The subtle differences in colors can drive you crazy or give you immense pleasure.
The ability to discern color differences is cultivated by paying attention to colors. Some people think of color in terms of basics. “It’s red.” I’m that way about wine: there’s red, white, and the stuff with bubbles. I don’t pay enough attention to get any hints of oak, tobacco, or fruity after-tastes.
The Online color challenge will slow you down and get you to pay attention! You might think that you don’t know what to do, but I promise that if you JUST GET STARTED by moving colors around, you will “get it” even if it doesn’t make intellectual sense to you. It’s fun and you can do it as many times as you like. You don’t need to check your score. It’s an easy assignment. Just click on this link:Online color challenge
The photo on the right shows my “color book”. I’ve used a three-ring binder with slide sheets and have filed (in a loosely organized manner) each plastic slide holder with color samples that I can slip out. It has many uses including:
- In class, I will select a few and hand them around a class with instructions to “match it!” (I’ll cover how to mix to match in a future lesson.)
- When I am considering a change in a painting and not sure of what I want, I will tape various color samples on the painting to evaluate the differences.
Other weekly art lessons on COLOR:
Watch the video and get ideas for mixing greens:
Mixing Ireland’s Forty Shades of Green (On-line art lesson #11)
What you think you see might not be what you really see…
COLOR: Beware of Preconceptions (Online art lesson #35)
I found your weekly lesson very timely this week, as in our colored pencil class, we are selecting fall leaves and then trying to match them exactly using layers of colored pencil. I have a few attempts here .. http://thebeachcat.blogspot.com/2011/10/french-gray-more-leaves.html … and when I read your weekly lesson, it seemed like a very similar exercise. I am eagerly awaiting your hints on how to match the colors, as my leaves look quite different from the ‘real ” thing.
I took the color challenge…and I did look at my score…it was 100%! …but I must admit that I took my time on it and moved stuff around until it looked “perfect” to me. I think if it was a timed challenge, I may not have done as well. I think your idea of a book of color samples is a great idea. I should make one for me! I, too, and awaiting the lesson on how to mix the perfect match. Thanks for these great lessons on color!