Chromatic circle . The chromatic circle is the graphic representation on a circle with the six colors reflected in the decomposition of the visible light of the solar spectrum.
Summary
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- 1 Principle
- 2 Colors
- 3 Harmony
- 4 Expressive color associations
- 5 Sources
Beginning
The principles of the chromatic circle are based on the primary colors red, blue and yellow, which, when applied in small details, are very successful and can revitalize and brighten up a too sober space. From red, blue and yellow, secondary and tertiary colors emerge, adding up to a total of 12 colors whose combination of tones and shades is unlimited. Use the color wheel as a base to create innovative combinations. This will be very useful to choose and contrast the different color ranges. In the chromatic circle we can see how the area, from yellow to red, constitutes the group of colors called warm and from green to violet they are cold, associated with the temperature of the colors, resource also used by artists. By mixing the colors with their immediate neighbor on the chromatic circle, we will obtain the analogous colors according to those used in their mix: red – orange, red – purple, blue – purple, blue-green, yellow-green. Each of these colors is placed on either side of the primary whose name appears first in the compound name.
Colors
Six colors reflected in the decomposition of visible light in the solar spectrum, in the following order: Purple , Red , Yellow , Green , Sian Blue and Dark Blue . Therefore, in principle we would have three primary colors Purple, yellow and Sian blue and three secondary colors, red, green and dark blue, completing it with another six resulting from the mixtures of the primaries with the closest secondary ones, with which the chromatic circle it would be made up of twelve colors: three primary (P), three secondary (S) and six tertiary (T).
Tertiary colors
However, the watercolor colors do not exactly coincide with the light colors, so each artist adapts his chromatic circle. We then propose the following:
Chromatic circle
Finally, according to their tone, the 12 colors of the chromatic circle are classified as warm and cold, whose definition is exclusively related to visual perception and human experience.
Harmony
Usually there is a harmony in visual works, which can be infinite and it is the one that organizes all the chromatic expression. Some types of harmonies:
Achromatic harmony: it is one that only uses tonal values, without color.
Monochromatic harmony: it is one that is made with a single color in all its possibilities.
Complementary harmony: it is one that fundamentally combines two diametrically opposed or complementary colors in the chromatic circle.
Analogous harmony: it is one that, starting from a primary color, uses all the colors that are towards one side or the other of the chromatic circle until the next primary, that is, it uses analogous colors.
Warm and cold harmonies: are those in which warm or cold colors predominate.
In practice these harmonies are almost never produced in a pure way, they appear combined and respond to expressive interests. The expressiveness of color is the basic function of this element. Chromatic stimuli have a strong power of association with previously lived experiences, on the one hand, and on the other hand the historical character of perception acts. Traditionally, colors have been assigned certain evocative properties associated with certain sensations or moods. The force of man’s perceptual experience has given colors such a great importance that it practically makes them powerful aids in visual communication , both in everyday life and in life.artistic visual language . We must clarify that these connotations applied to colors have, of course, a relative value, which is constantly modified and which varies for each era and society. Almost all primitive cultures assign representative cosmogonic values to colors , in accordance with their myths and beliefs. In religions, colors are also a function of certain messages.
Expressive color associations
Red: it is associated with vital, joyful, dynamic things; it also causes feelings of strength, heat. It is the color of popular causes.
Orange : it is a color that provokes action, it is associated with passion, excitement, it is also a warm color.
Yellow: it is the color of the sun and light, it is associated with experiences of work, life and strength, it also gives us the feeling of joy and optimism.
green – is linked to nature, recalls vegetation, humidity, growth, and associated with rational thoughts.
Blue : due to its association with the color of our sky and our sea, it is linked to the ideas of rest, serenity, calm; it is a static, peaceful color.
Violet – is associated with ideas of grief, sadness, loneliness, coldness and silence.
In general , light , warm , intense colors are used to give a feeling of joy, life, optimism. To express sadness, mysteries and pain, dark, cold and neutral colors are used. This is certainly not an inflexible formula but rather each artist paints in a different way, according to the psychological aspects that determine their character, as well as the historical, social and cultural conditioning.
