I recently watched a talk, Shelter in Grace, where Tung Chiang, the Heath Clay studio director, talks about how he didn’t learn color from books; rather he learned it from an exercise in art class. He photographed his friends’ faces and had to detect the color variations in them. The complexity of the combinations surprised him and spoke to how real-life presents more interesting color combinations than anything that can be found in theory.
Last year, when I quit my job, I immediately joined an abstract art extension course at CCA where we completed a similar exercise. My teacher, an abstract painter, drew inspiration from the art movements of abstract expressionists of the 20th century. I recall taking a photo of a white cat that was hanging out at a local auto shop and trying to recreate the creamy white-pink-blue-yellow-gray in my studio afterwards.
The exercise took me out of my comfort zone as I explored colors I normally don’t gravitate towards, such as gray. It made me appreciate the complexities of color, as it can take 6-7 other colors to create just the right shade.
For illustrations, I approach colors with the same sense of curiosity and reliance on an innate aesthetic eye. Lately my palette is very much influenced by nature: deep dark greens from forests and blues found from the oceans and cosmic skies.
I find that working with three provides the right balance. First, I create a moodboard capturing the overall design (look and feel) of my artwork, series or concept. Then, I source colors directly from my favorite photographs until the combination is aesthetically pleasing to me. You can direct the development of the abstract artwork - while providing enough room for freedom to explore and add colors as the work progresses.
In your own life, you might find yourself gravitating towards certain colors and shades. This could be something as simplistic as your favorite color. And if you dig a little deeper, you would probably find the reason to this: it could be that you love the shade of blue that matches the sky on a spring afternoon. Share with me the colors that you like in the comments section. Are you drawn to passionate reds? Or do you prefer relaxing greens?