The Theory of Colour

At Art College I learnt about the the scientific theory of colour as well as the intellectual and emotional properties of colour for artists. Firstly, this involved attending workshops in a darkened lecture theatre where coloured lights were projected onto a large white film screen in order to explain the principles of how yellow, cyan, and magenta, combine to produce white light. Thereafter, the difference between the coloured light theories and the methods of mixing coloured pigments for the purpose of painting, was explained in practice.

There followed many experiments with coloured paint, as expounded in the Bauhaus teachings of the masterful Johannes Itten. These were given and followed step by step. And so step by step the jigsaw of colour mixing and colour interpretation began to build a complete picture of infinite possibilities. Infinite possibilities where anything goes…..but what was still lacking in me was the inspiration and the will to use this knowledge in a way that is creative. It’s rather like taking a student to a theory but not being able to make her think for her self. It was 4 years after I left Art College before I really began to understand colour in a way that was meaningful to me. This came in a most unexpected way, from looking at the world of leaves and flowers.