One way to use broken color is to create optical color mixing, which is to put colors side by side, instead of mixing them together. Viewed from a far-ish distance, the colors visually mix. Viewed a bit closer up, the difference in colors visually pop and vibrate, giving the sensation or the impression of light.
Think that vibrating colors are one of those made up arty things? Take a look at this red/green wrapping paper. See how the trees and green are visually jumpy?
The grayscale version appears to have less vibration, and less light.
The technique of broken color goes back as far as the practice of weaving color rich tapestries (1600’s), is mentioned in Michel Chevreul’s “A Colourist’s Guide to Margarine” (1839). It was highly utilized by the Impressionists, and is still popular in painting today.
Alex Katz painted by Chuck Close, Alex II (1989)
Tom Thompson
1877-1017
One of the “Group of Seven” Canadian Painters
Notice too, how the underpainting was orange. You can see the orange peeking through each brush stroke. Imagine if the same painting was on white gesso. Not as good.
Anni Albers
1899-1994
[caption id=”attachment_15184″ align=”aligncenter” width=”650 Detail of weaving by Anni Albers
PS. I was joking about Chevreul’s Colourist’s Guide to Margarine, but only slightly.
Hope Gangloff is an American painter living and working in New York City. Born 1974, she is one year older than me. The picture of her painting in her studio, black overalls and climbing on a ladder, my mother mistook for me in my studio, black overalls, climbing on a ladder. The patterns in these …
Today is the 10th day of our 30 Day Challenge. We are 1/3 done! Sunday is observational drawing day, so I’m sharing an exercise from school, with a twist. Contour Lines “Contour” is the French word for outline, so contour lines are, quite simply, outlines. Contours describe the shape along the edges of a thing. …
Our printmaking instructor Nikki Barber has been printing posters in her basement for protest rallies and marches. “I feel responsible to stand up for my friends who are Black and my friends who are Brown, since I white-pass so easily, but am not white.” Nikki has been active in the social, political, and art in …
Launch your creativity for 2020 with this 30 day Creative Challenge. Connie Pierson How it works January 1-30 we’ll post a daily creative challenge to our website. V.Notes subscribers will receive this post in their inbox every day at 7am. If you want to participate, subscribe to V. notes. Help us grow! Invite your friends to …
Broken Color
Weave
One way to use broken color is to create optical color mixing, which is to put colors side by side, instead of mixing them together. Viewed from a far-ish distance, the colors visually mix. Viewed a bit closer up, the difference in colors visually pop and vibrate, giving the sensation or the impression of light.
Think that vibrating colors are one of those made up arty things? Take a look at this red/green wrapping paper. See how the trees and green are visually jumpy?
The grayscale version appears to have less vibration, and less light.
The technique of broken color goes back as far as the practice of weaving color rich tapestries (1600’s), is mentioned in Michel Chevreul’s “A Colourist’s Guide to Margarine” (1839). It was highly utilized by the Impressionists, and is still popular in painting today.
Alex Katz painted by Chuck Close, Alex II (1989)
Tom Thompson
1877-1017
One of the “Group of Seven” Canadian Painters
Notice too, how the underpainting was orange. You can see the orange peeking through each brush stroke. Imagine if the same painting was on white gesso. Not as good.
Anni Albers
1899-1994
[caption id=”attachment_15184″ align=”aligncenter” width=”650
Detail of weaving by Anni Albers
PS. I was joking about Chevreul’s Colourist’s Guide to Margarine, but only slightly.
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Hope Gangloff
Hope Gangloff is an American painter living and working in New York City. Born 1974, she is one year older than me. The picture of her painting in her studio, black overalls and climbing on a ladder, my mother mistook for me in my studio, black overalls, climbing on a ladder. The patterns in these …
30 SAL Challenge: Cross Contour
Today is the 10th day of our 30 Day Challenge. We are 1/3 done! Sunday is observational drawing day, so I’m sharing an exercise from school, with a twist. Contour Lines “Contour” is the French word for outline, so contour lines are, quite simply, outlines. Contours describe the shape along the edges of a thing. …
Print Arts and Activism
Our printmaking instructor Nikki Barber has been printing posters in her basement for protest rallies and marches. “I feel responsible to stand up for my friends who are Black and my friends who are Brown, since I white-pass so easily, but am not white.” Nikki has been active in the social, political, and art in …
Join us for the #30SAL Challenge
Launch your creativity for 2020 with this 30 day Creative Challenge. Connie Pierson How it works January 1-30 we’ll post a daily creative challenge to our website. V.Notes subscribers will receive this post in their inbox every day at 7am. If you want to participate, subscribe to V. notes. Help us grow! Invite your friends to …