Greetings!
Can you name the colors in this photo?
We are looking at all neutrals, colors in which saturation has been cancelled out by a complementary hue. What we normally label gray, mauve, beige, olive or rust are actually neutralized hues.
To demonstrate, here are three versions of a 12-hue color wheel, from saturated to neutral.
Let's look at the photo again, but this time juxtaposed with a color wheel that is equally neutralized. Does this make naming the colors more likely?
Tip: Any two hues opposite each other on the color wheel will neutralize each other when combined together.
In the chart below, the center shows neutrals I found in the scene. On either side are the complements that when mixed together neutralize them.
Here's a chart showing the value ranges we see in the neutrals.
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| White is added to lighten the value. Darker versions of the hues are used to darken the value. |
Tip: We can see with this palette, if we enrich the neutrals with just a bit more hue, an intriguing painting can be made from the otherwise dreary scene.
Dianne
P.S. Sometimes a painter will interpret a neutral scene with a bit more intensity (saturation) to give it more life. At other times, an artist will neutralize an otherwise more vibrant scene. To see how painter Lori Putnam uses neutrals to do this, go
HERE.
P.P.S. Why not take a stab at today's tip and share on the Facebook forum?
