Color Theory, Tone Theory

For archive keeping under color theory, and the meaning of toning it down. Including the teal is a primary color nonsense, as follows: This was a dialog to help a fellow artist.


Part A:Alexus Shyanne I use van goghs sense of tone color theory 6 shades of gray Mixed with primary,, secondary, tertiary colors. For darker tone I pick any on the board right to left, same tone. Interjects interest in the art via alternate color choice. As follows: The following is a discussion with a paint coach about teal green. I included it because it includes the links to van gogh. You will get the idea from the images. : The big new thing in art? Teal is a primary color. Nope. Why as follows: How do I put this. Vincent said to never discuss topics such as this with other artists.


"It seems to me that the painters here have a way of reasoning as follows. They say, you must do this or that — if you don’t do it, or not immediately or exactly, or if you object, the reply is: ‘So you know better than I do, do you?’ Thus immediately, sometimes within 5 minutes, there’s a conflict between you. And the situation is such that neither side can move forwards or backwards. The least odious outcome of this is if one of the two parties has the presence of mind to keep silent and in one way or another quickly slip away through some opening." 1.


However, in need of clarity. I will give it a go. You are dead wrong about the teal green. Let me explain through Van Gogh's vocabulary on color.


Why is this not a primary color? When looked at on a board with the 3 primary colors, red, yellow, and blue. Then add in the secondary and tertiary colors. This is where most artists absolutely fail in understanding color theory. At that point. Under each color to the far right. Insert 3 tone shades of gray per board. This would be 6 tone shades of gray total. With a total of 96 colors on the pallet for the artist to use.


When this teal color green is added to the board as I have? Look at the 6 tone shades under the color. Every color is easily replicable in the blue family. Some actually already exist on the boards. If this color were plugged in wrongly as a primary color, it would produce nothing more then blue / green variances on the tone boards.


Again. As Van Gogh said, All of nature is 3 primary colors, red, blue, yellow and tones of grey. I wish I could upload the tone boards. I will place them on my facebook page at robertcrabtreepaintings It is extremely obvious when a tonal study is done of the color.


Vincent Van Gogh on gray tones and color, "


As regards black in nature, we are of course in complete agreement, as I understand it. Absolute black doesn’t in fact occur.2 Like white, however, it’s present in almost every colour and forms the endless variety of greys — distinct in tone and strength.3 So that in nature one in fact sees nothing but these tones or strengths.

The 3

fundamental colours are red, yellow, blue,

,,

composite

,,

orange, green, purple.

From these are obtained the endless variations of grey by adding black and some white — red-grey, yellow-grey, blue-grey, green-grey, orange-grey, violet-grey.

It’s impossible to say how many different green-greys there are for example — the variation is infinite.

But the whole chemistry of colours is no more complicated than those simple few fundamentals. And a good understanding of them is worth more than 70 different shades of paint — given that more than 70 tones and strengths can be made with the 3 primary colours and white and black.4 The colourist is he who on seeing a colour in nature is able to analyze it coolly and say, for example, that green-grey is yellow with black and almost no blue, &c. In short, knowing how to make up the greys of nature on the palette. 1v:2" 2.





Part B: Alexus Shyanne Tone it down means choose a hue of a darker tone. This may be achieved by adding gray or black. Gray is easier to control. You may also choose a different hue/color of same darker tone.