But don't take my word for it. Color, demystified
Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at 8:43PM Hello.
My name is Sharon. Some people call me Yarnista.
Either is fine, but you should never call me late to dinner. I get cranky when I don't eat on schedule.
Today, I would like to talk to you about colors.
Colors are good. Colors add beauty to the world. They make our lives more enjoyable.
Some people are scared of colors. They think certain colors will make them look like they belong on the cast of Jersey Shore or Masterpiece Theater. (Or Masterpiece Theatre. The characters are equally pasty.)
I get many emails every day about colors. Which are a match made in heaven? Which are emissaries of the devil?
This leads me to believe that you may have questions about colors.
I am here to help.
Me, Sharon.
I am on the left.
That's pretty much what my hair looked like today. I tweeted about it, in fact.
So, color is too broad a topic to cover in one eensy blog post. Today, we'll talk about two things.
The first is that colors do not need to match.
Let me repeat that. Colors that look good together do not have to match.
As Stacy and Clinton would say, outfits don't need to match, they need to go.
There is a difference.
Let's get over the idea that we need to find yarn colors that match each other for our projects. Instead, let's think about how using a different color, a color that enhances has a much greater visual impact than something that matches.
I teach a workshop on the Psychology of Color. Some of you may have taken it at Sock Summit. I'm teaching it again in October at Amazing Threads in the Twin Cities of Minnesota.
One of the first things we talk about is using complementary colors -- colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel. Red and green. Blue and orange. Purple and yellow. Complementary color pairings are bold and dynamic. The colors bring out the best in each other. Opposites attract and all that.
These pictures that I'm showing you -- all badly photographed by yours truly at the Chicago Institute of Art -- all use complementary colors.
In fact, they all use the same combination of complementary colors: blue and orange. (Keep in mind that in color theory, brown is actually dark orange.)
And to great effect. All of these paintings, except maybe for the one of me above, use a rich blue with green undertones (I might describe it as a spruce color. But I'm from American Siberia, where we have a lot of spruce trees. Someday I will develop a class on the geography of color.)
(Someday, I might develop classes on all seven social sciences and their relationship to color.
Imagine opening your next Stitches booklet to the following listings:
Anthropology and Awesome Color 4U!
Coloronomics: The Hidden Side of Everything
More than Maps: The Geography of Rainbows
History's Color Mysteries
The Dude in the Red Tie Wins: Color in Politics
Knit Happy: The Psychology of Color in Knitting. [Wait, I've already done this...]
Sociologically Speaking: Pantone's Plot to Get Everyone to Wear the Same Thing [it's working...])
The orange that's used in these works varies from chestnut brown to fire red. It doesn't match the blue-green.
Notice how the Madonna's robes don't match the swaddling cloth. (In fact, look at the clothes that Mary's cousin Elizabeth is wearing. Complementary purple and yellow.)
One color sets off the other. The bright orange makes the blue richer. The blue makes the orange seem more regal, less jolting.
They don't match. They go.
These artists are some of the best the world has ever seen. Their work spans millennia. No one here is using matching blues or matching oranges. These artists didn't shy away from complementary colors because it might not match the interior decor of a benefactor or a pyramid.
Their use of color is what makes them the masters.
Are you feelin' what I'm sayin'?
Dynamic color choices separate the mediocre from the great. Why spend time knitting something mediocre if you don't have to? Why plan outfits -- or paintings, or anything, really -- that are just OK?
Forget "neutral" goes-with-everything beige. Beige is the antithesis of interesting. Stop knitting with beige. There's no reason for that.
"But I want a sweater that will match everything," you say.
And to that I reply, "Poppycock."
Poppycock because beige doesn't actually look good on anyone. Show me one skintone that is enhanced by beige.
Poppycock because the artists whose work hangs in world class museum collections were not painting subjects wearing beige clothing. (They might wear no clothing, but that's a different topic for a different day.)
Poppycock because if you knit one sweater that goes with everything, then you never need to knit another sweater. And what are you going to do with your time then? Read blogs?
Try the color combination of deep blue/green with orange, brown, or red.
But don't take my word for it. I am but a lowly Yarnista. If you won't listen to me, perhaps Renoir can be more persuasive.
Here are some yarn ideas to think about:
And you could come up with many more possibilities.
Stop thinking about matching, and start thinking about what enhances each color you're working with. Very often, it's something on a different part of the color wheel.
P.S. This is part one of a new ongoing series about color. Leave your questions for me in the comments, and I'll give you my $.02.
Reader Comments (26)
I so agree with you! My mother was the one who prejudiced me against matching - "Boring!" she would say! So predictable and safe.
And you've put it into words and pictures so well!
Thanks!
The heck with the philosophy of color, just send me lots of Eavan! ;o)
THAT'S IT! (quoting Charlie Brown...)
That is why I am 50% done with my daybreak and I hate it: a total Ah ha! Moment. I am so ashamed because I have 3 quarters of Art History and now I remember. (claiming only that it was ahem, years ago). I have done way too many pieces with the thought of matching. I am doing a test knit now and I went toward a non matching color AND I love it. This is totally awesome and I wish I could jump up and down, but hubby is asleep next to me. Sharon, you are a genius. You know that right? I have to make it to one of your workshops because I know I would learn SO much. Someday....
I think I need to try this with decorating. I think I'll stick with black and blue for clothing, because I don't think I could take the jolt that wearing purple and yellow or orange and aqua would give me. But I love the examples you gave here today! Excellent post!
Hello,
I'm so happy about this post :) May I dare take it one step further and suggest some of it is a cultural thing? If I think about how in Africa or India people mix the boldest colors you can think of and still they look stunning (Indian saris... one of the most gorgeous examples for bold color use in clothing there is I think).
I often add a splash of color to my work suits (often boring black pants/skirts, tops often white/cream/light or dark grey) by adding a funky colored cardigan/sweater. I honestly do not understand this concept of having things match... I did encounter it when traveling in the US where shop assistants would do their best to dress me top to toe in one color and would even gasp when I said that I didn't want to look like a giant green/red/blue thing, but actually would like more than one color in my outfit.
And one of the best examples I think is the sweater I'm knitting right now out of the August clubs in Kindling and Summer Embers. One a brown with russets and caramel colors and the other pink/purple/gold/orange. And each enhances the other greatly. Here you can see a few pictures of it on Rav http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/three-irish-girls/802379/2701-2725#2715.
Cheers, Eva
I love this little bite of education. Wish I could take your class. Keep the yummy colors coming along with the knowledge. This is why you are The Yarnista.
Have you been giving Lilly lessons when I was not looking?
She doesn't "match" her clothes at all - but I figure this way she will develop her own style, lol :D
Thanks for this post---will look forward to more! I've never been very good with colors, but I have friends who are! Am trying to learn---I'll often see them put colors together that I NEVER would---and then I love it! Always more to learn~Thanks!!
Thanks for the encouragement to bloom. I needed that!
Oooh, I like this post! I really love the blue and red/orange contrast. Can you do purples next? I have a hard time making purple really sing because I am afraid of yellow (yellow is not a flattering color on me, I end up looking jaundiced or sickly).
Love the color combos! Now if only I could tell which ones would actually look good on me.
Eva, I totally agree with you. Color preferences are influenced by geography, politics, and culture. If you look at the prevalent colors during the Great Depression, they were cheery pinks, aquas, sunny yellows, and jade greens. One might think colors would reflect the times, but the opposite is often true -- the colors we surround ourselves with are often an antidote to circumstances beyond our control. (Sociologists have documented the same effects with movies and music. The more difficult the world circumstances, the more escapist and fluffy our entertainment gets.)
In terms of which colors look good on people, bear this in mind: everyone can wear something as an accent shade. If you don't think yellow is your color, you can still wear it in small doses when paired with other colors, as the yellow makes the purple look more purple.
Everyone can wear blue and green. If your hair and eyes are dark, vibrant, saturated shades look best on you. If you have light hair and eyes, you can wear lighter washes of the same shades. Deep spruce like what I featured in this post is wearable by everyone because it reads much like a neutral. No one says, "Oh, I can't wear denim. Denim blue looks awful on me." We all wear jeans at some point. This color blue is the same. You can wear it in the right context.
Vibrant oranges and cherry reds look amazing on people with olive and brown skin. Small pops also accent blonde hair nicely. (Yellow/orange/red are analagous colors, next to each other on the color wheel, so they tend to be safer choices.)
Chestnut browns and pumpkins look amazing on people with auburn, red, and blonde hair. If your hair color is brown, consider your skin's undertones. If your skin is very pink, aim towards pumpkin oranges and browns to counteract some of the redness. If your skin has a yellow undertone, brighter oranges and reds add life to your face.
Wonderful post. Thank you, I learned lots, including the fact that I love to put "opposites" together is really ok. I'm hoping you'll write about more than 2 colors in your next post. I can do 2 opposites, but more than that and I get woozy.
Smiles,
Cheryl
Thanks Sharon, so informative and entertaining. I'm working on a 2 color stranded hat in tangerine and an oceany blue and I agree the colors really come to life next to one another.
Have you pondered the idea of doing a webinar on color theory, so all of us in far flung places could attend.
Unless of course you'd like to come back to Cordova :)
I would like to sign up for "More than Maps: The Geography of Rainbows"
I love all of your posts, and I especially love this one. So informative, and such lovely pictures! I would like one of each of the blue-orange combos, please. :)
I have not looked into virtual classes, but that is an interesting idea, Shelly!
And actually, I'm planning on coming back to Cordova in the summer of 2013! Hopefully, we shall meet again!
I want to see you at Stitches Midwest next year for a class. Make them get you on the schedule!!
I just thought I'd make a shawl with your Driftwood and Heathered Lilac. What do you think of that?
Hmmmm....you know I don't wear much for bright colors, but I have to question that everything "goes."
Black and navy?
Black and brown?
Are you sure? :)