COLOR THEORY 101 - How to use color well - Tutorial #1

COLOR...We are surrounded by it every minute of every day. 

via Country Living

We know which colors make us happy...and which do not. 

We know which colors we're wearing when someone tells us, "You look great in that!"

And we know the outfits we'd LIKE to love, but we don't feel good in them.

via bodieandfou.com

Color evokes emotional and physical responses. We associate it with people, memories, places...

Though we know what we love when we see it...many of us have trouble knowing how to use color properly in certain applications.

Via Pinterest - Kissing Under Spiderwebs

For example, my very favorite color in the world is magenta, or red violet. 

I could eat that color with a spoon. Every flower I want to choose is some shade of magenta.

Image found on Pinterest from Tumblr - no source found.
Please contact me to add credit for this photo.

But, I will not paint the outside of my home magenta. Or even a small room. And I probably won't buy a winter coat in that color. 

On the other hand, a front door...a scarf...a throw...might be just perfect in magenta. 

via Revisionary Life

Color can be soothing or exciting!

via ThatBohemianGirl

How do we use color successfully in our everyday lives? 

How can we wear our favorite colors without looking like we just escaped from prison or the circus has come to town?

via Shear Illusions

How can we use them in our homes without getting nasty letters from the neighborhood association?

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Please contact me to add credit for this photo.

You CAN use color intentionally and successfully. Color does not have to be intimidating. Within a short time, you can be a color maven!

via  pinterest from danheller.com

This is the first in a series of posts in which I will share information about color.* 

In subsequent posts, we will explore color in greater detail; each post will build upon the information learned in the last post. 

You will gain a better understanding of color and ways you can 

achieve the results you desire using the colors you prefer!

Color is NOT rocket science, but there is some very interesting physics involved.

The best way to begin is to assume you have no knowledge of color. (Please bear with me if you already know this. Consider it a refresher course!)

First things first: 

COLOR CANNOT EXIST WITHOUT LIGHT.

Light contains all color - a full spectrum.

Dictionary.com defines spectrum as: an array of entities, as light waves or particles, ordered in accordance with the magnitudes of a common physical property, as wavelength or mass: often the band of colors produced when sunlight is passed through a prism, comprising red, orange, yellow,green, blue, indigo, and violet.

More simply, a spectrum is all visible colors in a specific order.

You have seen a spectrum in a rainbow...

...and maybe you remember with a prism back in junior high school science class...

image via tutorvista.com

There is a handy acronym to help remember the visible spectrum order:

Roy G. Biv 

Red

Orange

Yellow

Green

Blue

Indigo (blue violet)

Violet

There are also invisible colors in a spectrum - infra-red, which is ordered before red, 

and ultra-violet, which is ordered after violet in the spectrum.

Of the Roy G. Biv colors, there are three PRIMARY COLORS; Red, Yellow and Blue.

Primary colors are the basic colors from which all other colors may be mixed. 

We cannot mix any colors to get red, yellow or blue. They are our starting-point colors.

Using light, red, yellow and blue can combine to make all the spectrum. 

(NOTE: This can be a bit difficult with paint pigments!)

This color wheel illustrates the order of the spectrum:

 via dreamhomedecorating.com

Notice the placement and relationships between the primary colors to each other on the color wheel. They form a triangle. They are equidistant to each other. 

If red, yellow and blue are primary colors, then mixing them together in equal amounts will theoretically give us the secondary colors; orange, green and violet. The secondary colors are also equidistant to each other.

If we mix equal amounts of the secondary colors, we get even more colors - the tertiary colors. 

The tertiary colors include red orange, yellow orange, yellow green, blue green, blue violet, and red violet

Red

Red Orange

Orange

Yellow Orange

Yellow

Yellow Green

Green

Blue Green

Blue

Blue Violet

Violet

Red Violet

via dreamhomedecorating.com

The colors on the color wheels above are also called pure colors, or saturated colors. 

(SIDE NOTE: Most of the colors we use in everyday life are not pure, saturated colors, but grayed down, darkened or lightened versions of them.)

In addition to the primary, secondary and tertiary colors, the color wheel is divided into two equal segments; warm colors and cool colors.

Warm colors: 

All the colors that fall between red and yellow

via Holly Dyment Design

Cool colors:

All the colors that fall between green and violet

via Pinterest bouldaslove.tumblr.com

NOTE: Red-violet and yellow-green can be perceived as either warm or cool.

If you have not yet noticed...

color is very orderly and balanced!

If you love order, balance, and everything in its place, this tutorial has probably been very easy for you to understand. If you're a bit more serendipitous, don't worry. Color has all kinds of fun surprises, and you will learn to use it intentionally in your designs. Though there is order, there is plenty of room for creativity, fun, and the unexpected. 

Knowing "the rules" will help you create harmony in your color schemes. 

Knowing when to break the rules can result in very dramatic results!

Next time, we will discuss:

• Complementary colors
• Analogous colors
• Color terminology

We will define some basic "buzz words" to help us understand color better.

*Note: This is an updated revision of a series of posts I did way back when...probably 12 people read them. 

Words for the Day:

John 1:5
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

Genesis 9:16
Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.

Possibly Linking With:
Sunday
http://thoughtsfromalice.blogspot.com/	Sundays at Home
http://my1929charmerblog.com/	Sunday’s Best
http://www.niftythriftythings.com/	Nifty Thrifty Sunday
Monday
http://modvintagelife.blogspot.com	Mod Mix Monday
http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com	Make it Pretty Monday
http://www.dwellings-theheartofyourhome.com/	Amaze Me Monday
http://distresseddonnadownhome.blogspot.com	Make it Monday
Tuesday
http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/	Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
http://www.cedarhill-ranch.com/	The Scoop
Wednesday
http://savvysouthernstyle.net/	Wow Us Wednesday
http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/	What’s it Wednesday
http://knickoftime.net/	Vintage Inspiration Party
http://bec4-beyondthepicketfence.blogspot.com/	Vintage Inspiration Party
http://mysalvagedtreasures.blogspot.com/	Vintage Inspiration Party
http://lavendergardencottage.blogspot.com	Cottage Style Party
http://www.pneumaticaddict.com/	Outside the Box Link Party
Thursday
http://bec4-beyondthepicketfence.blogspot.com/	Under $100 Link Party
http://frommyfrontporchtoyours.blogspot.com/	Treasure Hunt Thursday
http://www.jannolson.blogspot.com/	Share Your Cup Thursday
Friday
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/	Feathered Nest Friday
http://www.missmustardseed.blogspot.com/	Furniture Feature Friday
http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/	Frugal Friday
http://www.thecottagemarket.com/	Junkin’ Joe
http://melissasantiques.blogspot.com/	Thrifty Things Friday
Saturday
http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/	Party Junk