Color & Value

Definition: The visual response to different wavelengths of sunlight identified as red, green, blue and so on; having the physical properties of hue, intensity, and value. (Art Fundamentals. Ocvirk, et al, 2006)

Analogous Colors: Colors that are closely related in hue; usually adjacent to each other on the color wheel.

Cast Shadow: Dark area on a surface caused by an object placed between the light source and the surface.

Chiaroscuro/Tenebrism: Distribution of light and dark in an artwork/exaggeration of chiaroscuro.

Color Triad: Three colors spaced an equal distance apart on the color wheel forming an equilateral triangle.

Complementary Colors: Two colors directly opposite each other on the color wheel. A primary color is complementary to a secondary color, which is a mixture of the two remaining primaries.

Contrast: Difference in colors, values, textures, patterns that allow each to be offset or maximized.

Hue: Designates the common name of a color and indicates its position in the spectrum or on the color wheel.

Intensity: The saturation, strength, or purity of a hue. A vivid color is of high intensity; a dull color is of low intensity.

Intermediate Colors (sometimes called “tertiary colors”): A color produced by a mixture of a primary color and a secondary color. These colors are:

Monochromatic Color: A color that has only one hue but has the complete range of value of that color from white to black with the color mixed in.

Primary Colors: The preliminary hues that cannot be broken down or reduced into component colors. The basic hues of any color system that in theory may be used to mix all other colors. These colors are:

Secondary Colors: A color produced by a mixture of two primary colors. These colors are:

Shades (also low-key colors): Any color that has a value level of middle gray or darker.

Shading: As the surface of a three-dimensional object turns away from the light source, it becomes darker in color or value.

Tints (also high-key colors): Any color that has a value level of middle gray or lighter.

Value: The relative degree of light or dark in a white/gray/black or color scale.

What are the colors that you tend to use repeatedly in your quilts?

What are the colors that you tend to avoid?

What colors would round out your fabric stash and provide new options for you?

Art Quilt Association – Design Boot Camp 2006/7– Deborah Snider, Drill Sergeant –