Colour is all around us. We can see it in nature, in architecture, gastronomy, and most importantly in your art. They often can define our perception of daily life, impact our emotions, and so much more. When an artist understands how to use colour theory effectively, they can master their craft and produce powerful pieces that leave a lasting impression on the viewer. You can now breathe a cyan of relief because we’ve made this easy-to-use cheat sheet so that you can discover the art and science behind colour theory, the colour wheel, how they can drastically benefit your paintings, the best ways to apply it to your work and a bonus of 6 common colour mixing recipes in painting. Let’s delve in!

What is colour theory?

Let’s start with the fundamental question - what even is colour theory? Colour theory is a systematic set of guidelines that help us to understand how colours work. This understanding includes how we perceive colours, their emotive meanings, colour mixing, colour schemes, and colour harmony.

An integral component of colour theory is the colour wheel which was first introduced in the late 17th century by Sir Issac Newton when he proposed that colours are created by mixing light. Since then the colour wheel has evolved into what we know today as the 12-step colour wheel, a circular diagram that represents and arranges colours according to various hues, shades, and tints. Without a doubt, it is a very helpful tool for artists and if it isn’t already, will soon become your best friend in navigating the world of colour. Here’s how. On the colour wheel, colours are categorized into 3 groups - primary, secondary, and tertiary colours. In the RGB colour wheel, primary colours (red, blue, yellow) are the colours that cannot be created by mixing other colours together but we can mix primary colours to create secondary colours. For example, red and blue make purple, yellow and red make orange, and yellow and blue make green. Secondary colours (orange, purple, green in the RGB colour wheel) are located in between the primary colours on the colour wheel, for example, between red and yellow, you will see orange. These secondary colours can then be mixed with primary colours to create tertiary colours which in the RGB colour wheel are cyan, chartreuse green, azure, rose and many others.

The colour wheel can also be divided by colour temperature ie. the warmth or coolness of a colour. Warm colours such as red, orange and yellow are located on opposing sides of the colour wheel to cool colours like blue, purple and green. Colour temperature is often linked to colour psychology and meaning. Typically, warm colours are associated with energy, vibrance, passion. For example, red is often attributed to qualities such as anger, passion, love, and courage. Meanwhile, cool colours like green are linked to feelings of peace, vitality and calm. Colour psychology and symbolism are elements that most artists incorporate as a means of connecting with and evoking certain emotions in their viewers. The interesting thing though is that colour symbolism can be dependent on and vary according to individual, cultural and universal influences. Below, we have listed the universal symbolism for each colour that you can integrate to create powerful pieces that subliminally invoke an array of emotions.

Red - romance, passion, lust, love, excitement, ambition, dominance, impulsiveness, danger, power

Orange - youthfulness, cheerfulness, spontaneity, dynamism, deceit, determination, enthusiasm

Yellow - happiness, hope, energy, friendship, positivity, optimism

Green - peace, envy, growth, harmony, freshness, fertility, calm, greed

Blue - sadness, freedom, repression, knowledge, seriousness

Purple - royalty, luxury, ambition. nobility

Brown - resilience, solidity, simplicity, dependability, growth, fertility

Black - mystery, death, mourning, evil, strength, power, fear

Grey - balance, neutrality, emotionless, conservative, depression

White - purity, innocence, cleanliness, simplicity, isolation, new beginning, illumination

The colour wheel also makes understanding the relationship of colour schemes, colour harmony, and colour mixing a lot easier. Firstly, colour schemes describe how colour relate to one another so that they complement each other both individually and collectively. There are six basic types of colour schemes, namely - monochromatic, analogous, triadic, tetradic, complementary, and split-complementary. The colour scheme can set the mood of your piece, so it’s important to choose wisely.

Monochromatic colour scheme

A monochromatic colour scheme is made up of variations of one hue or colour by altering the shades, tones, and tints. To create tints, you add white to the hue, and shades and tones are created when darker colours like black are mixed with the hue. Below, you can see an example of a monochromatic colour scheme for the colour red. This type of palette is great for bringing optical cohesion and colour harmony to your piece because the variation of the colour will be aesthetically pleasing collectively. The nice thing about a monochromatic colour scheme is that it works well in series and also isn’t distracting and overwhelming so that the rest of your composition isn’t overshadowed.

Analogous colour scheme

Analogous colours are three colours that are adjacent to one another on the colour wheel. This combination usually comprises of a dominant colour (typically either a primary or secondary colour) along with a secondary or tertiary colour, and the third colour can either be a mix of the two previous colours or an accent colour. This colour scheme can create a harmonious or contrasting effect in your art, depending on the degree of contrast in their hues. When incorporating this colour scheme, for optimal results you should choose the range of colours you’re going to incorporate, and from those select the dominant colour that will be used the most in your painting. Also note that this colour scheme isn’t as high in contrast as other schemes such as complementary, so if you’re looking for contrast, another colour may be better suited for you.

Triadic colour scheme

A triadic colour scheme involves colours that are at an equal distance away from each other on the colour wheel. For example, yellow, blue and red are triadic colours as well as green, orange, and violet. On the 12-colour wheel, this means that are 3 colours in between each triadic colour. This colour scheme is ideal if you want to integrate vibrant contrasts into your paintings while also providing balance because they still complement each other according to the rules of the colour wheel. Each colour will stand out individually but also work together cohesively but if you think the colour combination is a bit too overwhelming, you can reduce the saturation by adding a little grey to the colours.

Tetradic colour scheme

A tetradic colour scheme comprises of two pairs of complementary colours. As its name suggests, a tetrad (a group of four) is created on the colour wheel. It’s important to note that all colours in this combination should not be used in equal parts because it can produce an overwhelming effect. Rather, you can opt for one dominant colour and reduce the intensity of the others by using the others sparingly as accent colours so that they create a harmonious and balanced effect. You can follow the 60-30-10 rule meaning that you use your dominant colour fo 60% of the work, your secondary colour for 30%, and the third colour as an accent or 10% of your piece.

Complementary colour scheme

Colours are said to be complementary if they counterbalance one another and create a greyscale colour when combined. These pairs of colours are opposite to each other on the colour wheel. For example, red and green or orange and blue. They’re great in paintings when you want to show colour differientials while making each one pop individually. This is a good technique for capturing the viewer’s attention easily and creating visual brilliance.

Split-complementary colour scheme

A split-complementary color scheme is a variation of the complementary color palette. Instead of two colors, it contains three colors: one primary and two adjacent to its complement. In order to get this type of hue, you have mixed together your chosen primary with the two opposite shades on the wheel, for example, if orange was selected, purple-blue and blue-green will be mixed with it. But keep an eye out because adding too many hues will produce muddied shades that are difficult to work with!

HOW DO YOU COLOUR MIX?

Colour mixing refers to the process of combining two or more colours to produce a new hue. When it comes to the practical aspect of colour mixing, there are some things you should consider. Below, we have provided a few colour mixing recipes and considerations!

1) It’s important to account for colour hues and depth - Mixing primary red cadmium with primary lemon yellow will produce a brighter effect than mixing it with yellow ochre, so it’s important to consider what depth you’re going for. Do you want your new hue to be slightly darker or brighter? Each different pairing will produce a different hue.

2) You should can add light hues to dark ones if you want to gradually change the shade this way in a controlled manner or you can add a small amount of dark pigment to the light one if you want to speed up the process.

3) Mix lighter and what we mean by this is to account for the fact that oil paints and acrylics often end up being slightly darker after drying so you may end up with a slightly darker hue of your ideal colour than you would have achieved on your palette.

4) Adding black can sometimes produce a muddy colour effect when colour mixing. Instead, try using dark blue or brown because this will retain the dynamism and complexity of the colour.

5) A small dab of Titanium White can give your an opaque appearance without changing the colour.

6) Mixing green can be a challenge for artists but here’s a solution. Yes, you can purchase a pre-mixed green but when you mix for yourself, you have more control. Artist John Lovett advises that the most saturated green contains yellow such as Lemon Yellow but no red. If you use Indian yellow, it will become a little less saturated as it contains a small amount of red. The more red pigment you add such as Burnt Sienna, the less saturated and raw the green will become.

All in all, colour theory is essential when it comes to art because it can produce many different effects such as harmony and contrast in your paintings. The colour wheel can allow your viewers to experience emotions that you are specifically trying to convey though colour and you can create realistic, colourfully accurate, and powerful masterpieces just by understanding how colour works.