Colors are shifty buggers. The way we process visual information causes colors to change in relationship to what they’re next to, giving us a constant source of optical illusions. This makes mixing accurate color rather complicated. Below are a few optical quandaries to illustrate how complicated this “accurate seeing” stuff can be.
“A thing is never seen as it really is.” – Albers
These illusions are excellent illustrations of why color mixing is so danged difficult. The grey bar in the gradient is the same color across. Both the orange bars are the same color, and on the next it looks like one bar is blue and the other is green, but again, they are the same. Below are some more optical illusion reveals.
[nectar_image_comparison image_url=”3565″ image_2_url=”3575[nectar_image_comparison image_url=”3566″ image_2_url=”3576 The “blue” tiles on the left are the same color as the “yellow” tiles on the right. They are both grey. [nectar_image_comparison image_url=”3586″ image_2_url=”3587
The right eye appears to be cyan in the left image, yellow in the middle one, and red in the right one, though in each image the right eye is the same color as the left eye. Color constancy is supposed to be perfect when in each image the right eye appears to be the same color as the bead on the hair.
Color contrast using the same color combinations as the faces above. The small square in each image is the same color as the “eye” in of the face, respectively. The surround in each image is the same color as the “skin” of the face, respectively.
[image_with_animation image_url=”3579″ alignment=”” animation=”None Images from https://www.researchgate.net/figure/228490244_fig1_Fig-1-Colour-illusion-by-colour-constancy-The-right-eye-appears-to-be-cyan-in-the-left These optical tricks are happening all the time, in everything we look at. Color changes according to what it’s next to. This means everywhere there is a color, this is happening in some small or dramatic measure. It’s happening in our subject matter, on our palettes, and on our canvas. I believe this is a big part of why the seemingly simple goal of “applying color where it goes” in a painting is so danged complicated.
The most interesting thing about these puzzles is that once they’re “solved” they still fool the eye. Must be some strong mechanisms in the mind to fight the proof before us. I’m educated and experienced with color theory, but that doesn’t stop my eyes from being fooled. Because of this, I’ve changed my painting strategies from “I’m going to learn to see better” to “I’m going to have a lot of my own tricks to make sure I don’t get fooled by my own paintings.”
You’re reading a V. Note, written by Ruthie V, the director of the Seattle Artist League. The League is an art school for the busy nurse, tech geek, and mom with a long lost art degree. We offer engaging online classes in drawing and painting. Join us! Find your class:https://www.seattleartistleague.com/product-category/d-online-classes/
DRAWING FROM OBSERVATION I like to draw from observation. I like to study what I see, and experiment with how I see it. My goal is not realism, my goal is to find and discover. Every time I look at something, even something I’ve drawn before, I see things I didn’t see before, things I …
Alan Honick contributed a beautiful photograph of his collection of moon snails. His statement described walks on the beach, and how the number of shells found by his friend decreased and eventually ended in the last fifteen years. The shells were beautiful, arranged in the spiral as they grow… or dwindle. The story was simple, …
Before I start talking about this painting, before I analyze it all over the up and down, telling you this thing and that thing about the colors and shapes, take a long moment to enjoy and experience this painting above by Susan Lichtman. I’m about to talk about it in a way that will prevent …
The following is text from my interview of Fran O’Neill, Oct 6, 2020. I asked Fran to share some of the historical artworks she regards as masterworks. She talked about what she sees as the magic of transcriptions. “There’s a whole mystery that is incredible about works from the past, and unlocking some of that …
Color Illusions
Colors are shifty buggers. The way we process visual information causes colors to change in relationship to what they’re next to, giving us a constant source of optical illusions. This makes mixing accurate color rather complicated. Below are a few optical quandaries to illustrate how complicated this “accurate seeing” stuff can be.
These illusions are excellent illustrations of why color mixing is so danged difficult. The grey bar in the gradient is the same color across. Both the orange bars are the same color, and on the next it looks like one bar is blue and the other is green, but again, they are the same. Below are some more optical illusion reveals.
[nectar_image_comparison image_url=”3565″ image_2_url=”3575[nectar_image_comparison image_url=”3566″ image_2_url=”3576 The “blue” tiles on the left are the same color as the “yellow” tiles on the right. They are both grey. [nectar_image_comparison image_url=”3586″ image_2_url=”3587
More Color Illusions
[image_with_animation image_url=”3577″ alignment=”” animation=”None
The right eye appears to be cyan in the left image, yellow in the middle one, and red in the right one, though in each image the right eye is the same color as the left eye. Color constancy is supposed to be perfect when in each image the right eye appears to be the same color as the bead on the hair.
[image_with_animation image_url=”3578″ alignment=”” animation=”None
Color contrast using the same color combinations as the faces above. The small square in each image is the same color as the “eye” in of the face, respectively. The surround in each image is the same color as the “skin” of the face, respectively.
[image_with_animation image_url=”3579″ alignment=”” animation=”None Images from https://www.researchgate.net/figure/228490244_fig1_Fig-1-Colour-illusion-by-colour-constancy-The-right-eye-appears-to-be-cyan-in-the-left These optical tricks are happening all the time, in everything we look at. Color changes according to what it’s next to. This means everywhere there is a color, this is happening in some small or dramatic measure. It’s happening in our subject matter, on our palettes, and on our canvas. I believe this is a big part of why the seemingly simple goal of “applying color where it goes” in a painting is so danged complicated.
The most interesting thing about these puzzles is that once they’re “solved” they still fool the eye. Must be some strong mechanisms in the mind to fight the proof before us. I’m educated and experienced with color theory, but that doesn’t stop my eyes from being fooled. Because of this, I’ve changed my painting strategies from “I’m going to learn to see better” to “I’m going to have a lot of my own tricks to make sure I don’t get fooled by my own paintings.”
You’re reading a V. Note, written by Ruthie V, the director of the Seattle Artist League. The League is an art school for the busy nurse, tech geek, and mom with a long lost art degree. We offer engaging online classes in drawing and painting. Join us! Find your class: https://www.seattleartistleague.com/product-category/d-online-classes/
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