Color is a
phenomenon of perception…. Colors are actually wavelengths of light.
Light is the source
of all color.
The colors that we
see when light strikes an object are the result of certain wavelengths
(individual colors) being absorbed by the object while other wavelengths are
being reflected back to us. Those
reflected back to us are the colors that we see.
A hue is a color in
its purest form, a color plus white is a tint, a color plus gray is a tone, and
a color plus black is a shade.
Just as white is
considered the opposite of black, red is the opposite of green.
When used within a
work of art, warm colors seem to advance toward the viewer, and cool colors
appear to recede into the distance.
To begin
understanding how light affects an object, think of it as though it is made up
of three basic parts: lights, local
color, and shadows.
The eye processes
yellow first.
Violet is the most
difficult color for the eye to pick up, because it has the shortest wavelength
in the light spectrum.
During Roman times,
it took 4 million crushed mollusk shells to produce one pound of purple
pigment.
