Chapter 5 Colour Study–Part 5 Colour Grouping and Summing Up

Colour Grouping

For the exercises above I referred to my colour mixing charts shown below  for selecting colours in my image (cool/cool, warm/cool, warm/warm).  As it happens all are from the cool/cool range so all belong to that group.  Then separating into three more groups.  I used the papers coloured with the dilute acrylic paints for Group 1, comprising  pale yellow-orange; yellow-orange adding more vermillion for the deeper hues, then vermillion & cerulean for the deepest hue. Variety in the surfaces was achieved by stacking the papers on top of each other while wet, or sploshing less dilute colour onto different areas.  My draining board left some interesting marks on the paper on the bottom of the stack .  Dilute Brusho used for Groups two and three.  Spraying lemon then turquoise for the pales yellow-green, then gradually adding a touch more turquoise.  Different tones also achieved by adding more water to the paper before spaying.  For added interest I added salt to the layers (Yellow-Green through to dark blue-grey range).  The pale blue-grey areas of group three were the most difficult to achieve – the base is Payne's Grey (slightly less intense than black)  at different level of dilution, then by adding a separate mix of magenta and turquoise for a purple hue to the mix.

All the base colour used are from the cool side of the spectrum, and in my photos below I have ordered them from palest to darkest.

I made six small sample books grouped by technique:  Thai silk tissue sprayed with Brusho. Waxed Thai silk tissue.  Papers sprayed with Brusho, sprinkled with salt.  Papers washed with dilute acrylics.  Painted pages embossed with patterns (some over printed with colour). Samples of the Cocoon strippings silk paper.

Group 1:  Yellow, Orange to Red Violet range	Group 2: Yellow-Green to Blue-Green range	Group 3: Pale Blue-grey to darker blue-grey range
Colour chart 01 cool/cool colour mixes	Colour chart 02 cool/warm colour mixes	Colour chart 03 warm/warm colour mixes

Colour Circle

I have done many colour circles in previous courses, so do not feel I need to complete this exercise.

Colour Exercises

Top row:  Colours ordered by Tonal value Then bottom row:  Having studied the window from image four carefully I ordered the colours in the amount present, starting with the most from left to right:  1) Mid-green, 2) deeper shade of mid green, 3) yellow-orange, 4) orange, 5) very pale red-orange. 6) red-violet. 7) Violet. 8) pale yellow-green. 9) deeper shade yellow-green.   10) blue-grey. Unfortunately the colours have not reproduced well, the background paper is white.

Weaving papers together.  I chose colours that contrasted well with each to highlight the differences.  As a bonus, the other side of each paper also contrasted well.  Unfortunately the colours are not shown as bright as they are in reality.

Coloured strip on a background colour similar to one of the snippets. In this exercise I used a different colour background with snippets of each of the colours from window four.  I only repeated the exercise three times as I was running out of similar coloured papers.  Because the background is the same as one of the blocks this has the effect that none of the colours really stand out from each other.

Papers on contrasting backgrounds I didn't have enough of the exact colours for the final exercises.  the first image shows a selection from my window four papers set on black.  The contrast here is much better than a similar colour. Image two shows a pink background paper with a blue-green painted paper slotted through to provide a strong contrast, image three is the reverse on two. Making Papers Coloured Papers Throughout these exercises I used the coloured papers I made on my messy days.  Although I have already depleted the stock somewhat, I can spend another day making more of them.

Summing Up

I spent about six full days on this part of the course.  This was mostly because I spent some time playing with digital enhancements on the computer to get some suitable colour images, then quite a while making surfaces to work on and quite a few of the techniques needed advance preparation.  I have also spent the time writing up notes on the blog, preparing the photos to go with it and, presenting it in my book. 

The work from my messy days created many different coloured sample areas - far more than the ten I expected to do from window four.  I made a list of techniques and media I could use, but have not made samples from them all – this is something I could pursue further another time. For example, I could have used the fabric paints, these would give different results from that above.  I really enjoyed making the different surfaces to work on, as these provided some lovely textures, especially when two or more colours were layered together. Although I found that It is difficult to achieve the exact colour I expected, serendipity has given me a massive new selection of papers and some fabrics to be used later.

Health & Safety for Colour

Number 1 – Wear rubber gloves when spraying paint on pages! – I don't always do this and when using the Brusho my hands were very stained and took several hours of hard scrubbing to get them presentable again.

Number 2 – Read health & safety information regarding pigment powders, gesso, other surface applications - wear a mask if required, work in a well ventilated room.

Number 3 – Work in an area suitable for messy work - cover surfaces with plastic for easy cleaning.

Number 4 – Work in a well ventilated room when melting wax – have a well padded surface (with for example,newspaper)  to absorb surplus wax – ensure trailing wire from iron is out of the way.

Number 5 – When cutting papers etc, use scalpel with care. Keep sharp point embedded in a cork or similar.