All colors in this photo  are tones—even the dark ones. 

To see how tones are created—and to get a sense of what they’re all about—up close and personal, I invite you to have a paint-play day—painting tones from your favorite colors. Doing so will expand your color knowledge exponentially. In fact, if you give yourself a day to play with paint, you will be so happy with your new-found knowledge and color understanding.

Alas, consider inviting a few of your friends over to paint tones from  their own favorite colors. Then you can all share each other’s findings. You all will find it’s a very worthwhile day. If possible, plan your painting day within the next two weeks.

Here are the items you will need to paint your own beautiful toned hues: 

PAINTS:  Purchase 3  pure-color tubes of acrylic paint (Liquitex or some other brand). If it suits you, choose one color from the green-blue section of the color wheel (chartreuse through blue-violet). Select another pure color from the red to violet section of the color wheel. Also, choose a pure color from the yellow to red-orange section of the color wheel. This will give you three distinctly different colors with which to paint. If you have other preferences, go with your instincts. Also, if you want to paint with more than three colors, feel free to add more colors. The more you paint tones from other colors, the greater your experience will be—and your color repertoire will be expanded.

Besides your chosen pure colors, you will need a large tube of Neutral Gray 5 (middle value) paint, along with Titanium White and Mars Black.

OTHER ITEMS YOU WILL NEED ARE:  You will need at least 2 packages of unlined 3″ x 5″ index cards, 1 or 2 paint brushes, a few large sheets of paper to protect your work surface, coffee stirrers, paper towels or a rags for cleaning brushes, water, paint containers, and toothpicks. Also, you will need construction paper (white and/or black) or tag-board, glue stick, cutting tools (e.g. rotary cutter, cutting board, and ruler).

All hues in this reflection are toned.

Paint Session 1

1. Choose one pure color to begin. Place 1-2 tablespoons of this paint in a small container. Add a few drops of water to the paint, so the paint is of good spreading consistency. Be cautious, as you do not want the paint to be watery. Paint an index card with this paint. Clean the paint brush.

2. Using a toothpick or coffee stirrer, add a drop of gray paint to your pure-color paint. Blend thoroughly with a stirring utensil. Then paint an index card with this new color. Clean the paint brush with water and dry.

3. Continue adding a small bit of gray to the blended paint and painting an index card after each addition of gray paint. As you continue mixing gray into the paint mixture, add just enough in each step to make nice even steps.

4. Continue blending the gray paint into the mixture until your blended paint appears to be gray with a slight hint of the original color.

5.  Paint 2 index cards with the gray paint. You will be cutting strips from these cards for your toned-color scales.

6. Set the painted cards aside to dry. Once dried, gather in order of painting, place in a pile, and place a heavy book on top of the pile.

7.  Wash up everything and take a break before the next paint session.

The only color scale in this photo is the tone scale.

 Paint Session 2

1.  In this session, you will create a tinted hue from your pure color and then create tones from this tint. Begin by placing approximately 2 tablespoons of Titanium White in your painting bowl.  Add a few drops of water to make the paint a good spreading mixture.

2.  Add  a small amount of your pure color into the Titanium White paint. Mix enough of your pure color to make a tint that you really love. This will be the tinted hue that you will create tones from.  (Don’t make your tinted color too close to the pure color; make it light enough that you can see the difference between the tint and the pure hue.)

3. With a toothpick add a drop of gray paint to your tinted paint. Blend thoroughly with a stirring utensil. Then paint an index card with this new color. Clean the paint brush.

4. Continue adding gray to the blended paint and painting an index card after each mixing. As you continue, add enough gray each time to make evenly spaced toned color steps.

5. Continue blending the gray paint into the mixture until your blended paint appears to be gray with a hint of the original color.

6.  Set the painted cards aside to dry. Once dried, gather in order of painting, place in a pile, and place a heavy book on top of the pile.

7.  Wash up everything and take a break before the next paint session.

 The leaf colors in this photo are beautifully toned.  Aren’t these hues amazing for leaves?

Paint Session 3

1.  In this session, you will create a shaded hue from your pure color and then create tones from this shade. Begin by placing approximately 2 tablespoons of  your selected pure color in your painting bowl.  Add a few drops of water to make the paint a good spreading mixture.

2.  Add  a small amount of Mars Black to your pure color. Slowly add black to the mixture until you see a yummy shade that you love. This will be the shaded hue that you will create tones from.  (Don’t make your shade too close to black.)

3. With a toothpick or coffee stirrer, add a drop of gray paint to your shaded paint. Blend thoroughly with a stirring utensil. Then paint an index card with this new color. This will  be your first toned hue from your shade. Clean the paint brush.

4. Continue adding gray to the blended paint and painting an index card after each mixing. As you paint, add enough gray each time to make evenly spaced toned color steps.

5. Continue blending the gray paint into the mixture until your blended paint appears to be gray with a hint of the original color.

6.  Set the painted cards aside to dry. Once dried, gather in order of painting, place in a pile, and place a heavy book on top of the pile.

7.  Wash up everything and take a break before the next paint session.

Painting Tones from Your Other Selected Pure Colors

Repeat these three painting sessions with your other two selected pure colors.

The colors in this photo are all toned. Some are more grayed than others.

Finishing Your Tone Scales

1.  Once the painted index cards are dried and flattened, cut a 1/2-inch strip off of the short end of each index card. Also, cut your gray index card into 1/2″ strips (you will need 9 strips).

2.  With glue-stick or some other adhesive, place the first group of colored  strips in a column on a piece of construction paper or tag board (white or black), moving from the pure color through the tones to gray. When placing the strips onto the paper, overlap them slightly, so there is no background paper showing between the strips.

3.  Repeat this process for both the tint/tone scale and the shade/tone scale. The number of hues in your selected paints’ tone scales will depend on the amount of steps you painted. They do not need to be equal to one another.

4.  If you painted with friends, give each of your friends one strip from each of your index cards. By working together, you will expand your color references and knowledge. Besides, it’s so much fun to have a paint day with friends.

Congratulations!

After you have created these various tone scales, stand back and look at them.  Aren’t they beautiful?  Isn’t it amazing how many different hues you have created while painting these tones? Wasn’t it fun? What’s especially exciting is that you now have a greater understanding of how a tone is made and which pure color it comes from. This understanding helps us to make better choices when selecting partnering colors for an upcoming project.

Happy Coloring!

Joen

Text, illustrations, and photography copyright   © Joen Wolfrom    The copyright of each artwork shown remains with its  creator.

Joen is a color enthusiast who teaches and lectures on color. She has written three color books: Color Play, Visual Coloring, and The Magical Effects of Color. Her Studio Color Wheel is used to illustrate color concepts in many of these blog posts. She is also the designer of the 3-in-1 Color Tool. Her new book Adventures in Designis now available. Joen’s newest design tool, the Magic Design-Ratio Tool is also available. All books and products are published by C & T Publishing.

The Brooking, South Dakota Quilt Show was filled with a wide array of quilts of all interests, skill levels, styles, techniques, and subject matter.  It’s always fun to see what surprises await us as we visit a quilt show. This past rainy, windy weekend amidst beautiful farmland and rolling hills the convention center in Brooking was packed with fascinating quilts and avid quilters.  The quilt show’s  theme was a Fanfare of Quilts.

Here is a glimpse of the quilt show that might give you a sense of the quilting flavor of this northeastern South Dakota region. (Sorry to all of you in the Brooking area when I said you lived in the northwestern part.  I know you’re on the eastern side near Minnisota,  but my fingers automatically wrote northwestern late last night, probably since  my brain was asleep and I live in the northwest.)

Quilts of Valor Display

   In the front lobby of the convention center, there was a wonderful display of quilts made for the veterans from this region who are soon to be returning home. My very favorite of these quilts is the one shown above.  It is such a beautiful quilt.  The quilting is exquisite in this quilt. I could not find any label, so I have no idea who the piecer and quilter are.  Isn’t this a superb quilt!   (If you know the maker, please let me know.)

Never Say Never by Belinda Kruse

This New York Beauty quilt, Never Say Never, was created by Belinda Kruse.  It’s a relatively small quilt that really called to me.  I thought Belinda used really interesting fabrics that worked so well together.  What a grand batik stash she had at her fingertips when beginning this quilt at a Pierre quilt retreat.

The quilting was done by Andi Rudebusch. I really like the way she quilted this design.

Jennifer’s Fairy Frost Fans by Norita Henneman

The theme of this year’s quilt show was fans, so there was an abundance of fan quilts throughout the show.  Many followed traditional lines while others played innovatively with fans.  One of my favorite fans quilts was Jennifer’s Fairy Frost Fans by Norita Henneman. This quilt’s design is Norita’s own variation of the Grandmother’s Fan.  This quilt was quilted by Always Your Design.

Christmas Pineapple by Linda Louder

This colorful pineapple log cabin quilt was made by Linda Louder.  I really loved the freshness of this quilt.  This design is from Possibilities Pineapple Book by Possibilities.  Nancy Swanson was the quilter.

Finally Finished by Deb Carlson

Deb Carlson named this quilt Finally Finished because it IS!!!  I don’t know when Deb began this quilt, but it’s rather cute that this quilt was made from the book Applique in a Day by Eleanor Burns.  I rather imagine this took more than a day for Deb to complete. This beauty was quilted by Marilyn Eighmy.

Here are two blocks that show how beautifully this quilt is appliqued and quilted. Great job Deb and Marilyn!

Early Frost by Georgan Ellerbruch

I think this is the best panel quilt that I have ever seen. Georgan Ellerbruch so artistically placed the scenic vignettes together, so that everything flowed together.  Here’s a closeup of one portion of First Frost.  Also you can see the quilting detail in the view below.  First Frost was quilted by Marilyn Eighmy.

Fan Dance by  Donna Neyhart

Donna Neyhart was the 2012 featured quilter of the quilt show.  It was wonderful to see the many quilts made by this talented quilter. I thought her Fan Dance quilt was a theme stand-out.

Donna also had a stack and whack quilt that provided a quilt full of fascinating fabric combinations.  People crowded around this quilt to see the amazing variations of block design and fabric selection. Here’s the quilt:

Stack and Whack by Donna Neyhart

Here’s a glimpse of one block:

Lastly, the Breckview Manor raffle quilt caught my eye as I was getting ready to leave.  The lucky winner has already been selected, so there was no chance of winning it.  It’s a lovely quilt.  Fall Star was quilted by Always Your Design.

Fall Star

A quilt show is hard work to put on.  It takes energy, organization, and lots of people to make everything come together.  This guild did a wonderful job.  It was such a joy to visit. I hope you have enjoyed a little glimpse of the Brooking Area Quilt Guild’s 2012 Fanfare of Quilts show.

Happy quilting!

The softly-colored  dahlia (above) has a hint of grayness in its rosy pink color.

The tone scale is the most used group of colors in the world. Regardless, letting tones work their magic in a design can be puzzling, particularly if you are not aware of how they can help develop a design. Once you know their secret, you can let tones work for you in all sorts of ways.  In today’s post let’s analyze tones by looking at two very different images. Both are entirely colored by tones. As we already know, tones are the hues of winter, calmness, and softness.  In addition, you will be able to enhance your designs in so many ways when you know how tones interact both with each other and with hues from other color scales, .

The Most Important Qualities of a Tone

In a nutshell, tones can be of any value. They can range from almost white to almost black and every value in between. Also, tones are renowned for varying the amount of  grayness in their colorings. Some tones have only a hint of grayness, like the dahlia shown above.  Other tones may be slightly grayed or well grayed.  There are also tones that have so much grayness in their makeup that they appear gray with a hint of color.  Colors such as grayed blue or blued gray are examples of two toned colors with subtle difference in their appearances.

The image below illustrates the interaction of tones within a design. Every color in this image is toned.  For instance, the mountain’s blue is grayed. Likewise, the light apricots and blues of the sky are very grayed. The dark green Douglas Fir trees are grayed; all of the water hues are very grayed. The green meadow grasses are the least grayed of all. Consequently, they attract our attention.

 All colors in this image are from the tone scale.

Looking at Tones in Play

At first glance of the picture above, we might think the greens of the meadowland are not toned, but simply a dark green. However, if you put a pure green hue next to the grasses, you will see immediately that this dark green is toned. Because it is the element that  has the least amount of grayness to it, the grass stands out more than any other feature. The darkest elements and those that have the least amount of toning are the ones that capture the attention of our eyes.  Conversely, the sky is made up of very light grayed-blue hues. Because of their lightness and extreme grayness, these colors recede into the distance rather than attract our attention.

Important Hint:

The differences in each color’s grayness help create the essence of a design. By making tonal changes in one element or another, you can change the focus or the feeling of a design.

Using Tones to Work Wonders

Our eyes naturally want to go to the center of a design.  Because of the meadowland’s bright green coloring, our eyes shift from the center of this image to the bright green grasses. If I were creating this scene in paint or fabric, I might make some alterations, so that the meadow is not so pronounce, allowing the mountain to be the focus without distraction.  I might consider doing one or more of the following:

1. If I wanted to keep the viewers’ eyes resting in the mountain area, I would tone down the grasses by using a lighter, grayer green.
2. I might lessen the amount of grayness in the mountain’s coloring. By slightly increasing the intensity of the blue, it will cause our eyes to focus more on the mountain.
3. If I increase the intensity of the apricot cloud and accentuate the apricot glow that rims the mountain range, the central focus area will be stronger. To do this, I would select apricot hues that were less grayed and a tad bit darker than the current ones.
4. I might make the sky a bit more pronounced by using clearer colors (less grayed) with a bit more darkness to them.
5. If I wanted to feature both the mountain and the sky, I would play with the colors in the sky, making them more pronounced and interesting. If I used really intense apricot and blue hues in the sky, I can even make the sky the dominant feature with the mountain playing a secondary role.
6. By changing any element’s degree of grayness, I can make this image’s focus different from how it now appears in its raw coloring.

Letting Those Tones Work Their Magic

By increasing the grayness of a color, we lessen its prominence. Therefore, if an element is taking on a larger visual role than you want it to in your design, change the color to one that is more grayed. (You might also need to alter the value.)  If your featured element is not prominent enough, then use a color that has less grayness to it.  Make it more pure. (Again, you may also need to change the value.)

Assessing Your Design’s Toned Interaction

If the featured item in your design is being usurped by another element, it almost always is because the featured element is more grayed and lighter in value than the other element. Also, if the usurping element has strong attracting details, this will cause your eyes to move away from the focus and to this more detailed element.

Whenever you work with a design, you are juggling the interactions between colors of differing amounts of grayness. The other major consideration is the value of these elements. This interplay between colors creates an interesting challenge in any medium, particularly in fabric. It forces you to think about how you want the viewer to interpret your design.

Let Tones Work for Your Quilts

I absolutely love Larisa Key’s  In a Pickle   quilt, which is a wonderful example of a modern-day traditional quilt.  Her fabric selection is stunning. She has used a wide range of textural fabrics, including batiks, tone-on-tones, and fun mushy-designed fabrics.  Regardless of their types, all fabrics are from the tone scale. At first glance we can see the variations in lightness and darkness between the fabrics. There are also subtle differences between the amount of grayness within the  different fabrics. This play of tonality and value gives this quilt its richness.  Let’s take a closer view at some of Larisa’s fabric choices (below)

 In a Pickle by Larisa Key

 All fabrics are toned in this quilt.

In the flying-geese section of the design (center triangles in the pathways, below) you can see that the triangles range in value between medium and fairly dark. In other words, they all have good visual strength. None is too light, thereby feeling out of place. Your eyes may fall on the bright rust triangle first. Next your eyes may focus on bits of aqua in the bottom left rectangle, the squiggly chartreuse on brown fabric, chartreuse center rectangle,  or  you might be attracted to the bright blue-violet in the upper right edge. These fabrics all have less gray in their makeup than their counterparts. Hence, they attract our attention first. The more pure a color is, the more our eyes gravitate towards it. Therefore, if you place a fabric with less gray amongst a grouping of toned fabrics, that fabric will be an attraction. Also, if two colors have the same amount of grayness, but one is a warmer color (closer to yellow on the color wheel), it will catch your attention first.

Not All Colors Should Be Attention-Getters

Notice the flying-geese triangles that are most grayed in coloring do not attract our attention. They are important placeholders in the design. You don’t want all of your colors to be attention-getters. If they are, our eyes do not know where to focus. Conversely, if all of your  fabrics have the same degree of grayness and value, then there will be nothing that attracts our attention. Again, we won’t know where  to look. Select one or more eye-catchers; then select a  few more that are slightly less eye-catching.  Then let the remaining fabrics play a supportive role, allowing the attention-getters to visually excel. The selection of eye-catching fabrics is relative. Generally, the fabric with the least amount of gray in its makeup will be your eye-catcher.  The more grayness a fabric has in its makeup, the less it wants to come forward. The more pure your fabric selection, the more “wow” factor it will have. If you don’t want any one fabric to stand out too strongly, do subtle differences as Larisa has done in In a Pickle.

Subtle tonality differences not only create interest, but they add richness. Often the colors appear to vibrate off of one another because of their tonal differences.  It looks like the light is hitting them differently. In Larisa’s upper-right flying-geese pathway (above image), there are three very dark fabrics with only a slight grayness in their makeup. These  fabrics help to create a beautiful visual vibration within the quilt as they visually interact with the grayer hues. Having a wide variety of fabrics with varying degrees of grayness allows for the colors to appear to move—or vibrate. They are not visually flat.

In this detail below, the brightest fabrics—those with the least amount of grayness to them—attract our attention first. You can see how they help our eyes move throughout the design surface.

Background Tones

Larisa has used fabrics that are both extremely toned and very light in value for her background hues. Light hues that are toned tend to recede into the distance. If one of the background fabrics was light and more pure in coloring, it would pop forward visually. Likewise, a background fabric that was just as gray as the ones Larisa used, but much darker, would come forward visually. Thus, it’s important to consider both the amount of visual grayness in a fabric along with its value when selecting fabrics for a particular part of a design.

Tones and Painting

You’ll find the same effects in your painted artwork.  The clearer the color is, the more it advances toward the viewer. The more it is  toned, the more it lies back. If you want to have the most beautiful toned hues in your work, create your color’s toneness by mixing the hue with its complement.  You can also gray a color by adding a neutral gray hue to it or by combining it with black and white. These are not as beautiful as using a color’s complement (pure hue, a tint, or a shade).

Using Tones in Interior Spaces

Most living and work spaces are colored in tones, since tones are more calming and restful. The “pop” in a room’s design is often done in pure colors or hues that are only slightly grayed. Accents are often done in bright, clear colors. In a room, there should be a variety of tonal differences, as well as value changes to add interest and richness.

An Important Note to You

I am finding my schedule extremely complicated. It is difficult for me to write a weekly color-blog post, particularly with my travel schedule. I will be changing the schedule of  my Playing with Color series to twice-monthly. I think that will work better for me.  I hope this change works for your schedule too.  There’s so much to cover…..but so little time within a week.  Happy coloring!

Joen

Text, illustrations, and photography copyright   © Joen Wolfrom    The copyright of each artwork shown remains with its  creator.

Joen is a color enthusiast who teaches and lectures on color. She has written three color books: Color Play, Visual Coloring, and The Magical Effects of Color. Her Studio Color Wheel is used to illustrate color concepts in many of these blog posts. She is also the designer of the 3-in-1 Color Tool. Her new book Adventures in Designis now available. Joen’s newest design tool, the Magic Design-Ratio Tool is also available. All books and products are published by C & T Publishing.

In the last post we discussed the fourth color scale—the tone scale. Since toned colors are the most prevalent in the world, it’s worthwhile thinking about how we can work most effectively with them. Tones are the workhorses of color. They are the hues that hold most designs  together. Pure colors get most of the attention and receive most of the accolades and rave reviews. However, it’s the tones that work the hardest and bring support to those pure colors . Learning how to use tones to the best advantage of your design is really an exciting adventure. Let’s begin with some basic tone concepts in this post.

First, let’s look at the sunset image (above).  Except for a tiny bit of pure yellow in the sky, all of the hues in this image are toned (grayed), including most of the yellow hues. We can see the grayness very readily in the mountains and sky, as these colors are softly muted. Some even appear filmy or veiled. The foreground hills are also toned. Because of their limited amount of grayness and the  fact that their color value is quite dark, the hills are very pronounced. Most of the yellows in the sky are only slightly toned, so they also attract our attention with their brightness and glowing warmth.  Altogether, this image illustrates some of the following principles when working with tones:

• Colors can exhibit a wide range of tonality: some colors are slightly grayed; others mildly grayed; and others are extremely grayed.
• When all of the colors within an artwork or scene have the same degree of grayness and are in the same relative value, the design can be difficult to see. It can also appear flat and/or uninteresting.
• A color’s value (lightness or darkness) has no bearing on the amount of grayness in a color.
• Tones and values, working together, can form a team to create amazing results in all designs.
• Colors of all value ranges can be toned.
• As a rule, the more a color is toned, the more it fades into the distance. This is accentuated when the colors become both lighter and grayer.

In the image below, the grayness throughout the scene is almost equally distributed. Everything looks evenly filmy or veiled. Also notice there is very little value change. The closest hills are slightly darker, but their color value doesn’t provide enough contrast to make this image understandable.  This image illustrates an important concept:

• When value and tonality are the same throughout, it is difficult to understand or interpret the design (or scene).
• .Varying the tonality of colors within an artwork, as well as having some value contrast, makes for a more successful visual statement.

Now let’s look at tones and how they work within the realm of fabric:

LARISA KEY’S TONED QUILTS

My favorite traditional quilt designer is Larisa Key, owner of the quilt store Quilter’s Dream in Willimantic, Connecticut.  She is young (it’s relative), smart, innovative, and creative. I love her quilts. Happily, she is one of our JWD quilt designers. Most of her quilts are filled with toned  fabrics, so they are perfect examples for us to use to discuss tones in fabric—-the pros, cons, and idiosyncrasies of tones within a design.

Bear Tracks in the Garden  by Larisa Key

 Bear Tracks in the Garden is one of those elegant quilts that exudes quiet beauty. It is one of my favorite traditional quilt designs. (Besides being beautiful, I love the idea of having no matching points between blocks. Such an innovation!—Thank you, Larisa!).

Larisa had several ways she could color this quilt with regard to her selection of tone fabrics. You, too, will have similar choices, no matter what your design is. When you begin cutting fabric, do some creative play with your design:

• First decide how you want your design to play. Look to see how many layers or planes are possible within your block. Then decide how many layers you want to employ for your design. (You don’t have to use every layer; make your own design interpretations.)
• Once these decisions are made, begin assigning fabrics to the shapes or planes that would be their most appropriate placement. Fabric assignment depends on how you decide to interpret your design. There’s almost always more than one way to create your design.  Have fun figuring out the different options. Choose the one that you most enjoy or the one that bests suits the fabrics you have selected for this project.

Let’s look at some of Larisa’s fabrics in the details below:

1. Notice all fabrics are toned. The clearest one is the blue-green fabric placed in the small squares.  It is the darkest fabric in value and and has the least amount of grayness. So, of all the selected fabrics, this will be one of the two that will first attract our attention.

2.  The coppery fabric, being a warm hue will a minimal amount of grayness, is also an attention-getter. If it were more toned, it would not have the same visual attraction. Larisa placed this fabric in the center of each lattice intersection.

3.  Larisa chose to have the two clearest colors in her quilt well corralled in small defined spaces. This choice allows her not to have to concern herself about having either of these two fabrics become out-of-control in their attention-getting ability. She uses them to create contrast that works well with her design and with the other fabrics.

4.  The fabric used in the four small squares lying between the blue-green lattice and the bear tracks is light in value and very toned (grayed). By placing this very soft, understated fabric here, the lattice and bear tracks appear to be above it—on two different planes. Hence the lattice, being the least toned of these three sections, appears visually on top of both the light squares and the bear tracks. The tracks appear slightly lower (farther away) than the lattice, because a variety of these fabrics are more toned than the lattice fabric. Visually, the tracks are closer visually than the softly-colored toned squares.

5.  The result of using fabrics within a quilt with a variety of grayness allows a sense of visual dimensionality to appear in your design. The design doesn’t look flat. It allows us to better see the design.

6.   Value plays a significant when layering your design into different planes. Colors that are very grayed and light in value will always look farther in the distance than fabrics that are minimally gray and of medium or dark value. You can see this concept well utilized in this quilt. Larisa could have rearranged her fabrics, so the tracks were the lightest and  grayest. If she would have done so, the quilt’s design would appear quite different than it is. Often there are several ways to interpret a design. Select one that suits your fancy and provides the best use of your fabrics.

It was important for Larisa not to use fabrics with the same amount of grayness or the same value throughout the design. If she had done this, the design would look flat. It would also be difficult to discern. By using fabrics with differing amounts of grayness, as well as changes in value, Larisa has created a beautiful design filled with interest. Try to do the same with your own quilts.

Quick Tips:

• The elements or shapes that you want to stand out most in your quilt should have the least amount of grayness in them.  They should be more clear of gray than your other fabrics.
• If you want to add extra punch to a featured shape, besides using a less grayed fabric, consider using a fabric that is darker in value too.
• The elements or shapes you want to fall back into the distance should have the most grayness in them.  Besides using fabrics with more grayness, if you lighten the values, this will enhance the falling-back effect.

• If you are working with paint, make certain there are differences in grayness between elements that you want to appear in different planes. If you want items to appear closely related or close in placement, the value and tonality can be quite similar. However, if you want to show contrast or provide a greater sense of dimensionality, add more grayness to your coloring (add a bit of lightness too).  The one notable exception is when you are creating a design that appears in darkness. Then none of this takes place.

New Beginnings by Larisa Key

New Beginnings is a modern-day traditional quilt with a beautiful selection of tones incorporated. To look more closely at the fabrics Larisa selected, let’s look at a couple of close-up images.

The fabric that has the least amount of toneness (grayness) is the dark olive. Because of its richness, this fabric  gives the umph to the design. It adds visual strength with its dark value and clarity of color. If you look at the two rose fabrics (rectangular shapes in the left block and the right block), you will see that the rose fabric on the right is more pronounced than the one on the left. This is because the one on the left is lighter in value and grayer in its coloring (more toned). Consequently, it appears to be visually farther from us in distance than the rose fabric on the right.  Also notice the soft golden fabric on the left falls back into the distance too while the stronger gold fabric on the right feels slightly closer to us. Again, the gold on the left is lighter in value and grayer in coloring.

When you look at the quilt as a whole, you see that the dark olive green gives the visual punch to the quilt. Slightly lighter olive greens help support and reiterate the coloring. The block with the strongest rose-colored fabric is placed in the vertical center row of the quilt while the blocks with the softer rose fabric lie on the outer edges.  Larisa could rearrange her fabrics in innumerable ways. All would create different variations to the design. There is no right way to go;  there are just lots of options. Again, the choice is the designer’s.

Selecting Fabrics for Your Quilt’s Design

1.  When you select  fabrics for your quilts, make certain the most eye-catching fabric you have chosen is given a position in your quilt that works with your vision.  For instance, you can keep your most prominent, brilliant fabrics under control by using them in small bits and/or using them in designated places or you can make them the focus of your quilt. If the latter, you will make certain they are placed in shapes and areas that will emphasize their boldness or brilliance.

2.  Assess how you want to work throughout your quilt’s design. After figuring out what fabric(s) will be positioned as your most featured or your uppermost plane, select fabrics for your second most important position—usually your second plane.

3.  Also select the shapes or areas that you do not want to emphasize—those that take on merely a supportive role. They may be placed on a third or fourth plane, depending on your design.

4.  Choose the shapes or area that will provide your design’s background or backdrop.

5.  By using a variety of tones and placing them to good advantage, you will create interest, focus, and dimensionality in your quilts. How exciting!

Tones are Important in All  Design

Although I have been showing variations of tonality with fabric, the same principles apply in paint, dyes, interior design, graphic design, etc. As a final look into tones today, observe the sunrise image at the bottom of the page.  You can see that all colors are grayed. Look at the subtle variations in the amount grayness in the blue water. In the sky, the softly colored toned apricots and blues provide a perfect backdrop for this water scene.

Observe how the variation of grayness in the distant land (right side) gives visual clues to our brains. Where the land appears less grayed, its clarity makes it appear as if it’s almost closer than where the grayness is most intense. When painting, it is so important to provide differences in the amount of grayness (and also value) from one element to another. The differences can be ever so subtle in some areas while very pronounced in others. The amount of grayness applied in one area or another depends on what you are trying to create and how you want the viewer to interpret your design.

Acclimating Your Eyes to Tones

Looking at scenic photos is a really good way to help your eyes and mind see how tones work in a design. If you are having difficulty visualizing tones, take time to look at some beautiful scenic pictures. In each, observe what colors have the least amount of grayness in  them and see how this color clarity brings focus to the scene. Then observe what next attracts your eyes. Is it something that is slightly grayer than the main focus? Determine how it is different from the clearest of all objects in the picture. What doesn’t attract your attention? Why is that? Is it because it appears less interesting and/or is it because it is so grayed and therefore, non-eye-catching? Take the time to figure out how tones are distributed throughout different scenic images and artwork. See how nature works.  Try to get a sense of how the amount of grayness in a color can create different effects and different levels of interest.

Since tones are the workhorses of color, it behooves us to become well aware of how they work—and how they don’t work. They are such a big part of a design’s success that we’ll continue this conversation into future posts. If you have questions, feel free to send them my way.

Happy coloring!

Joen

Text, illustrations, and photography copyright   © Joen Wolfrom    The copyright of each artwork shown remains with its  creator.

Joen is a color enthusiast who teaches and lectures on color. She has written three color books: Color Play, Visual Coloring, and The Magical Effects of Color. Her Studio Color Wheel is used to illustrate color concepts in many of these blog posts. She is also the designer of the 3-in-1 Color Tool. Her new book Adventures in Designis now available. Joen’s newest design tool, the Magic Design-Ratio Tool is also available. All books and products are published by C & T Publishing.

We have delved into three of nature’s four color scales during the last several posts: the pure color scale, the tint scale, and the shade scale. In this post our focus is on the tone scale—the world’s most expansive color scale. We are surrounded by tones in nature, in our homes, and with our clothes. The tone scale is a very important group of colors. We will focus on tones during the next few posts. Although they are not the brightest, the clearest, nor the most spirited, the tone scale represents the majority of colors in our world.

Colors in the tone scale have the same major component: they have been diluted with gray in some way.  Once gray has been added to a pure color, a tint, or a shade, the hue no longer belongs to its original scale. It has become a tone. It doesn’t matter whether the grayness is created with a combination of black and white, a gray of any value, a color’s complement, or by some other means. The method is not important. It’s the result that matters.

Here’s a quick overview of the role of tones:

1.   Tones are the colors of winter.

2.   Tones are the most calming of all colors.

3.   The tone scale is the scale most used in quilts.

4.   Tones are the major colors in art.

5.    Most interiors use tones as their major color scale.

6.    Tones are essential to create atmospheric perspective (depth).

7.    Tones are needed to create luminosity.

8.     Toned hues are usually the colors that become most people .

9.     The majority of colors in this world belong to the tone scale.

The grayness of a toned color can be a mere drop or two placed into a pure hue, a tint, or a shade.  It can also be an immersion of gray in a color, so that the color appears very veiled. Also, a tone can be anything between these extremes. Tones can be just a tad bit softer than the pure color or they can be soft and subtle. Thus tones are widely varied.  Tones can be minusculely grayed, slightly grayed, considerably grayed, or they can be so grayed that the tone appears as a gray with a hint of a color in its makeup.

In this post we will look at images that are filled with tone hues.

Winter is beautifully represented by the tone color scale.

It’s winter here and this scene is made from only toned hues. Looking at this image, you will see that the hues range from very dark to very light.  No matter the value or the color seen here, all of the colors present show a certain amount of grayness. Some are more grayed than others.  If this photo included a child with a tinted or pure-colored parka, your eyes would immediately focus on the child in the parka. If the child was wearing a softly shaded color parka, your eyes would move to it too, but perhaps not quite as quickly. However, if the parka was a dark color that was toned, the child and parka would not create immediate attention. Instead, the child would be quietly in the scene to be seen as your eyes adjusted to these tones.

The tone scale is present in images and objects that are made with softened browns, charcoals, tans, beiges, and very grayed colors, such has grayed blues.  

This reflection scene is filled with tone hues.  There is no other color scale present—no pure colors, no tints, and no shades. Because the grayness is so thoroughly present and values are so light in this scene, the effect is one of soft sublety. Although the value range is quite close, there is value contrast present. This subtle value range allows us  to see the image or design.

The tone scale is the scale used when fog is present.  The use of any  filmy effect in art needs colors from the tone scale.  

This foggy scene illustrates the fact that fog is made up of toned hues. Every element in this scene is grayed—-toned. The toning effect softens the color. Even the man walking down the path in this scene is toned. Although his jacket may be an actual shade, in reality the fogginess causes us to see his dark jacket as a darkened tone. This man’s jacket is the darkest object in this scene, so it catches our attention.  The man has become the focus. If the jacket was red or a bright warm green, our eyes would focus immediately on him—even though the color will be toned through the fog. In reality, you cannot see clearly through the veiled fog, so everything in the fog appears with a grayness. Where the fog is deepest, the grayness is most apparent; where it is most thinned out, the colors are the least toned.

Mist requires the use of the tone scale.

This scene is completely covered in toned colors.  The foreground is filled with toned grasses. Notice the three trees are darker than most of the scene (there are some darkened bushes in the foreground). Although the trees are dark, they are still toned. The background’s mist is created with lightly toned hues. Mist is usually made with a high-valued color (light) that has been softly grayed—toned.

If you want a muted effect, use tones.

Tones are so effective when quietness or subtlety is desired.  This scene is filled with toned  colors. Only the moon is devoid of grayness.  Without the moon, this scene would be very quiet in mood. Naturally, because the moon is so different from the rest of the scene, it causes our eyes to go right to it. This illustrates the fact that if you were working on a quilt or another work of art and you want a very calming aura, use tones. If you want an object to stand out in this situation, use a color that is less toned. If you want it to stand out more prominently, use a color that has less grayness in it or one with very little grayness.

Most quilts are made with toned fabrics. Naturally, the amount of toning in a fabric creates a wide variety of effects. We will look at some very toned quilts next week. If you want to send me a photo image of one of your toned quilts, please feel free to do so.  My email address is jwolfrom@jwdpublishing.com.

If you have any questions or comments, please write.  By the way, I hope you have finished your painting of shades. I’d love to see what you have done.

Happy coloring!

 Joen

Text, illustrations, and photography copyright   © Joen Wolfrom    The copyright of each artwork shown remains with its  creator.

Joen is a color enthusiast who teaches and lectures on color. She has written three color books: Color Play, Visual Coloring, and The Magical Effects of Color. Her Studio Color Wheel is used to illustrate color concepts in many of these blog posts. She is also the designer of the 3-in-1 Color Tool. Her new book Adventures in Designis now available. Joen’s newest design tool, the Magic Design-Ratio Tool is also available. All books and products are published by C & T Publishing.

I hope you are ready to create your own favorite warm shades.  It’s simple to do and you’ll find yourself creating some amazing new colors that you will love to use in your next projects. You’ll also discover which pure colors create your shade preferences. After reading today’s post, decide which pure colors you would like to explore further by doing the painting activity provided here.  If you have not painted in decades (or have never painted), do not worry. This is a very easy exercise—-and it is priceless in the color information you will uncover.

Warm shades can be truly stunning and I hope you give yourself the opportunity to explore some of these luscious shades. If you are a painter who has never made your own shade scales from your favorite warm colors, this is a great time to see how beautifully black works with pure colors to create shaded hues. If  you work in a medium that is colored before it reaches your hands, this activity will help you make confident color selections because you will better understand a shade’s pure-color roots. You should not be disappointed at how much you learn by a few hours worth of mixing paints to create warm shades.

My Painting Recommendations

Because warm pure colors can change so dramatically when they are blackened, I think it’s important to work with as many colors as possible—–particularly those that you particularly like. If you explore their shaded nature through paint, you will find yourself being able to work with shades so much easier and make better choices when selecting colors.

Seeing how pure color shaded hues change right before your eyes when black is added is  insightful. Mixing paints and making swatches is an easy activity.

I recommend you purchase no less than three  tubes of pure color acrylic paints for your paint mixing. If you select more, that’s great. Beside selecting your pure colors, you will purchase a clear, dark black, such as Mars Black. It will take you approximately two hours to set up, paint, and clean up each pure-color’s shade scale.

When selecting your paints, consider these options:

1.  I highly recommend you select yellow (cadmium yellow light) as one of your pure color paint selections. This will give you the opportunity to see how yellow transposes itself into an almost magical blend of olive greens.

2.   If you like working with rusts and browns, select a pure color paint that ranges between orange-red and yellow-orange. If you like rusts and browns that have that beautiful orangish flavor, select a brilliant pure orange.  If you prefer rusts and browns to have a hint of burntness (or redness), select an orange that veers toward red, such as an orange-red or a red-orange.  If you like browns and rusts that have a yellowish quality to them, select a pure color that leans toward a yellow-orange or an orange-yellow.

3.  If you want to see how reds change, select one of the several  pure reds.  If you want to see shades of cooler reds, select a pure red color tube that veers toward magenta or a red that has a coolness to it, such as blue-red.

4.  If you love warm greens, select a pure color that is either a chartreuse,  a yellow-green, or a spring green. Each of these pure colors will present different shades that are very enticing.

5.  If you did not get a chance to paint any cool shades when we were discussing the cooler colors, feel free to select a few cool pure colors to work with too. You will find shades from cool pure colors do not visually change as much as warm colors do.

Planning Your Painting Time

1.  Decide whether you want to paint by yourself or if you want to invite a few friends to have a painting day with you (so much fun!). By working in a small group, you can share color swatches, so each of you have samples of each other’s colors.

2.  Determine your painting day and put it on your calendar.  Commit!

3.  Choose your pure colors from the range we have been discussing—-something between a blue-red through to yellow or on to spring green.

4.  Purchase your selected pure color paints from a college book store, an independent art-supply store, a large craft chain store, or an online website. Use Liquitex paint or another brand. Purchase paints in a tube, not a jar. Besides your pure-color paint,  select a strong, clear black paint  (e.g. Mars Black).  Also purchase 2-3 inexpensive paint brushes and a couple of packages of unlined index cards. You will also need construction paper, tag board, or other stiff paper, glue stick, and scissors and ruler or rotary cutter, ruler and cutting board. (Note the paint hints at the bottom of the post.)

Painting Your Shade Swatches

Besides your pure-color paints and black paint (Mars Black), you will need a large sheet of paper to protect your table, one or more coffee stirrers, paper towels (or a cotton cloth or rag), water, paint container, and toothpicks.

1.  Place 1-2 tablespoons of one pure-color paint in your paint container. Add a few drops of water to the paint, so the paint is of good spreading consistency. Be cautious, as you do not want the paint to be watery. Paint one side of an index card completely with the pure-color paint. Clean the paint brush.

2.  Add a tiny drop of Mars Black to your pure-color paint with a toothpick or a coffee stirer. Blend thoroughly with a stirring utensil. Then paint an index card with this new color. Clean the paint brush.

3.  Continue adding black paint to the  paint mixture, painting an index card after each mixing until your paint mixture is almost black. As you paint index cards, begin increasing the amount of black added to the mix. Add enough to see a change, but not so much that the change is vast.

4.  When you think your color is so dark that it appears to be almost black, stop adding black into the paint mixture.  Next paint an index card with the  black paint.

5.  As you paint, set the painted cards aside to dry (keep in order of painting). Once dried, gather in order of painting, put in a pile, and place a heavy book on top of the pile of painted index cards.

6.  Once the cards are flattened, cut a 1/2-inch strip off of the short end of each index card, working from the pure color card to the darkest shade— and then black.

7.  With glue-stick or some other adhesive, place the colored strips in a straight line on a piece of construction paper or tag board, moving from the pure color to black. When placing the strips onto the paper, overlap them slightly, so there is no background paper showing between the strips.

The number of shades in your selected paint’s shade scale will depend on how dark or light your selected pure color is.  If your painted shades are from a light-value  pure color like yellow, golden-yellow, or chartreuse,  you’ll have a greater number of hues than if your selected pure hue is a middle-value color, such as red.  The lighter the pure color, the more shades it will have.

8.  Take a break. Then repeat the process for your other pure-color shade scales.

9.  Place the leftover portions of your painted index cards in envelopes with the name of the pure color and shade scale noted on the front of the envelope. Place these in a safe place to be used for another painting project. Keep your pure color paint tubes, as you can use them again.

Hints:  It can be hard to figure out what color is actually in a tube. You cannot always tell by the name or the colored label. If purchasing at a store, use your eyes to determine your color—not necessarily the color name.  Your selected pure color should be vibrant, rich, and clear. It should not have any graying quality to it; nor should it have any whitening or blackening in its nature. It should be as brilliant as that color can be. When selecting your paints at a store, carefully open the lid to make certain the paint color is a pure color.  If you purchase online, select paints that appear brilliant and pure.

For your information: Liquitex offers several types of paints. For our purposes, we want to use paints from the professional paints category. The specific choice for us within this category is heavy body acrylic paints or more specifically, heavy body artist acrylic paints. 

I hope you enjoy your paint exploration. It will probably take you a few weeks to purchase, schedule, and paint. Have fun.  I know you’ll really learn a lot mixing these paints. Happy painting!

Joen

Text, illustrations, and photography copyright   © Joen Wolfrom    The copyright of each artwork shown remains with its  creator.

Joen is a color enthusiast who teaches and lectures on color. She has written three color books: Color Play, Visual Coloring, and The Magical Effects of Color. Her Studio Color Wheel is used to illustrate color concepts in many of these blog posts. She is also the designer of the 3-in-1 Color Tool. Her new book Adventures in Designis now available. Joen’s newest design tool, the Magic Design-Ratio Tool is also available. All books and products are published by C & T Publishing.

When selecting colors for your designs  (quilts, fiberart, paintings, interior designs, etc.), consider using a few deep, dark shades in your mixture. You won’t be disappointed. These colors give great return for your effort. In fact, they can be the key to making a stunning design. In essence, dark shades can add a visual punch that greatly enhances a design.  Today’s post  explains how splashes of dark shades can enhance designs.

If you have missed the recent posts discussing shades, consider reading at least the first post that discusses what shades are and how they can be difficult to find in certain mediums. It might be advantageous for you to read the subsequent posts about shades too.

Clarifying the Difference Between A Shade and a Dark Tone

Shades are colors that are made by adding black to a pure color. Some shades are slightly darker than the pure color. Today I’m focusing on shades that have had enough black added to them that they are dark or deeply colored. Because these dark hues are a combination of only one pure color and black, they are quite rich and very clear.

As discussed in an earlier post, shades in fabric are rare. Most dark-colored fabrics are dark tones rather than shades. Tones have a graying quality to them; some are slightly grayed while others have so much grayness to them that they are lackluster.

Pat Holly’s traditional quilt Circle ‘Round the Stars gives us an excellent opportunity to see examples of both shades and tones.

Detail view of Circle ‘Round the Stars by Pat Holly

Look closely at the two dark plum appliuqe motifs (bottom two motifs).  Notice how the color on the right is not only darker, but it has a clean clarity to it. There is no grayness or toning in its makeup. If you look closely at the color on the left, it has a graying quality in its makeup. It is toned. Even though the motif on the left is larger in girth, the one on the right is more striking in its coloring because it has no toning quality.  The dark olive background fabric that Pat used is also a shade (made from a blend of yellow and black). The relatively dark rust in the star blocks’ star-points is a shade too. Its coloring has been created by adding black to pure red-orange.

Most designs include a variety of toned colors that display a varied degree of grayness.  Whenever dark shades are included in such a design, they almost always stand out. Their cleanness (lack of grayness} gives them a rich, elegant aura. When a design is seen from afar, the visual impact of shades can be fully seen. It’s much more difficult to see the visual results when you are in front of the sewing machine or in front of a canvas. when seen at a distance (below), the shades give a rich ambience to Pat’s quilt.

Circling “Round the Stars

(Designed by Pat Holly and machine quilted by Sue Nickels)

 When you view Circle ‘Round the Stars from a distance, you can see how the dark shades add a visual punch to the design. (Circle ‘Round the Stars is available as a pattern).

For your information, Pat Holly and her sister Sue Nickels are the authors of many quilting books, which can be found from several online sources. Both are renowned machine quilters. Although Pat Holly does not have her own website, you can learn more about her in her JWD bio.   Visit Sue Nickels’  website to get a complete list of her classes, products, and other information.

Shades Creating Beautiful Effects in Other Designs

Now let’s take a look at a few other works of art that incorporate dark shades to great visual advantage. You will notice each artwork differs in the amount of shades it uses to enhance its design.

Sunrise over Tuscany by Lenore Crawford

Lenore Crawford, one of my favorite fabric artists, has used touches of dark shades in Sunrise over Tuscany. The tall deep green trees near the farmhouse and the trees in the darkened backhills provide beautiful touches of deep coloring that create subtle visual strength. In fact, the use of these shades gives a visual punch to this design.  They have greatly enhanced this sunrise landscape.

To see other examples of her fabulous fabric art, check out Lenore’s gallery. (Lenore has beautiful art for sale.  Also patterns are available for a selection of her artwork. If you are interested in taking classes from Lenore, a schedule of her workshops is shown online.)

Tropical Radiance by Rachel Wetzler

 I love the versatility of fabric artist/quilter Rachel Wetzler from St. Charles, Illinois.  In Tropical Radiance you can see splashes of deep dark green shades that provide a rich backdrop for the darker toned hues in the outer region of this  quilt. Additionally, Rachel reiterated this deep green shade in parts of her inner design. The result is a significant visual impact. Without these dark shades, this design would lack its vitality.

If your design lacks strength or feels a bit insipid, ask yourself if one or more dark shades would bring life into its veins. So often a design that lacks interest is missing the strength of shades, which can give the visual punch to the design. Even in interior design, it’s rare not to need a rich, dark hue to ground the design or to provide contrast. This shade addition often brings with it the vitality the design is lacking.

To see more of Rachel’s wonderful quilts, view her blog A Bit of Yellow.

Fibonacci’s Garden Caryl Bryer Fallert

Caryl Bryer Fallert has an amazing way with color, as you can see in her Fibonacci’s Garden.  Notice how the deepest, darkest shades really give this artwork a background structure for the foreground design to visually play in its extraordinary way.  If Caryl had not have used shades in these areas, this design would not be as rich or as powerful as it is.  Also, it Caryl would have omitted the shades, it may have been very difficult to discern the foreground design from the background.  This could cause visual confusion. However with Caryl’s adept use of well-placed shades, the design is dramtically enhanced.  As you can see, the dark shades contrast beautifully with the lively  foreground.

Caryl, a master of color and design, has an array of artwork that can be viewed (and purchased) on her website Bryerpatch Studio.  If you visit her website, notice how she uses the deep, rich shades in many of her artworks. Caryl gives outstanding workshops. Her fabrics, books, and other products can be purchased from her website too.

Water Curtain with Orchids by Amanda Richardson 

 Amanda Richardson is England’s premier textile/collage artist. She also is a painter. Her artwork is extraordinary. In this closeup view of an orchid garden, Amanda used deep, dark shades to great advantage. Notice how the use of these darkest of shades provide contrast to the foreground details, thereby accentuating the foreground design. Even the shaded red hues of the orchids bring a warm richness to the design.

Much more of Amanda’ Richardson’s artwork  can be seen on her website. She has numerous works of art that use deep, dark shades to enhance her designs’ beauty.  Amanda does both private and corporate commissions. As well, she has a grand selection of artwork that can be purchased from her website.  Do check it out, as her artwork is beautiful—and extraordinary.

Thoughts about Splashes of Dark Shades

As you can see from these designs, it is not necessary to overload a design with deep, dark shades to create a beautiful design. Touches of dark shades well placed in a design can do wonders. Sunrise over Tuscany used few shades while Fibonacci’s Garden incorporates many. Even though the designs differ in the amounts of dark shades used, the shades’ visual impact were profound for a.

When you are working with a design, remember shades give you strong visual impact—even in small doses.

Is Your Design lacking Vitality?

If you design seems to be missing something, consider how you might add a deep shade to enhance its beauty. By substituting a small amount of dark shades for  middle-value hues or darkened tones, you may find your design becomes visually vitalized. If you are a person who tends to stay in middle-value range, really think about expanding your range to add a few of these rich dark hues. They can do wonders to a work of art—or a room setting.

If you are a quilter, fabric artist,  or other fiber artist, you will find shades provide wonderful richness to your work. However, it’s very difficult to find shades in fabric, yarn, or other fibers. If you cannot find a shade in the color you wish, opt to use a toned fabric (fiber, yarn, etc.) that exhibits a minimal amount of grayness.

Exceptions to the Rule

If you are creating a design with a very soft, delicate visual statement, dark shades are not appropriate.  They can overpower the fragility of your design. Find other ways to create beautiful interest and vitality.

Happy coloring!  See you next week.

Joen

Text, illustrations, and photography copyright   © Joen Wolfrom    The copyright of each artwork shown remains with its creator—the artist.

Joen is a color enthusiast who teaches and lectures on color. She has written three color books: Color Play, Visual Coloring, and The Magical Effects of Color. Her Studio Color Wheel is used to illustrate color concepts in many of these blog posts. She is also the designer of the 3-in-1 Color Tool. Her new book Adventures in Designis now available. Joen’s newest design tool, the Magic Design-Ratio Tool has just been released. All books and products are published by C & T Publishing.

Today Laura’s post  shows her “muddy” colored fabric selection. In addition, she gives some insights on how to find secondary designs in a block design. I think Laura’s Memory Star block with triadic colors is smashing. She likes to work with lots of fabrics when making a quilt, so this is just one sample of many more to come.

Enjoy Laura’s post.

Joen

It does seem a bit out of season to be talking about fall colors in the middle of cold temperatures and a snowy winter, but I guess that’s life this February. Today we’re focusing on warm shades—and without a doubt, these are the colors of fall. In this post, I hope you will enjoy seeing the subtle nuances created simply with black added to a warm pure color.

Last week we featured the warmest shades of all, yellow, golden-yellow, and chartreuse. If you did not get a chance to look at this post, do hop over there to see these pure colors’ amazing transformations when black is added.  Today we’ll look at the remaining warm pure colors and their luscious autumnal shades. Many of  these hues are very popular in quilts, paintings, jewelry, and interior design.

In next week’s post, you will see a selection of quilts that include warm shades. These quilts may give you some ideas as to how you may want to use shades to make your designs visually compelling.

Spring-green Shade Scale

 Pure spring green is the coolest of the warm autumnal greens. Many of these dark shades are the hues seen in evergreen forests.

Yellow-green Shade Scale

 Yellow-green’s shades are prevalent in fall and are the hues of many leaves and vegetation. These are very popular warm greens.  They are quite prevalent in fabric.

The Magic of Warm Rust and Brown Shades

When black is first added to the pure colors orange-yellow, yellow-orange, orange, orange-red, red, and blue-red, the pure color simply appears darker. As more black is added to the pure color, rust hues begin to appear. Eventually the rust turns to rusty browns and  then browns as more black is added to the paint, dye, or other pigment. It seems magical. I have made a shade scale of each of these pure colors, so you can see the subtle changes within each of the pure colors’ shade scales and so you can see the subtle color differences from one pure color’s shade scale and another’s.

When you are using brown or rust in your artwork or interior design, it is important to know which pure color these shades come from. By knowing this information, you can make necessary adjustments, if needed. Also, you will be able to select the partnering color or colors with more accuracy. Hence, your design will be much more visually successful.

Warm Shade Scales

Orange-yellow Shade Scale

Notice how warm these rusts and browns are compared to the other pure colors’ shade scales. If you feature this color in your project and you want to add another color, its most beautiful partner is blue.

Yellow-orange Shade Scale

As you can see, yellow-orange rusts and browns show much warmth. If you choose to work with hues from this palette and you want to add an accent or a secondary color, your best choice is cerulean blue, yellow-orange’s natural complement.

Orange Shade Scale

As rusts and browns go, these hues do not evoke a yellowish cast nor a reddish cast. Instead, orange’s rusts and browns appear to be “in the middle.”  So if you want strong rusts or browns that appear more neutral as far as temperature is concerned, this is the palette for you.  Turquoise blue/cyan is orange’s natural complementary partner. They are stunning together.

Orange-red Shade Scale

You can see red’s subtle influence on orange-red’s rusts and browns. They are gorgeous shades—and  hard to find in fabric. If your medium is paint, you can mix amazing rusts and browns with orange-red and black. Orange-red’s natural color partner is aqua blue.

Red Shade Scale

Blackened red provides us with glorious hues of reddish rusts and browns. Maroon is another variation of blackened red.  If only we could find fabrics to match the deep hues of the darkest shades in red…. For many of us, it’s a total surprise to find that the true natural partner to red is aqua green (not green). When you combine red with aqua green, you have an amazing marriage of two colors.

Blue-red Shade Scale

Although blue-red is fairly cool compared to the other warm colors shown here, some of our fall hues do come from blue-red. This pure color’s shades have a plummy feeling to them. Even the darkest hues can appear to be a deep plum-brown. If you want the perfect natural partner for blue-red’s shades, select blue-green. These two families of hues are awesome together.

Aren’t the subtle differences amazing?   Keep your eyes on the lookout for these warm shades. What’s your favorite?

A Call for Quilts, Fabric Art, or Fiber Art

Next week I am going to feature a few quilts using the warm shades—-the fall colors.  If you have a quilt that uses deep, rich warm shades, feel free to email me a jpg image of your quilt.  Include your name, the artwork’s name, and any other information you want to share.

I would like to add two or so more quilts to next week’s lesson, so I’ll be happy to see what you have available.   Talk to you next week.

Joen

 Text, illustrations, and photography copyright   © Joen Wolfrom

Joen is a color enthusiast who teaches and lectures on color. She has written three color books: Color Play, Visual Coloring, and The Magical Effects of Color. Her Studio Color Wheel is used to illustrate color concepts in many of these blog posts. She is also the designer of the 3-in-1 Color Tool. Her new book Adventures in Designis now available. Joen’s newest design tool, the Magic Design-Ratio Tool has just been released. All books and products are published by C & T Publishing.

Two thoughts before beginning this post’s color feature:

First, JWD Publishing changed servers last week due to the amount of space I am using on this blog (much too much I have been told). We  ran into difficulties during the transfer process, so I have been unable to access our blog until now. Patience has been the word of the week for me. I thank you for your patience.

Secondly, thanks to all of you who left comments in a variety of places about which patterns you like on the quilt rotation located on our JWD homepage. Thank you for taking the time to let us know what you think about the homepage, the quilts, and what brings a smile to your face. We want to send complimentary patterns to Barbara Bryan, Frances Hague, Peggy Hatch, Sarah Stevens,  Laura McGrath, and Evelyn O’brien. If you are one of these people, please email me your address.

 WARM SHADE TRANSFORMATION

In this post I’d like to focus on the shades from the warmest of all pure colors: yellow, golden-yellow, and chartreuse. If you have not had a chance to read the initial post about shades or the following post about cool shades, you might want to visit these posts before reading this post.

Whereas cool shades become darker versions of their own pure colors, the majority of warm shades differ greatly from their original pure color. Most warm pure colors make surprising changes when black is added. Because these shades differ greatly from their parent color, their names rarely include their pure-color parent. Therefore, eye recognition is an important factor when working with warm shades (using the color tool can be a handy substitute for eye recogniation). It’s helpful to know a shade’s color origin when the shade is featured in a work of art or a room setting, This knowledge allows you to make the best additional color selections for your project. That’s a huge benefit.

This post features the shades of the three warmest pure colors—golden-yellow, yellow, and chartreuse (yellow is the warmest of all). These three colors can be seen in the color wheel illustration below.

Pure Golden-yellow and its Shades

Pure golden-yellow is shown on the far left and in the top narrow strip in this shade scale.

Some of golden-yellow’s shades can be seen more easily in these long strips.

When black is added to golden-yellow, the color begins to change into a soft bronze. This bronze can have a slight olive cast. As more black is added to the color, the bronze turns into a warm “bronzey” tan. With more black added, these tans become warm “bronzey” browns. These browns are quite warm. Their warmth is accentuated when set against browns of other pure colors.

Color Hint for Golden-yellow

If you are featuring golden-yellow shades in your artwork or interior space and you feel the need to add a spark or accent to your design, consider using pure golden-yellow as an eye-catcher. If you prefer using another color, use one or more hues from the blue-violet family, as these two pure colors are natural complements. Blue-violet and its lavender tints are exceptionally beautiful with golden-yellow shades.

A Helpful Color Hint:

The pure golden-yellow color used in this shade scale illustration is the pure golden-yellow on the Ives Color Wheel (portion shown above). This pure golden-yellow lies exactly halfway between orange-yellow and yellow on the color wheel. This mid-point pure color represents all of the subtle variations of pure golden-yellow colors that lie between orange-yellow and yellow.

Each variation of pure golden-yellow will have its own set of shades showing subtle differences between its neighbor’s hues. For instance, if you are using a golden-yellow paint or fabric that lies close to yellow on the color wheel, then your golden-yellow shades will be slightly different from the mid-point golden yellow shown here. A golden-yellow lying close to yellow will have shades that include a subtle olive influence in their makeup too. However, If your shades are  from a pure golden-yellow that lies close to orange-yellow, then your shades will be slightly influenced by a tinge of orange-yellow’s makeup. You may be able to see some of these subtle golden-yellow variations in your paints, fabrics, or other mediums.

In addition, yellow and chartreuse will have their own subtle changes in their pure colors and shade variations, as subtly different pure yellows and pure chartreuses move along the color wheel toward a neighboring color.

Pure Yellow and its Shades

Pure yellow is shown on the far left and in the top narrow strip in this shade scale.

Yellow’s shades can be quite a surprise with its olive transformation. 

The first hint of black in pure yellow gives us a barely perceivable hint of darkened yellow. However, once more than a drop of black s added to yellow, this yellow begins an unbelievable transformation into an array of olive hues. As more black is added, the olive (or olive green) becomes more apparent. Eventually, deep, dark, rich olive shades are created. How amazing is that! The horizontal strips provide an opportunity to see more clearly some of yellow’s olive shades.

Color Hints for Yellow

If olive is your major color choice in an artwork or in a room setting, consider using touches of pure yellow for accents or as a visual pick-up color. Pure yellow and olives are beautiful together for obvious reasons. Use this tidbit of information advantageously when featuring olive in your art or in your home’s interior space.

Also, because yellow and violet are complementary partners, they create a beautiful partnership. Therefore, if you want to introduce one new color to your olives, pure violet or some of violet’s lavender hues (tints) would work extremely well. There are red-violet and blue-violet lavender hues too, but the lavender hues for olive are from the violet family. (We’ll talk more about complements in a later post.)

Pure Chartreuse and its Shades

Pure chartreuse is shown on the far left and in the top narrow strip in this shade scale.

A selection of chartreuse shades are shown here to illustrate more clearly some of its beautiful shades.

Whereas blackened yellow turns into olive hues, blackened chartreuse turns into shades of avocado. Notice the difference between the shades of these two pure colors.  When a drop of black is added to chartreuse, the new hue appears slightly darker. As more black is added, the avocado shades become more apparent. You can see how luscious the dark avocado shades are.

Color Hints for Chartreuse

If you are featuring chartreuse shades in your artwork or interior space, consider using pure chartreuse as an accent or as a visual pick-up color.. It keeps the color palette narrowly focused while adding a bit of excitement to the overall design. If you prefer to accent with another color, your best choice would be red-violet, it’s natural complement. Red-violet hues are glorious with chartreuse.

Training Our Eyes

It’s important to begin training our eyes to see the subtle nuances of colors. It just takes some practice. To begin, find ways to “see” differences through a variety of exercises. Here are a few that may interest you. Have fun while training your eyes.

• Be on the lookout for shades of yellow, golden-yellow, and chartreuse during this week.  You might find examples of these shades in dinnerware, cars, signage, jewelry, clothing, vegetation, flowers, advertisements or artwork.
• Look over your fabrics, paints, yarns, fiber, etc. Can you find shades of these pure colors in your medium?
• If you have the color tool, use it to help verify the origin of the shades you find. (Remember, you’re not trying to match swatches on a pure color’s page. You’re trying to find the color page that the shade looks like it belongs to.
• If you have time to share your experiences with with the rest of us,  do comment on your experience hunting for these shades in the world around you.

Note: it’s worth remembering that our monitors do not always give us accurate color readings unless they have been recently calibrated. The colors you see on your monitor may differ slightly from my monitor. Regardless of that, you should be able to see differences between these three pure colors and their shade scales. These illustrations will still give you an idea of how black influences these three warm pure colors. If does not really matter if they veer a little to one neighboring color or another.

Happy coloring! Have a great week.

Joen

Text, illustrations, and photography copyright   © Joen Wolfrom

Joen is a color enthusiast who teaches and lectures on color. She has written three color books: Color Play, Visual Coloring, and The Magical Effects of Color. Her Studio Color Wheel is used to illustrate color concepts in many of these blog posts. She is also the designer of the 3-in-1 Color Tool. Her new book Adventures in Designis now available. Joen’s newest design tool, the Magic Design-Ratio Tool has just been released. All books and products are published by C & T Publishing.