Feb 27 Program: Color in Painting

Feb 27 Program: Color in Painting

REDLANDS ART ASSOCIATION PROGRAM FEBRUARY 27, 2018

 COLOR IN PAINTING: HISTORY, CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS, SYMBOLISM, AND ARTISTS’ THOUGHTS

By Prof. Linda Kay Zoeckler, M.A., M.L.S.

What is the most exciting, creative, and fun element of painting?  Many artists would answer color, though others would reply line, subject matter, etc. Please join us Tuesday, Feb 22 at 7 pm at the Gallery 215 E. State St, downtown, Redlands to learn the answers to Zoeckler’s questions…

What are the definitions of terms used in discussing color?  What is hue as opposed to value, intensity, tone, tint, and saturation?  How is a color defined and just how many colors exist? What are colors made of, and are today’s colors different from earlier colors?  When did synthetic pigments appear?  What are fugitive colors?  When were cakes of color devised?  When were tubes of color devised?  What is a binder and are there numerous types of binders?  What is the difference between tempera and oil?  When and where did oil painting arise and what were its new capabilities?

How old is the history of color?  Why did the Greeks have no names for blue or green?  Why do rainbows not look the same in paintings from different centuries?  Why do earlier versions of the Bible mention or describe fewer colors and less often than later versions of the Bible?  Why did some cultures forbid the use of certain colors?  What have various colors symbolized throughout history?  Culturally color has been defined differently and its symbols change from one culture to another.  How does color relate to music, sound, or alchemy?

    

How does one study color?  Scientists, painters, and poets, have all studied color and – using different methods — arrived at different answers.  What major color classification systems have been devised and when did they appear?   When and why did the color wheel appear and what is it based upon?  Just how many color wheels are there and are they the only way of representing color classification systems?

What pigments did certain artists use and how did they arrange them on their palettes?  How did they carry them?  What do artists paint boxes and portable easels look like?  How do some artists select color combinations in a painting?  What are the rules of using color and should there be any rules?

     

What do some well-known artists say about color?  Eugene Delacroix famously asserted “Give me mud and I will make the skin of Venus out of it, if you allow me to surround it as I please.”  Art is transformation – in the hands of talent it is mud to miracle.

Now retired, Zoekler taught Art History at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, CA.

See you at the Gallery, Tuesday, Feb 27.  7pm.