The Reality of Color
featuring Matt Smith
Matt Smith likes to reinforce to his students that he does not see himself as a colorist, but more of a naturalist in the way he uses color. He stays fairly true to what is in front of him. When you look at a great colorist like the late James Reynolds, he defied natural light and atmospheric conditions. He introduced color relationships that were so beautiful and supportive of one another, but it was essentially something Reynolds made up. The truth about color among the four basic fundamentals is that color is the least important from a structural standpoint. This might shock many people because color is such an emotional and beautiful thing to the human brain and eye. But the fact is, if you eliminate color from a painting, you can still have a masterpiece. There are many great paintings done in black and white by the late Carl Rungius, William Herbert Dunton, and many others are marvelous.
If you eliminate drawing, proper or accurate value relationships, or design: you’re done. No amount of good color can make up for those concepts. At the same time, color is our most emotional and personal fundamental. We all respond to color differently. Some of us might prefer more grey over saturation, or warm versus cool. It is still essential to understand color relationships. Such as: how compliments support one another, how colors can neutralize one another, and how temperature shifts can support or neutralize one another. These are all helpful things to understand.
Pro-tip: Matt likes to set up his palette as follows: A warm and cool of each primary, along with a couple of modifiers. This helps Matt think in terms of light and shadow and foreground and background. Matt recommends getting out in life to paint from direct observation so you can see the color relationships. Practicing color relationships can help you see how far you can push or pull back color, so your paintings thrive.
Again, color is one of the most beautiful of the foundational principles, but it is also the one you can eliminate. Acknowledging this can be a process. Color is the most emotional but the least important in relation to the other fundamentals.
Want to learn more from Matt Smith in the flexibility of your own home? Click below to find out how!
To learn more on the reality of color, listen to Gabor and Matt on the Paint and Clay Podcast.