Color Relationships

Color Relationships

Examining How Color Relationships are Used in Art

This is a color wheel.  The points of the triangle point to the primary colors.  The primary colors are Yellow, Blue, and Red.

This color wheel shows the secondary colors.  Secondary colors are created by mixing two primary colors together.  The secondary colors are Green, Orange and Violet.

This color wheel shows the tertiary colors.  Tertiary colors are created by mixing a primary color with a secondary color.  The tertiary colors are Red-Orange, Orange-Yellow, Yellow-Green, Green-Blue, Blue-Violet, and Violet-Red.

This color wheel shows the warm colors.  Warm colors are those that are viewed as expressing warmth, comfort, excitement and energy.  The warm colors are Red, Red-Orange, Orange, Orange-Yellow, Yellow, and Yellow-Green.

This color wheel shows the cool colors.  Cool colors are those that are viewed as expressing coolness, detachment, stability and calmness.  The cool colors are Red-Violet, Violet, Blue-Violet, Blue, Blue Green and Green.  

Complementary colors are pairs of colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel.  When you mix complementary colors together you can achieve a neutral gray tone.  The following are complementary colors:

Red and Green

Blue and Orange

Yellow and Violet

This is a painting by Pablo Picasso in which Picasso used color relationships to create a successful painting.  Picasso used the complementary colors red and green to create a visually pleasing palette.  Notice how the red-orange figures move toward the viewer and the cool green background recedes, putting the figures in greater prominence.  Many artists use these color techniques to create their works of art.