Color perception

KatPaints wrote

on 18 Apr 2011 5:41 PM

On one of the blog posts. There is a conversation about color vs. form. I thought I'd also post my response here since I think the info I have may be interesting or helpful to some. Being the geeky information gal I am, I've been thinking about this topic and was wondering why some people lack a sense of color in their art and why it is so obvious to me. I've closely worked with color professionally and creatively for several decades now. Everything from inks, paints, offset printing, printing color photographs, dyeing fabrics, professionally dyeing yarns, color correcting CMYK and RGB, and more. In my profession, I'm known as being meticulous with color by my co-workers and bosses. I always have been. Below are links to tests - I did them quickly and easily. I have perfect color vision, no surprise.

Check yourself out
add the www since I realize websites have problems here.
toledo-bend.com/colorblind/ishihara.asp
xrite.com/custom_page.aspx?PageID=77

I know several artist who are color blind so if you get less than perfect score, no worries, there are plenty of ways of being creative through form, perspective, limited color, concept, linear, etc. Use the results to educate yourself and understand yourself better.

valeriemalley wrote

on 18 Apr 2011 8:11 PM

Thanks, that was fun to do.  On moving the colour blocks I did 156 which brought me a 99, 0 being optimum,  and I saw the two numbers on the Ishihara test. Years ago a doctor did the Ishihara test on me and said I am deficient in just about every colour, and you are right you can muddle your way through it if you are painting - they label the paint tubes ;),  and you learn colour combinations that make certain colours, i.e., flesh.  But I remember one person looking at a painting I did, and she asked, "Did you mean for the hair to be green?"    When I look at paintings that have subtle but beautiful colour combinations, I am in envy.  I don't do subtle very well.

KatPaints wrote

on 19 Apr 2011 5:17 AM

That is so fascinating! You're a rare bird. Most women have excellent color vision. I have always assumed that people, especially artists and printers see what I see (I'm a 0.) This test explains why I get so frustrated when I get an ink back from the printer that is wrong. I used to work in wallpaper and my guess is that nearly everyone there was also a 0,  the standards of getting color dead on were required. Nobody wants ugly wallpaper or to look through a wallpaper book and not have the photos match color of the product. I remember one guy whose color correcting was awful. My co-worker said he's not seeing it. I didn't understand at the time. I guess my assuming everyone else is also a 0 is the furthest from the truth. Now what I'm wondering is if someone scores below say a 5, does it mean that they are having physical perceptual issues or just in need of observing details more closely? Interesting huh?

Here's the thing,Valerie, what I'm hearing is that you are seeing color combinations. If your not able to see subtle color on this test, then what you are admiring really isn't subtle color.  Do you think what your really seeing is dynamic color areas and the effects of light and shadow? If so this can be learned!! You are still able to perceive color to a certain extent so you will need to work within that ability.

Paul Sullivan wrote

on 19 Apr 2011 10:01 AM

KatPaints—

I'm so thrilled to hear that you are perfect.

Paul Sullivan

KatPaints wrote

on 19 Apr 2011 4:34 PM

Yes I'm a big zero and it turns out that the people I currently work with are also zeros.

Saying I have perfect color vision is like saying I have 20/20 vision - nothing more. You can work with color technically, but there is an art to dealing with it aesthetically and emotionally. It helps to know if your working with a physical limitation or if this is a strength worth developing.

valeriemalley wrote

on 20 Apr 2011 5:08 PM

For a woman to be colour blind, she must have a father who is colour blind, and a mother who carries the gene, as is my case.   I have a grandson who has a problem with colours as well, so it's been passed on.  

You are probably right about the effect of light and shadow, and if the colour, say green, was mixed to make it a muted green,  I wouldn't be able to tell with a certainty what the colour was unless it was a tree being depicted.   But I really like the look of muted colours if they are well balanced with other colours, good darks, and the light to make it all shimmer.   When I look at paintings, I am at a loss to know, often, what colours have been used to get the effect  - I love the colours that are used - but I wouldn't know what colours to mix to get the colour I am seeing.  But I do play at it.

I'm smiling when I say 'c'est la vie'.

KatPaints wrote

on 21 Apr 2011 4:45 AM

When I was a kid we weren't very wealthy, so while my classmates had stereos, color tvs, and drove to school, we had one junky car and a b&w TV. I didn't realize that the Munsters and other popular shows ( and movies) were actually in color. I found that at times the story was deeper and more meaningful without the distraction of color. I saw everything in B&W until I was in my late teens. Needless to say, I had a pretty good understanding of color values and one of my favorite art forms today --------- B&W photography!

I guess when you get lemons.......

I wonder what would happen if you painted in black and white and maybe with touches of say blue or sienna or white and Van *** brown with black. Just a thought.

edit -lol! Artist Daily edited ***. No it's not a derogatory slang word about lesbians, it's the name of a color!!!! haha

valeriemalley wrote

on 21 Apr 2011 11:58 AM

Funny.

DanielH wrote

on 4 May 2011 8:16 PM

KatPaints - thanks for posting this. I just did the x-rite color test and got a 4. Upon seeing the test, I thought I would do much worse than that. :)

I found it amusing that the one set of blocks that I felt was the easiest was where my errors were - in the orange to red range. I'm a graphic designer by trade (and a painter, of course) so I found this to be very interesting. Maybe helpful to see where we struggle so we know to pay extra attention!

Valerie - my experience echoes what KatPaints mentioned. If you first become highly proficient in painting in grayscale (i.e. - black & white), you will see that's where the real dynamics of the painting begin. Don't get me wrong - the colors are very important, but the play of light and shadow will control where the eye moves and the overall drama of the painting. I think that's why those old tinted black & white photos are still so beautiful. The colors are all wrong (from a realistic sense) but the image underneath will carry it. So maybe green hair is a good thing once in a while...

AlexandriaTrsek wrote

on 22 Mar 2012 7:20 AM

Want to see someone who knows color?! 

This man, right here. 

www.villastonape.com

KatPaints wrote

on 24 Mar 2012 10:04 AM

Daniel: "I just did the x-rite color test and got a 4. ...Maybe helpful to see where we struggle so we know to pay extra attention!"

Yes slow down and take a closer look, but realize that this is actually this is a physical test so anything higher than a 0 reveals your limitations. It's as if you have a hearing test that reveals you have hearing loss in one ear. Yet, unlike hearing that can be amplified and even surgically corrected, I am not aware of any way to correct color deficiencies. It seems as if you still have color perception of red; some people cannot see red at all. For these people, rather than paying extra attention to something they can't perceive, it's now a matter of compensating and finding a way around. I checked out your website. I am not surprised to see a lot of artwork with tonal B&W or a limited amount of color. I noticed that you use red frequently - the color that was the most challenging to you. The thing I find most fascinating is that I am probably seeing the color much more intensely than you are.