In Depth to Color

Danielle J. Harris

What color is the shirt you are wearing?  Why did you pick that color over another one?

What is your favorite color?  Why?

What color must all your accessories like your cell phone or iPod be in?  Why?

Would you wear white after Labor Day or even wear white to another person’s wedding?  Why or why not?

Do the colors of your belt and shoes have to match?  Why or why not?

What a flood of color questions!  How did you answer though?

I answered as such:

Brown shirt and because I didn’t like the green shirt that was in the drawer next to it.

Red!  It makes me smile and reminds me of cinnamon.

Red cell phone because it was the coolest cell phone out at the time, and black iPod only because I couldn’t afford the red or orange one.

Sure.  I never understood why we aren’t suppose to - and oh my, NO!  That’s just rude to do on the bride’s day.

I only have black belts and black boots so that choice is easy!

So, why ask all these questions?  Color influences our daily lives clearly!  We choose certain colors over others to wear and accessorize with.  There are color fauxpas that socially we are just taught and trained not to do.   What makes color so powerful that we follow rules for it though?

We tend to associate certain colors with certain types of people.  We tend to stop and notice certain colors and color combinations above others.  We very well trained and voiced in what pigments we like and do not like.

So, will you take the red or the blue pill?  Why not the purple pill?  Green one?  What would that matter anyways?  Check out Color Matters.  Here you’ll find several essays and theories of how and why color impacts our decisions, our hunger (ever feel more hungry when you see the color red), and more.

Look at the images below.

The left was done by Adan Hernández titled La Bomba completed in 1992.  The right was done by Emma Amos titled Equals also completed in 1992.  Right off the bat, what do you see in the differences of color?  Both images are put in the contemporary art category, however they are depicting two different cultures and two different struggles.  Does the color used reflect the colors that we as a society would associate with each race?  Why and how?  Which image would make you stop longer in a gallery?  Why?

Two cultures, two movements use color vividly and excitedly but very differently.

History in Color

Check out these sites!

Historical Paintings & Cotemporary Artists and Painters

Look at three historical paintings and three contemporary paintings.  Compare the use of color from a historical image to a contemporary image.

         -List the colors in each of the images you viewed.

         -What does the color mean in historical image?  What about the contemporary image?

 -Does one color have the same meaning in each of the paintings?  If not, how did it change?

Uh oh, assignment time!  Now that you’ve had a warm-up exercise, it’s time to get to business!

Here at Artcyclopedia, you’ll find listings to many art movements and links to thousands of artists.  Find two images to compare and contrast the color.  Choose your artists and images from opposite movements such as Early Renaissance and Dada.  In your choice, pay attention to the colors in the images.  Try finding images containing similar colors.  To help prepare you for the writing, go back to the exercise we did before and answer those questions again.  Also, now ask yourself these new questions.

         -In each period, what did these colors stand for?

-Did the use of color in an earlier period mimic the same reason someone used it later?  If not, what is different?   

         -How did the use of color change or stay similar?   

Hands on Color

Construction paper is one of the easiest models of vivid colors out there.  It’s a paper that’s versatile and fun to use!  So hearing that, have you ever thought of carving it?  What??  Carving paper?  Who, what, how?

Assignment time again?  Uh oh!

Welcome to Paper Carving 101!  You will be provided with a variety of colored construction paper.  Using what you have learned with color meanings, symbols, and even your favorite color, choose up to four colors.  Following the process described below, you are to carve your own paper design.  The fun in paper carving is that you can layer the paper according to only reveal certain colors at a time.  What colors will you choose and what colors will you reveal?  Your carving can be a functional piece, such a necklace, or sculptural.

Process

So you’ve chosen your four colors right?  If you are having trouble deciding check out this awesome site Color Tutorial.  This site will provide some useful information on color selection.  Time to cut them up! 

1.  Using a paper cutter, slice the pages into squares either 4 inches by 4 inches or 5 inches by 5 inches.  Figure out the pattern of color you will do.  Will it be alternating colors or just four blocks of color?                  

2.  Next, time for the Elmer’s Glue, wax paper, and foam brush.  Paint a little dab of glue onto your first paper and place it glue down on the wax paper.  Next paint a thin layer of glue on that paper and place another piece of paper onto of it.  Keep repeating until you get your paper block above half an inch no higher than an inch otherwise you may have drying problems.

3. Coat the top piece with a layer of glue as well and then begin to let it dry.  After about two hours, place another piece of wax paper on top of the block, and put a heavy object on top of that.  This will help flatten out any curling that may try to show up.

4. After at least thirty hours, your paper block is ready to carve!  Take a sharp ex-acto knife and begin carving away.  ALWAYS remember to cut away from your body and watch the position of your fingers.  Repeat until you are finished carving!

5.   Once your carving is finished, coat it in another layer of glue.  Once that is dry, spray it with either a matt and shiny finish, and TADA!  Paper carving at it’s finest!

So you’re done?

Nah.

         -How did the piece turn out?

         -Do the colors compliment each other?

-Do the colors look different since they are so close to each other?

Below is an example of a completed carving - they're pretty cute, huh?

Ode to the Family, 2007

Danielle J. Harris

Last updated October 17th, 2008