Art terms ...Color

Knowing art terms can help you enjoy your artsy experiences and increase your comfort level in discussions about art. Here are a few common art terms that deal with color:

Color: what we see because of reflected light. Light contains bands of color; when light hits an object, we see the colored light that reflects off of the object.

Primary colors: red, blue, and yellow, the three colors that mix to form secondary colors.
Red + blue = purple, red + yellow = orange, blue +yellow = green.

Secondary colors: green, orange and purple, the colors that result from mixing the primary colors.

Complementary colors: colors that are directly across from each other on the color wheel. When used next to each other, these colors seem to vibrate, become very bright and "pop" off the canvas. Red and green, orange and blue, purple and yellow are each sets of complementary colors.

Warm colors: are red, orange and yellow tones; colors that often relate to warm things (the sun, light, fire).

Cool colors: are blue, green, and purple tones; colors that often relate to cool things (water, ice, atmosphere).

Pigment: colorful minerals and other materials that are mixed with a liquid substance (called a medium) to make paint.

To learn more about color, click here to download the Fun+Art+Wine Color Worksheet.