal range.  This sculpture by James Harold Jennings is an excellent use of a triad. 

​A neat thing about the triad is that one doesn’t need to use all three colours.  You can choose two of the three colours and still achieve a balanced effect.  This painting by Claude Monet is an example. 

​Notice how Carle van Loo uses blue and a very light yellow (Caucasian) tone.

Tetrad

​A tetrad is a more complicated colour scheme to use, and it requires a little practice, but it’s exciting!  If you spin your colour wheel around you’ll see both a rectangle and a square.  The colours at the end of each angle are the four colours of your tetrad.  Sometimes this is also described as a pair of compliments.  Can you find the pairs in the Girolamo Romani painting?

​In this Edward Tayler a balanced and engaging effect is created by using different tones in a tetrad.

Discord

​Discord is using a colour scheme and adding another colour outside that scheme.  The name has the connotation of this being a jarring experience, but it doesn’t have to be.  Think of the Google logo, a triad of red, yellow, and blue, with some green thrown in.  Here Ellsworth Kelly throws the yellow out of a triad and adds green instead.

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith does a similar thing and combines the discord with erratic brush strokes to emphasize the effect.

A Final Note

​Using colour is a powerful, but not the only tool in the artist’s collection.  I hope you see that colour is used to create balance, emphasis, and unity, as well as elicit an emotional response.  I also want to point out that a colour scheme does not have to be used very strictly.  Artistic licence can be employed and still use the advantages of the colour scheme.