How Color Acts and Reacts

This section briefly discusses how color interacts with other colors. If you know what to expect when painting, you will be able to make color work for you; you won't have to rely on happy accidents and unhappy disasters. All color is affected by surrounding color. The influence of surrounding colors brings up an interesting facet of color interaction: simultaneous contrast.

Simultaneous Contrast

The basic theory of simultaneous contrast is that differing colors placed next to each other will enhance their differences. If you have an orange square and place it next to a red field of color, it will look more yellow. The reverse is also true: that same orange on a field of yellow will look redder, as shown in Figure 8.8.

Figure 8.8: Simultaneous contrast between equally intense colors.

Another example of simultaneous contrast is a color surrounded by a field of gray. If the color is green, the gray will look redder; if the color is red, that same gray will look greener, as shown in Figure 8.9.

Figure 8.9: Simultaneous contrast between intense color and gray.

Color Contrast

Color contrast is simultaneous contrast in action. Often when you are painting, the color you are using will start to do some unusual things. This is generally because of color contrast. This is especially noticeable if you are painting within a gradient, as shown in Figure 8.10. The middle rectangle is one color, but because of the gradient that it is painted into, its visual look changes dramatically.

Figure 8.10: The figure represents what could happen if you are not careful choosing your colors. The middle rectangle is one color but because of the colors that it is painted in to, its visual look changes dramatically.