Saturday, April 25, 2015

The theory of relativity in the color spectrum

It's still purple month over at so scrappy but I am working on my guild challenge piece.
It expresses a poem I wrote about my connection with trees... so I thought I'd discuss the
Theory of Relativity. It applies to artists using color, how one color relates to another, can change them, how the blending of three colors is so much more satisfying than using one. Right?

In the picture above, which is mother nature playing with her paintbrush, how many shades of purple are there? Or is it blue? Maybe pink?

how about this flox??
Lavender? Purple? Blue??

The first picture would probably be purple til you saw the next one, and is it purple or pink?

Whatever it is, it really stands out in the Spring against the brown and green ground cover.

That's a lesson for quilting and painting as well.



Many shades of purple here and note how they look against the gray rocks.
Also make note of the splash of fuchia in the foreground.
Adding a splash of unexpected color into artwork makes it more exciting doesn't it?
I took this picture for the comparison of blue and deep purple. The white and browns set it off as do the greens. How would you change the composition in your artwork? The color balance? Would you remove the white? The white gives you the third value, light light, the blue-purple is medium, the dark purple the dark dark.
These are violets. Are they violet colored? They are easily missed in a yard, and in fact the blossoms are very short lived but the leaves stay all summer like weeds. Violets sound very romantic but they are actually weed like most of the time. Is life all in how you look at it??


22 comments:

Scrappy quilter said...

Such pretty flowers.

Raewyn said...

Interesting discussion - colours flip flop so much dependng where and how they are used.

Glen QuiltSwissy said...

A great discussion! When I was a teenager, I used to get those violets and make a sugar solution to dip them in. I would then feed them to my family and friends. They tasted like those violet candies you can find sometimes.

That lasted until the day I fed my mother some dog treats that smelled like chocolate. She never trusted me after that.

Ann said...

How interesting to see how proximity to other colors changes the first color. We have violets (and some small bulbs) between the flagstones in Houston. I love seeing the blooms every spring. Both are short-lived but the greenery lasts all summer.

Quiltdivajulie said...

Great post!

Teresa Duryea Wong said...

Yes, color is all relative, isn't it. And life is how you look at it - a weed to one person is a treasure to another. Great post and photos!

Jasmine said...

Great photos to illustrate your point. I once bought a dress that looked purple next to something burgundy, but looked burgundy next to something purple. Luckily, I was still able to find fabric to match it for the alterations it needed. :)

Kaja said...

Great discussion and I love the photos you use to make your points. Colour is relative and that's one of the best things about it - the different possibilities are so exciting.

The Joyful Quilter said...

It's all relative! I frequently find myself asking those same color questions when choosing fabrics for my monthly RSC projects. My solution has been to include the questionable colors in each category to see how they play with the other selections. They either add a spark, fit in, or totally clash... It's all good because it will add interest to my quilts.

Lisa said...

just the sight of ANY flowers at this time of the year is beauty!

sonja said...

juxtaposition! it is all relative!!And why i like to have a pile of fabric out on the big work table when i start to work in free flowing way. colors do look different when next to a changing selection. Juxtaposition!

Cathy said...

Thanks for the lesson. I'm color challenged so almost always take my cues for quilt colors from my flower gardens.

quiltedfabricart said...

Great post and a lesson to remember about the colors for sure. We all lead such busy lives and we look but do not see. This is a good reminder to walk slower and not only stop to smell the roses but look and see how Mother Nature has painted them. And as for weeds - I love some of them - nothing better than fresh dill weed or arugula which really is a weed.

Mystic Quilter said...

A post with "food for thought" or in this case "flowers for thought". Colour in nature is amazing and we can learn lessons here!

Sheila said...

Beautiful flowers. Most excellent post. I enjoyed every word.

AlidaP said...

Interesting discussion! thanks for sharing!!

Joanne said...

Isn't Mother Nature wonderful with all her colours!
Great lesson and photo's LeeAnna!
So many ways to change the impact with garden design!
Take care,
Joanne

Pam @Threading My Way said...

Oh, I love violets - too hot here for them to be a weed. Very interesting points about colour and how our perceptions change depending on the surrounding colours.

andrea @ tideline quilts said...

What a great discussion on colour! And so relevant...I love how Nature can combine virtually any colour variations, and make them look perfect! I will be looking at the fabrics for my next project a bit differently thanks to your post...

Lisa J. said...

Thanks for sharing this. This is really useful information for those of us that don't have an art background. Now if I can only remember this going into the future.

The Colorful Fabriholic said...

As a color professional for many years, I know it's so true that one color influences how you perceive its neighbor. Your photos are lovely, and perfectly illustrate how using many shades/hues/tones in the same color family add interest and variety to the palette. The complementary yellow-greens just make the purples pop.

Esther Aliu said...

What an interesting post, the older I get the more I notice how many people relate colour to their own impression rather than what they are actually seeing. I'm guilty of this too and your photos really pressed your point beautifully.

One of my DDs was a colour analyst for a few years and she is always talking about relativity in colour fields and how most people call 'colours' by their 'wrong' names. It's very interesting.