The fundamentals of color

In order to create a painting, you use colors. Colors cover the entire spectrum of the rainbow Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red. Not only that, but also all the intermediary transition colors which are a mix of two or more distinct colors of the rainbow. Besides, the science of colors tells us that there is something called a Color Wheel and there are 3 primary colors Red, Blue, Yellow. Rest is derived from those. Believe me, what you discover by mixing colors in different proportions would be amazing.

It is not my intention here to delve into what happens if you mix colors. That should be a fun way for any aspiring artist to explore. But it is very important to know this. Do so systematically as advised in the guidance articles that are plentifully available on the internet. Without an awareness of the effect of mixing, one cannot really achieve what one wants to do in terms of representing the reality of the world on paper.

Paint shapes, not objects

Many have concerns about their ability to draw. Don’t worry about that. Can you paint shapes as faithfully as you see them with your eyes? That’s all there is to it. Keep learning how to paint shapes. Understand that when light falls on objects, they are not uniformly reflected - some to a greater extent and some to a lesser extent. Thereby creating various shades of dark and bright areas. If you can represent those in shades of various hues, your purpose is achieved. So practise these well before you attempt to paint.

Fix objects in the paper or canvas on which you paint (how to compose)

The sumtotal of all the objects that you see in a picture is called composition.

The crucial point to understand is that the sense of proportion of objects has to be right.

A tree which you observe near you will be much larger than a far mountain in 3-dimensional space. This might appear counter-intuitive at first, but you need to believe in your eyes ability to see reality as it is. This is the secret of good drawing/painting. In view of this, it is important, that when you try to paint something, say a landscape or monument, you make a rough sketch to fix all the vertical and horizontal objects within the boundaries of the paper or canvas. This will prevent the anguish of later discovering that you are unable to paint all that you see in the available space, or capture the entire composition - which is what gives the picture its distinct appeal.

We will delve more into these topics as we go along. Meanwhile, have fun experimenting with color mixing.

P N Krishnan

2. Let us get the basics right

The fundamentals of color

In order to create a painting, you use colors. Colors cover the entire spectrum of the rainbow Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red. Not only that, but also all the intermediary transition colors which are a mix of two or more distinct colors of the rainbow. Besides, the science of colors tells us that there is something called a Color Wheel and there are 3 primary colors Red, Blue, Yellow. Rest are a derived from those. Believe me, what you discover by mixing colors in different proportions would be amazing.

It is not my intention here to delve into what happens if you mix colors. That should be a fun way for any aspiring artist to explore. But it is very important to know this. Do so systematically as advised in the guidance articles that are plentifully available on the internet. Without an awareness of the effect of mixing, one cannot really achieve what one wants to do in terms of representing the reality of the world on paper.

Paint shapes, not objects

Many have concerns about their ability to draw. Don’t worry about that. Can you paint shapes as faithfully as you see them with your eyes. That’s all there is to it. Keep learning how to paint shapes. Understand that when light falls on objects, they are not uniformly reflected - some to a greater extent and some to a lesser extent. Thereby creating various shades of dark and bright areas. If you can represent those in shades of various hues, your purpose is done.

Fix objects in the paper or canvas on which you paint (how you compose)

The sumtotal of all the objects put together in a picture is called composition.

crucial point to understand is that the sense of proportion of objects have to be right. For example, those objects which are far out in space appear smaller than those which are nearer. A tree which is near you will be much larger than a far mountain in 3-dimensional space. This might appear counter-intuitive at first, but you need to believe in your eyes ability to see reality as it is.This is the secret of good drawing/painting. In view of this, it is important, that when you try to paint something, say a landscape or monument, you make a rough sketch to fix all the vertical and horizontal objects within the boundaries of the paper or canvas. This will prevent the anguish of later discovering that you are unable to paint all that you see in the available space.

We will delve more into these topics as we go along. Meanwhile, have fun experimentation with color mixing.

P N Krishnan