Composition by Arthur Wesley Dow

Author:Arthur Wesley Dow
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780486133645
Publisher: Dover Publications
Published: 2012-07-18T04:00:00+00:00

Note.—These two sketches and one on p. 96 are from a XVIIth century Japanese book

COLOR

XIV.—COLOR THEORY

COLOR, with its infinity of relations, is baffling ; its finer harmonies, like those of music, can be grasped by the appreciations only, not by reasoning or analysis. Color, in art, is a subject not well understood as yet, and there are violent differences of opinion among artists, teachers and critics, as to what constitutes good color-instruction. The most that I can do here is to outline a simple method of study. The usual advice of the academic painter to “ keep trying,” is discouraging to the beginner and increases his confusion ; it is not in accord with good sense either, for the other arts are not attacked through timid and aimless experiment. An artist may say that a certain group of colors is a harmony; the pupil cannot see it, but he takes the master’s word for it. The artist is not teaching successfully unless he points the way to appreciation, however hard or long it may be.

A systematic study of line and tone is very profitable, as we have seen ; I believe that color may be approached in like manner, and I shall attempt now to relate the treatment of the color-element (chapter I) to that of the other two, and to give some results of personal experience.

Those who have but little time for work in color, can spend it best in copying, under guidance, examples of acknowledged excellence, like Japanese prints, Oriental rugs, and reproductions of masterpieces. Contact with these, even looking at them (if the pupil is taught what to look for), will strengthen the powers of color perception. In schools where the art periods are short and few, this may be the only method possible. (See p. 13 and chap. XVI.)

For those who intend to use color in creative work a certain amount of theory is indispensable, as it simplifies the subject and opens up a few definite lines of research. The word “theory ” has become a kind of academic bugbear, yet Leonardo da Vinci said that the painter who works without a theory is like the sailor who goes to sea without a compass. Well-ordered thought is as necessary in art as in any other field. Theory is a help to clear thinking and gives direction and purpose to practice.

Color, however complicated, may be reduced to three simple elements:

HUE,—as yellow, blue-green,

NOTAN (or Value),—as dark red, light red,

INTENSITY (or Bright-to-grayness) —as intense blue, dull blue.

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