Color

Without color. Being gray, white or black, neutral.

Additive color mixture is a term applied to combining colors of light - such as combining a red beam of light with a blue beam of light.  If beams of yellow, red and blue light are combined, the result is white light.  

Broken color was incorporated into the Impressionists’ paintings during the 19th century in French painting.  The color was painted on a canvas using small short strokes (versus the normal method of carefully blending the tones and colors together.  The result was a “patchwork” appearance in which the strokes gave the visual effect of light falling over the planes and forms of objects and figures.  Today broken color continues to be used popularly in paintings.

Unlike the “Rembrandt effect” that some painters seek to create for harmony’s sake that had once been developed from time, dirt, and varnish on old master works – a preferred if not true color harmony in an art piece is one that reflects how that singular source of sunshine can wash over an outdoor scene of whatever colors – and yet allow for a united tone of reflected light and values. Achieving color harmony can give that assuring sense that all parts of a painting are from the same day – and moment. 

Color perception is the color that we see when we view an object or scene.  Color perception can be influenced by a number of factors, such as color blindness, the inability to observe without preconceived notions, and the quality of light that one is seeing an object/scene in.  There are many theories about color perception.  There even exists a school in California dedicated solely to the art of seeing color!  When one simply “observes” something without the input of any preconceived notions, a better color perception occurs.  Becoming aware of color and trying to perceive color accurately is a skill that takes much time and effort to acquire.  Painters especially practice the art of perceiving color in order to paint objects as they are. 

Color symbolism refers to the meaning associated with that of a certain color.  Each color may have several different color symbolisms attached to it depending on the context and culture it is used in.  (For example, white in some cultures symbolizes purity.  In other cultures, it symbolizes death.)  There are a number of influential factors that affect the symbolism of a color.  These influences include the following:
1. The different shades of a color (like red and pink).

2. The object or shape the color is contained within.

3. The position and amount of the color in an area.

4. The color combination used (such as red, white and blue, or red and green).

When color is used in a large region or shape, it can have a strong impact in its symbolism. Moreover, when a color is used along with a certain shape – such as a star, triangle, or hexagon – the symbolism of the color becomes more complex.  

One example of the use of color symbolism is the common use of the color black to symbolize one is in a state of mourning.  
 

The color of something without the affect of any color created from shadowing or exposure to various lighting.  Local color is the true color of something.  For instance, a rose may appear to be the color of violet in the shade, but its true color (local color) may be red.

The glow or brightness in a piece of artwork. Luminosity in a painting refers to the created light which can vary in gradation, and other ways (i.e. reflection, and/or amount of diffraction & intensity). 

Pigment held in suspension within a liquid.

The amount of brightness of a hue; the amount of purity of a hue. Chroma. Intensity.