COLOR NOTES

Things to know about color theory to help you paint better

PRIMARY COLORS: NOTHING CAN BE
MIXED TOGETHER TO MAKE THEM
SECONDARY COLORS: CREATED BY MIXING
2 PRIMARY COLORS TOGETHER,

THEY ARE GREEN

VIOLET AND ORANGE.
INTERMEDIATE COLORS: COLORS MADE BY
MIXING A PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
COLOR TOGETHER

THEY ARE NAMED BY USING

PRIMARY COLOR 1ST.
HUE: NAME OF A
COLOR
Such as blue, green, brown…
VALUE: THE LIGHTNESS OR DARKNESS OF A COLOR
MONOCHROMATIC
Monochromatic: one color
many shades
Analogous: colors that are next to each
other on the color wheel and are neighbors
COMPLIMENTARY COLORS: COLORS THAT ARE
OPPOSITE ON THE COLOR WHEEL

-WHEN MIXED THEY MAKE A TYPE OF BROWN

Red & Green Blue & Orange Yellow & Violet
 NEUTRAL COLORS
• Black: the total subtraction of color of light
• Used to make shades
• White: the total addition of all colors of light
• Used to make tints
• Gray: color that is a blend of black and white
• Brown: made by mixing the primary colors or
complimentary colors
 WHAT COOL AND WARM COLORS
DO IN A PAINTING?
Warm colors: make Cool colors: make
things advance or look things recede or look
closer. These colors are farther away. These
red, yellow and colors are blue, green
orange and violet.
UNDERPAINTING IS THE FIRST LAYER OF
PAINT ON THE CANVAS. IT IS THE BASE
FOR THE FUTURE LAYERS
COLOR : IS THE STIMULATION OF
THE EYE BY LIGHT
 BRUSH CARE & WHAT BRUSHES TO USE
For more detail and
For background Always clean brushes finer lines use a stiffer
washes you need soft in cool water so the brush or a smaller
brisltes brushes bristles won’t shed brush
 PAINTING I CAN STATEMENTS
• I can create a painting that uses foreground, middle ground
and background.
• I can apply proper brush strokes.
• I can choose appropriate style and size of brush for the task
at hand.
• I can create underpainting / layers / glazing and build up a
surface to create depth
• I can create a painting that has good craftsmanship and
detail
 Always mix the dark color COLOR THEORY WORKSHEET
into the light color. HOW TO GET STARTED
Read and Label the page before painting…
Paint each color
everywhere that it goes on
Wash your brush out before painting…
the worksheet
Start with 2 Primary colors in your pallet (R & Y)
-Paint them everywhere they go on the sheet
1. Mix 1 brush of dark Primary into light Primary (Y + R)
(THIS COLOR IS YELLOW-ORANGE)

2. Mix 2 brushes of dark Primary into Intermediate

(YO + R) (THIS COLOR IS ORANGE)

3. Mix 3 brushes of dark Primary into Secondary

(O + R) (THIS COLOR IS RED-ORANGE)