Learning About Color @ the Irvine Museum

THE COLOR WHEEL

How many colors can you name? Orange, turquoise, green, purple, chartreuse, all of these colors and many more make up the "color wheel" that artists use to organize colors. At the center of the color wheel, you will find the three primary colors: red, blue and yellow. While all other colors can be made by mixing two or more colors, red, blue and yellow cannot be made by mixing other colors. That is why they are called the primary colors and they are the basis for making all other colors.

Secondary Colors are made by mixing any two of the primary colors. Create your own color wheel using crayons or pencils and follow along to learn about Color!

The secondary colors are made by mixing any two of the primary colors...
What do color do you get if you mix blue and red?		What do you get when you mix blue and yellow?

What do you get when you mix red and yellow?

You Get Orange!

The secondary colors are the complementary or opposite colors of the primary colors.

When you mix any two of the primary, you make the complementary or opposite of the third color that was not mixed.

Therefore, by mixing blue and yellow, you get green, which is the opposite of red, the third primary color that was not mixed.

The same thing happens when you mix red and yellow, the new color, orange, is the opposite of blue.

Red and Green are Complementary ~ Yellow and Purple are Complementary ~ Blue and Orange are Complementary

What's your favorite complementary color?

Putting the opposite, or complementary colors next to each other makes both colors look very bright. When you make complementary pairs, by putting red next to green, or blue next to orange, or purple next to yellow, each of those colors look as strong as possible because it is right next to its opposite color. Impressionist artists used complementary pairs to make their paintings look brighter and more colorful, and create a convincing effect of natural sunlight in their landscapes.