Observing colors like an artist

When you paint regularly, and work from observation, there comes a time when you begin observing colors differently.

Has this happened to you?

Observing colors like an artist can happen at a different moment for everybody.

So if it hasn’t happened yet, you’re in for a delight. Because once you begin observing colors like an artist, you start noticing so many more colors everywhere you look. And trust me – if you’re painting from observation on a consistent basis, it will happen.

When your artistic eye has developed and you’re observing colors like an artist, it becomes so much easier to paint. It feels a more instinctive process to choose which paints to use.

And all those extra colors you’re observing in your subject? You’ll naturally want to represent them in your artwork, which can mean your paintings can have even more interest and color variation to please the eye.

So how do you go from simply seeing colors to observing colors like an artist?

The first step is to train your eye to see colors in two main aspects: hue and tone (also referred to as “value”).

But what is the difference between value and hue?

Well in general when we describe colors, we refer to their hue, e.g. “green” or “purple”. But this is only half of what makes up their color.

The tone or value of a color is much more important for artists to observe, because recreating this in your artwork is what makes a subject look 3D and full of form.

Training your eye to observe the difference between value and hue can really help you to improve your artistic skills and dramatically improve the standard or artwork you’re producing.

This mini class explains more about observing colors:

So now you can focus on judging color hue vs value when you’re working. In fact, you don’t even need to be painting to do this. You can look at objects all around you and see what variations you can notice in tone and hue.

Just through making color studies from obervation on a regular basis, it’s not only possible to train your eye to observe colors in a different way: it’s inevitable this will happen to you. It’s like unlocking new superpowers!

This can happen whether you’re working in acrylics, pastels, color pencils or what I consider the best and most convenient medium to work in: watercolor.

If you are working with watercolor, I recommend following this process to help you stay in control of the paints, especially if you’re a beginner.

Have you started observing colors differently as a result of artmaking?

What were your experiences of that? How soon did it happen for you? Do you notice a difference in your artwork as a result? I’d love for you to leave a comment to share your own experiences.

After watching this mini class, why not take our free full-length video classes that guide you step-by-step and help you to observe colors like an artist: https://www.naturestudio.com/free-class/