Why should a hobby artist care about the colour theory? Well, any knowledge that contributes to your toolbox is helpful and expands your possibilities.
In this article, I explain the difference between the colours on your screen and those of paint. I talk about Johannes Itten’s colour theory and give some tips about resources.
A colour theory for hobby artists is in my view just as important as for professional artists. Hopefully, it will increase your enthusiasm for your hobby.
The quality of the printers is improving fast. Nowadays a lot of colour printers have more than four cartridges, making sure all the tones are printed.
Yet, the extra cartridges are grey or black, never a colour, which means there are still colours you see on the screen that can’t be printed on paper.
Taking pictures and printing them on your colour printer can be disappointing. Sometimes the result is NOT what you expected. I’ll give you the reasons for that disappointing result and whether you can improve the colour quality of your precious photographs.
One of the best books in my private library is “The Art of Colour: The Subjective Experience and Objective Rationale of Colour” by Johannes Itten, a teacher at the Bauhaus who I admire so much.
Of course, Itten’s notions are only one way of looking at colours. Many researchers, artists and scientists have constructed a colour theory as well. But logically, as a designer and artist, I have a strong affinity with a fellow artist.
Itten explains the reality of colour and the way we as humans perceive colours. Colours affect each other. That influence is an action of our brain. “Eye and mind can only by comparison or contrast come to a clear perception.”