Colour

Artists love to use colour to set the mood of a piece and to draw attention towards important information.

Introduction

We are used to associating colour with meaning: someone whose face is turning green is very unwell, while someone whose face is turning red is either very much in love, or very ready to attack. 

In nature, too, we associate colour with meaning—as the saying goes Red sky at night, shepherd's delight. Red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning.

For artists, colour is an effective way to communicate ideas and emotions in an efficient and recognisable way. 

Hue

If someone is unhappy we can say that they have the blues, while if they are jealous they are green with envy. 

Colours, or hues, have strong emotional connotations, and artists can use these to evoke specific moods in their works.  

Consider the colour wheel below to familiarise yourself with what are considered warm or cool colours. Then, we will look at how specific hues can evoke particular moods in the audience. 

As a general rule, warm colours such as reds, oranges, yellows, and light greens evoke positive emotions, while cool colours such as purples, blues and dark greens are associated with negative emotions. 

More specifically, note how different hues are associated with particular moods and emotions:  

Let's consider an example of how warm and cool colours can evoke specific moods, using Vincent van Gogh's Café Terrace at Night.

Note the contrasting warm and cool hues in the image. In the sky, the cold night is represented by a rich, dark blue, while the street cafe is lit by a warm, golden glow, suggesting safety and comfort. 

Between these two extremes, the surrounding buildings, and the grey cobblestones of the street, are interspersed with both blue and yellow representing an ethereal barrier between the cold outer world, and the warm inner one

Colour theory

Some colours naturally go well together. Others, do not. Depending on the mood they wish to evoke, artists can choose to use or abuse certain colour combinations. 

Let's take another look at the colour wheel:

Note how the colours next to each other blend harmoniously together; however, if an artist puts colours from different parts of the wheel together, this can have a discordant effect on the mood of a piece. 

Let's consider an example of contrasting colours in Edvard Munch's The Scream.

The Scream is one of the most recognisable images of angst and despair. Munch achieves this by using contrasting straight and wavering lines, a ghostly, skeletal subject, and clashing, discordant colours. 

Note how the sky is composed of bright reds and oranges, while the landscape consists of blues and greys. These colours do not sit alongside each other on the colour wheel, and their contrasting nature creates an abruptness that adds to the unsettling nature of the image. 

As an alternative to Munch's unsettling piece, let's consider a more harmonious use of colour in Claude Monet's Water Lilies series. 

Here, Monet evokes a much more relaxing, pleasant mood in the viewer. This is due in part to the subject matter (water lilies on a calm pond), but also to Monet's harmonious use of colour.

The painting is almost entirely composed of greens and yellows, which sit alongside one another on the colour wheel. In the centre of the piece, a patch of purple and blue breaks up the image; however, these colours are still next to the originals on the colour wheel. 

Monet does, however, scatter some pink flowers throughout the green and yellow lilies to create some vivid spots that draw the eye.  

Overall, Monet's choices evoke a soothing, ethereal mood—a far cry from the terror summoned by Munch's Scream.

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Lighting