For me, color theory has been the science I love most in my work. I have always been a lover of color. I have been intrigued with additive color, subtractive, and partitive color theory since high school. But above all, what pulled me deeper down the rabbit hole was learning I could mix primary colors from “secondary” colors.

That’s right, the theory that I grew up learning in school was that it’s impossible to mix the primary colors from any other colors. But the reality of chemistry is far in a way different from theory. With very cheap artist paints, this can not be accomplished because they use very cheap and accessible pigments to mix. But with very expensive paints, it can be accomplished. This is because higher end paint companies will source very light-fast and diverse pigments. They also will only mix pigments with a binder and not use additives like a white or black base paint to save on pigments. Because of this, many pigments are somewhere in the color space between a secondary color and a primary color. For example, a pthalo green (blue shade) leans towards blue. This is a color only sold by higher end companies. If you mix pthalo green (bs) with dioxazine purple, you will create a dark blue shade similar to azurite blue.

This happens because the colors are leaning so close to blue from either end. The only way the colors can move is more towards a blue hue. The MAIN difference is saturation for obvious reasons. For example, a pure pigment is as saturated as a color can be. So any subtractive method of mixing will dull the pigments used.

For me, this opened the doors on experimentation. No more limitations on what I try and what color is supposed to do. I had to dive in and start studying from square one after that.

I will forever be in love with manipulating color. Not just because color is intrinsically attached to art but because the science behind it. Our brain’s ability to take in different wavelengths and reinterpret color through light rays is undeniable astounding. Especially considering we all have varying sensitivities to color, light and form. I have even learned that my left eye interprets value better than my right eye. Yet, my right eye perceives color saturation slightly stronger. Never give up and keep studying what is possible.