In the past, I've recommended using a color wheel identical with, or similar to, the one pictured directly below.
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| Above: This is my old colorwheel. The SewEasy Colour Wheel shows up in the next photo. |
The goal of any colorwheel is to guide artists in locating or determining which color combinations please the viewer's eye. (Another function is to show colors that are opposite one another on the color wheel; these are complementary colors, which can create neutral hues if combined.)
A fabulous UK artist, Sally Hirst, recently made me aware of a color wheel that I like much better ... in almost every way.
The SewEasy Colour Wheel* is actually marketed for quilters -- but don't let that throw you if you're into paper arts, not fabric arts.
It's so new to me that I have only just now unwrapped the package that brought it to my door. But in one of Sally's online classes -- which I highly recommend! -- Sally demonstrates using it. So I know enough to say that this color wheel features open windows. One of many ways to put this wheel to work is to place one of these holes over a color blend to identify it with precision. Checking thru one of these open windows, I know that I can make color combination choices much more "finely-tuned" than I have in the past. No more settling for approximates!
For a much more comprehensive description of this colorwheel, check out this YouTube video.
My photo below shows the 3 elements that come in the package.
In the photo's lower left, notice the red plastic square -- it's an added bonus that comes with this SewEasy Colour Wheel*. The piece of red plastic is to be placed over colors to view them in terms of value. (In the past I've used my phone or computer to strip images of color, since rendering them in black-and-white gives an accurate depiction of these images' values. Values range from dark to light. Using a phone or PC to desaturate an image shows whether any changes in value are needed to make a more dramatic overall image. I've written about value contrast in earlier posts, and will address it again in tomorrow's post. But for today my focus rests on color combinations.)
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| * This colorwheel has a slightly different name here in the US. Similar colorwheels are available, including one made by Rainbow and available at JoAnn Fabrics. |
This happy discovery of a new-to-me colorwheel is a lead-in for prints shown below in today's post.
As you look at each print, keep watch for my notation that the SewEasy has one flaw....
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| Above: Multi-printed with 6" x 6" Diatom s972. Notice the bright contrast between the oranges/red-oranges and the greens and blues. A color wheel identifies these as split complementary color ranges, since their placement on the wheel is almost directly across from each other. Medium: acrylic paints. |
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| Above: In this multi-print, altho the central image is dominated by yellow, it also reveals earlier layers of blues and greens. Once again, the color wheel has dictated what is most likely to liven the artwork. Mask used: 6" x 6" Chandelier s971. Medium: acrylic paints. |
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| Above left: prints made using 6" x 6" Chandelier s971. Right: prints made with 6" x 6" Diatom s972. One flaw in the SewEasy Colour Wheel is that it fails to identify the fact that purples and blues are among many possible combinations of analogous colors. Bottom line: Don't throw out any other color wheel that you may have! But if you've misplaced an old one, just Google "colorwheel" and you'll find very possible variation of this art-making tool. (Medium used: acrylic paints.) |
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| Above: Multi-printed with 6" x 6" Diatom s972. The yellow and copper hues are metallic acrylic paints while the greens are plain acrylic paints. |
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| Mask used above: 6" x 6" Chandelier s971. Medium: acrylic paints. |
Thanks for taking a peek at my blog today! To scroll thru the pages of my masks and stencils at StencilGirlProducts.com, please start here.
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