My textile adventure: Part two: Project 3

Colour Moods and Themes:

Project 3 has so far covered looking at colour and recording it objectively.

Stage 4 is about having an intuitive response to colour. What are my likes and dislikes, what is my personal colour 'feel'?

The introduction to this stage covers the moods and feelings associated with colour.

Red can be seen as fiery, active, warm and passionate - it is associated with revolutions

Blue can be seen as passive, cool and introverted - it is a spiritual colour

Yellow is light, bright and full of sunshine - associated with knowledge and understanding.

We know when we walk into a room whether we feel comfortable, the colours, the decor makes us feel that way.

Hospitals are always decorated in calm colours.

School rooms are decorated with interesting and stimulating colours, posters and artwork.

Before I began the first exercise I looked up the following link

https://www.artskills.com/poster-help/poster-design-basics/color/color-as-feelings.html

Although this link is aimed at schools and poster making, it really gives good advice on everything you need to know about colour, there's also a downloadable pdf on 'poster basics'.

They cover topics such as: Why you would use different colours for a poster depending on what message you wished to convey.

This must also apply to artwork..... you wouldn't want a sad picture to be depicted using happy, warm colours, it would confuse the viewer.

The ArtSkills website states:

"Colors make us feel a certain way. Think about the feeling, flavor, or emotion you would like your poster to convey."

They ask us to "Remember that colours can inspire people"

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Exercise 1:

We are asked to use three pairs of opposite words and try to find colours which express these pairs of opposite feelings.

My pairs of words are: Happy / Sad ---- Angry / Calm ---- Warm / Cold

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I thought about these words and wrote down associations with the pairs of words.

From these ideas I created samples.

I gathered my materials about me: Gloss medium, semi-moist watercolours, Brusho, Brilliant waterbased dyes, oil pastels and my favourite watercolour brushes.

Some of the materials I used

Pair 1: Happy / Sad:

Happy: Bouncy, curvy, warm colours, the colour yellow.

The colour yellow: joy, happiness, optimistic, idealistic, imaginative, hope, sunshine.

With these ideas for colour and mark making I created the following samples:

Happy 1: A bright, colourful, cheerful sample, made using water based dyes washed over oil pastel.

The marks are bouncy and curvy, the yellow has a warm tone - the colour of sunshine.

Happy 1: watercolour and oil pastel resist

Happy 2: A bright and colourful and warm sample made using the same techniques as 'happy 1'.

The marks are bouncy and curvy, but it is not as vibrant as the first sample. The green made more impact.

Happy 2: watercolour and oil pastel resist

Happy 3: I originally intended to create a sense of conflict with the use of complementary colours, so this one accidentally became part of the 'happy' samples - I like the way the colours bounce.

The red and green are bright and colourful, they are 'Christmas colours'.

Happy 3: oil pastel resist and watercolour wash

Happy 4: This sample also wasn't originally intended to be used as a 'happy' sample, it was meant to be 'calm'.

The colours flowed gently from the yellow through to the blue, but, all the colours are bright and joyous - too bright to be used within the calm examples. Just right for the happy section.

Happy 4: Watercolour dyes

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I moved on to look at the opposite of happy:

Sad: Still, straight, cool colours, the colours blue and black.

The colour blue: cold, depression.

The colour black: unhappiness, sadness, mourning, death.

With these ideas for colour and mark making I created the following samples:

Sad 1: A cold, depressing sample, made using water based dyes.

The blue around the outside 'sinks' into the central black colour.

The colours are dark and sombre.

Sad 1: Watercolour dye

Sad 2: The second sample was similar to the first with the central dark square created using oil pastel.

I decided to use oil pastel because it would be very dark - but this sample did not work as well as the first.

The black in the first sample 'sank' into the background; the black in this sample is raised on the surface.

Sad 2: oil pastel resist with watercolour dye

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Pair 2: Angry / Calm

Angry: Sharp, hard, fast, using complementary colours which would be unsettled and jarring; the colour red.

The colour red: Aggression, danger, fire, blood.

With these ideas for colour and mark making I created the following samples:

Angry 1: Angry red colours scratched into with angry marks - like a sore.

The paper was wet and the red and orange Brusho powder was sprinkled on, once the paint dispersed, scratches were made in the wet surface.

Angry 1: Brusho with scratches drawn into the wet surface

Angry 2: This sample was created using angry marks with black oil pastel and a watercolour wash over the top in a dark colour.

I felt the first sample worked better, the colour was more red and more angry in sample 1.

Angry 2: Black oil pastel resist, red & black watercolour dye

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I moved on to look at the opposite of angry:

Calm: Smooth, soft, slow, using harmonious colours; the colour blue

The colour blue: peace, tranquility, calm, stability, harmony.

With these ideas for colour and mark making I created the following samples:

Calm 1: Soft, smooth colours in oil pastel, with a soft, smooth watercolour wash over the top.

The sample has calm, clear colours, nothing disturbs the eye.

Calm 1: blue oil pastel resist, watercolour dye wash

Calm 2: Water was added gradually to dilute the blue watercolour wash.

The effect is peaceful and tranquil.

Calm 2: Dilute watercolour wash

Calm 3:This sample was more interesting than the first two, the blue dried in different stages, with different depths of colour.

The grey oil pastel did not disturb the image but broke the image up in a 'calm' way.

The use of a harmonious range of colours added to the calm feel of the sample.

Calm 3: grey oil pastel resist, blue watercolour

Calm 4: I liked this calm sample the most.

The colours are softer, you feel peaceful and calm when you look at it.

The white oil pastel resist adds marks which enhance the look of the example.

Calm 4: White oil pastel resist with watercolour wash

Calm 5: I like this sample, but feel the softer colours and straight marks of Calm 4 worked better.

The colours are too bright, the marks too lively when comparing the two examples.

Calm 5: white oil pastel resist with watercolour wash

Calm 6: The soft, calm colours were added to wet watercolour paper and allowed to slowly bleed across the paper.

The finished example started to resemble a hazy landscape.

The lines that emerged and the colours used have a very peaceful, tranquil feel to them.

Calm 6: Wet watercolour paper with watercolour wash

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Pair 3: Warm / Cold

Warm: Soft, fuzzy slow. Hot and moving: warm colours, the colour orange.

The colour Orange: Energy, warmth and enthusiasm

With these ideas for colour and mark making I created the following samples:

Warm 1: This sample became a flower by accident. A symbol of summer and warmth.

It uses warm colours radiating from the centre.

Warm 1: waterbased dyes

Warm 2: Using the same warm colours as the first sample, I added flame like marks with oil pastel.

I liked this sample, but don't feel that it creates a feeling of warm as well as the previous one, maybe there could have been more marks, a deeper colour?

Warm 2: Oil pastel resist with waterbased dyes

Warm 3: Another flower shaped sample. But, a warm summer and sunflowers go hand-in-hand.

I liked the warm colours and I liked the way the sample turned out.

Warm 3: Oil pastel resist with waterbased dye

The photograph showed up interesting aspects of the sample that I hadn't noticed when I looked at it with just my eye.

The textures were clearer, the gloss seems to shine from the yellow and orange oil pastels.

A closeup of Warm 3

Warm 4: I started this sample and realised specks of red brusho dust were settling on the wet paint.

I drew into the surface with the back of my paintbrush in swirling movements to create the marks.

The closeup photo shows a warm, fiery example.

Waterbased dyes with brusho

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I moved on to look at the opposite of warm:

Cold: Hard, tight, icy, still - too cold to move. The colour blue.

The colour blue: cold, watery, icy.

With these ideas for colour and mark making I created the following samples:

Cold 1: This sample was like snow on a cold evening.

The marks are icy.

The colours are cool.

Cold 1: white oil pastel resist, blue watercolour resist

Cold 2: This sample created interesting marks as it dried.

The colours were much cooler than in the previous sample.

It looks like a winter night as the light is disappearing.

Cold 2: Wet on dry watercolour

Cold 3: This sample has icy colours, like frozen water.

The colours were warmer than in the previous sample, but still looked like an icy effect.

The colours are ok, but the sample is not as strong as the previous two.

Cold 3: wet in wet watercolour

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Conclusion:

Some of the samples worked better than others.

I was happy with most of the results of the exercise, but when you compare one example to another, you see, for example that, 'calm 4' is a better representative of that word than 'calm 5' - in my opinion.

I had to move some examples from one category to another.

This was because the marks, the movements, or the colour when the sample dried, fitted a different criteria - it was not what I had been hoping to achieve.

An example of this is: 'Happy 3' - this I had originally created for 'Angry' because of the colours.

I decided to use some of my own pairs of opposite words for this exercise.

I will do some sketchbook work with the other words listed (Bright-Dull, Active-Passive) and put the samples in my sketchbook.

I think if I 'doodle' enough in my sketchbook and log any interesting results, I will be able to add many more examples to this exercise.

Some of the samples may be worth developing into stitch - I will continue to look carefully at the results from this exercise and decide which ones may have the potential to do this with.
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Finished pages: