I've spoken about how people are always being taught the colour wheel but never how to actually use it to create harmonious colour combinations. I have blogged about complementaries (a lot because they are a revelation); a monochromatic scheme (very safe) primary colours (dangerous) and now analagous colours. This is 'colours next to each other' on the colour wheel. Just three colours is almost as safe as a monochromatic or single colour scheme. Four colours starts to get more … [Read more...]
Red Yellow and Blue
Primary colours are most used in national flags! They are as different from one another as possible and so its better not to use them as a colour combination unless you know how to make them work well. They were very popular and successfully used in De Stijl by Mondrian: Composition with Yellow, Blue and Red 1937-42, copyright courtesy Tate Gallery. He has made this work by using small amounts of the primary colours offset against the most powerful neutrals - white and black. I used the three … [Read more...]
My take on colour combinations
This basic colour wheel works quite well. But people are always being given a colour wheel and then not shown how to use it other than 'blue plus yellow = green' (or not, depending on what you read!) And I won't bore you after today with too much theory! So if it interests you hang on to this one-off. How I teach colour: Start with using complementaries to see how to identify the make-up of subtle colours. And to get excited about colour mixing! then in any order.... Move onto various … [Read more...]