Today we will perform a very simple and incredibly useful color science exercise. All professional artists have gone through this more than once, and I think no one regrets it. In an art school, this exercise is performed in the first year of study in the first quarter of the school year; in art studios, class hours devoted to this topic are some of the most beloved. Because at the end of the lesson everyone always produces beautiful work, regardless of the age of the students.
Purpose of the lesson: to see from your own experience that with just three jars of paint on hand, you can get dozens of new shades. Even without being a professional artist, you can create beautiful, harmonious things not only as drawings. Any creativity that uses color, be it embroidery, knitting, beading, scrapbooking, making jewelry from polymer plastic or something else, only benefits if the master is interested in color science.
First, let's remember the three primary colors. It is believed that there are three primary colors: red, yellow and blue. And all other colors are obtained by mixing the three primary colors, resulting in a color spectrum.All colors in the spectrum are called chromatic. This word comes from the Greek "chromos", which means color. There are also achromatic (colorless) colors, these are black, white and gray.
Today we will use black and white to change one of the three primary colors - red. The resulting new shades will be useful for creating a beautiful picture.
For the exercise you will need artistic gouache in red, black and white colors, a plastic palette, a sheet of thick A3 or A4 paper, a simple pencil, and a ruler. First we draw the table. There are approximately 5 divisions in width, and also 5 in height - depending on how many shades you want to get.
We paint the lower right rectangle with black gouache, the lower left rectangle with red gouache.
Now we make a gradual transition from red to black. We put red gouache on the palette, mix a little black gouache into it, get a new shade, add it to the table, then even more black, add it again and add black again, then add it to the table. The bottom row is ready. These are red, black and three new shades of red in between.
Next stage. To each color from the bottom row you need to gradually add white gouache to create a second row of shades. Then we add more white, we get the next, even lighter row. We continue this way to the very top of the table. The point of this exercise is that by stretching red towards black and white, we get new variations of red. Achromatic colors white and black make red muted, but at the same time complicate it: white makes red more delicate, pastel, and black makes it heavier. This is what the completed exercise looks like, done by a 1st grade art school student.
As soon as you feel your power, and there is no other way to describe this feeling: it’s no joke to have only three jars of paint in your arsenal and create such a palette of new colors! Now you can proceed to the next, more creative stage.
Now we will make a sketch of painting a decorative plate. We will use the same combination of colors. An example for us will once again be the work of an art school student. Draw a circle on a piece of paper using a compass. You can outline something round. We draw an ornament in a circle. Nearby we draw plates for the color scale.
The upper left plate, consisting of three divisions, is needed for red, black and white colors. The table on the right will be filled with their derived shades.
We paint our ornament, using only those colors that we have outlined.
If the exercises are done slowly and carefully, they can become an independent wall decoration with the appropriate design, of course. Thanks to this, you will be able to create a creative studio atmosphere in your home.
By applying the skills you learn today, you can do more complex work, such as still life painting with oil paints. Here, too, only three colors that are already well known to you were used for work - white, red and black.
