The properties of color can be described from diverse points of view.
A particular color can be distinguished by its comparative temperature,
warm cool
or by its difference in value.
light dark
A color can also be described as being
bright dull
All of the above examples can be called RED in hue. A hue is not a specific color such as PERMANENT ROSE. Rather, it is a family of one color. PERMANENT ROSE can be described as a red hue.
Another aspect of color description is tint, tone, and shade. A tint can be warm or cool; a tone can be warm or cool; a shade can be warm or cool. The first question to ask is “What are tints, tones, and shades?”
warm tint cool tint
Tints appear to have white in them. They are pale in value.
There is a wonderful harmony in the sequence of pure color, tint, and white.
It can be found in the Impressionist School of painting.
warm tone cool tone
A tone could be described as a colored gray.
Tones are light-middle and middle value in appearance.
tone with tint tone with pure color
Tones enhance tints and pure colors.
warm shade cool shade
Shades are dark in value. They appear to be almost black, but the color has not completely disappeared. These two visuals were made with Cadmium Orange and Ultramarine Blue. The first one has more orange in the mix: the second one has more blue in the mix.
PETAL GLOW is a floral painting in which tints are used in the petals, tones are used in the greenery, and shade is used in the background. The tones and shades greatly enhance the delicate tints.
IRISLIGHT is a floral in which tints and tones dominate. The muted color of the tones give greater light to the tints of the flower.
ORFORD SPRING is an early spring landscape. The use of tints and tones only give a gentle softness to the scene.
EVENING, ROUTE 104 is a landscape about the end of the day. The tints and tones dominate and the shades act as accents to illustrate the time of day.
Next month, I will look at ways of creating tints, tones, and shades and the where and why of their use.
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