Exploring Contrasts.
In this exercise I worked with acrylics for ease of drying time. I chose Cadmium red as my middle square, mixed with a tiny amount of ‘mixing white’ to reduce the transparency of the hue. I mixed a variety of colours using cad red, cad yellow and vermillion (1 – 3). I then explored using purple and white with the orange mix (4, 5). My final red was crimson with a small part of white (6). For my complimentary colours I used permanent green light (7) and Phthalo green and white (8).
Unsurprisingly there was lack of contrast between the colours A and B in each case where the colours were similar to one another (1 – 6). The cadmium red tends to look more dull in each of these examples compared with when surrounded by its complementary colour (7 and 8). This is an example of successive contrast: the intensity of the red and the green are seemingly increased by each other saturating the cones in your eye causing an after image of each colour.
In the second part of this I painted squares of permanent green light, cadmium red and white over the neutral grey background. The grey square left in the middle alters in appearance in this sequence. It appears darker when surrounded by the white and lighter (to a similar degree) when surrounded by green and red. The value of the white is extreme and hence other colours look darker as a result. The value of the green and red are fairly similar to one another, and similar to that of the neutral grey so the colour of the grey is less effected. This optical effect is known as simultaneous contrast.
Painting 1: Practice of Painting 