Effective Use of Colour in Artistic Work - Essay Example

AR Effective Use of Color in Artistic Work Effective use of Colour in Artistic Work Throughout the history of the world it has been witnessed that many artists have entered the arena of art and left. These artists have left a remarkable impact on the art lovers. Everyone in this world has an aim to do something and the artists have an aim to enlighten the world about their thoughts. It has been seen that many artworks were designed by the artists to depict their thoughts and feelings about the world or a particular issue. Artworks are believed to tell a lot about the surroundings and inner feelings about an artist. The artist puts all his thoughts and feelings in that artwork of his and enlightens the audience about everything that he thinks. The issue that now arises is the use of sketches and other techniques by the artists do not correctly depict all the feelings and thoughts of an individual. However many famous artists like Pablo Picasso have made paintings which makes the use of sketches and brushes to depict their feelings and thoughts. And to depict their feelings and thoughts through sketches Picasso and other artists have been very successful. Now the question arises as to if colour has to play a role in the work of artists or not (Withrow 2004). This assignment would further tell if colour has an important role to play in the artworks by the artists or not. It would give details about the colour use in art therapies and would discuss two artists who have successfully used colour in their paintings to enlighten the audience about the real mood of the painting. Before 17th century the use of colour in art works was not much common in the paintings. It was used only as abstracts and not particularly emphasized upon by the artists. Impressionism was prevalent in the paintings back then when only colours were used to complete the paintings. Many aspects of colour were not previously emphasized upon and because of this the artists did not use colour effectively in their works. After the twentieth century it was noted that the old impressionist behaviour was being changed and many painters started to use their techniques to modify the old school. According to artists paintings depict such a deep emotion and feeling that at times cannot even be expressed verbally. These paintings bring about a change in the audience which views it and understands the deep emotions behind the painting (Case & Daley 1992; Ganim 1999). However if an individual does not understand paintings then he will consider an artwork to be a mere proposition of images and arts. The case to be discussed here is about the artists who brought a change in the subject of arts to change the old school thoughts of impressionism. It was believed earlier that paintings did not necessarily need particular colours so as to show the complete reality of an art to the audience. But gradually with time it has become known that colours play a very important role in art works. Colours specify a particular effect on people so as to show the painters emotions and feelings. It has been researched that colour has a profound effect on the audiences body and mind. Colour is believed to fulfil all the representations of an art which are not fulfilled by mere sketches and marks of brushes. Thus it can be said that colour is being used as a great tool to express forms of individuality and thoughts which could not be expressed previously by other tools (Withrow 2004). Research by Naumberg (1973) and Kramer (1973) suggested that the use of colour can be very important in awaking the very emotions of an individual. It was presented by them that mind does not store words or text but it rather stores images which are fulfilled with deep colours. This research by Naumberg and Kramer provided the foundations of modern art by the artists and it was followed by the painters who came next into the arena. One of the artist who used colour effectively in his works to enlighten the audience about the realities was Vincent Van Gogh. Vincent van Gogh came up with many paintings during his era which clearly showed the superior usage of colour in his paintings. The effective use of colour by Vincent van Gogh can be seen in his paintings when he is using colours in the artworks to tell the audience about the interesting points of the paintings. Oil in Canvas was the title of the painting in which he used colour effectively to portray his feelings about the room he was living in. The painting was given life by Vincent van Gogh’s usage of colours as he is trying to give a character to everything in his room. This involves from the very minute things in his room to the very major things (Gogh & Ives 2005). Everything in his room is given life by Vincent van Gogh’s effective use of colour which would not have been possible otherwise. This was not the only painting of Vincent which used colours to portray his feelings but several other paintings were made by him which used colours effectively. Another one was titled as Starry Nights which used mostly the blue, yellow white and black colours. The painting tells the viewer about the peaceful nature of life and also the nature of night as we all view it. His effective use of colour helps in portraying the colour of night in such a way that every individual is surprised. The viewer of the painting is usually startled to relate himself to the painting as everyone once in his life has witnessed the peaceful night. Had the colour blue not been used in the painting to depict the colour of night it would have been impossible to co-relate the peacefulness of night (Gogh & Ives 2005; Withrow 2004). Instead if the impressionist behaviour of old schools was followed by Vincent the colour black could have been used to depict night but he did not do so as black would not successfully show the peaceful nature of night to the viewers. Similarly again the usage of white colour to show the startling lights of the stars is another perfect colour combination by Vincent to show viewers how comfortable a night can be. The use of dark colours is also done by Vincent in the painting but those dark colours are only used to show the towns which are nearby. Dark colours are used here so that it can be shown that these towns are far but are yet peaceful enough. If the usage of colours on town is clearly analyzed it would be seen that the town is emitting some sort of peaceful essence which is witnessed by many in their life. Now the effective use of colour by Vincent is so great in the paintings that he has not eluded the old school thoughts of using black colours. He uses black colours to portray a large structure which may pose as an obstacle to many in their lives. Through effective use of colour Vincent is actually portraying everything that he has on his mind. The artwork is only portraying what Vincent wants because of the colour usage. Black is used where it should be so as to portray an obstacle in an individual’s life whereas other colours in the art are used to show towns and the peaceful night enjoyed by many other individuals. In other words only because of the effective use of colour by Vincent he is able to show two aspects of life i.e. one with peacefulness and one with obstacles (Gascoigne 2006; Withrow 2004). Similarly another work of Vincent can be discussed here which also uses colour combination to portray the realities of life. The painting titled The Potato Eaters is considered to be a masterpiece which shows five individuals who are eating potatoes. The usage of colour by Vincent in this masterpiece was such that every minute detail in the painting was emphasized upon. Colour usage helps the viewer to analyze the art in such a way that he can know what is present in the picture. The use of peach and white colour on human beings was such intense by Vincent that they almost seem flawless and filled with natural abilities. The usage of colour is so intense that the brightest of the emotions can be seen on the faces of the individuals who are seen in the picture. If the usage of colour was not done so effectively then it would have been nearly impossible to portray such emotions in the picture. Colour usage was effectively used by Vincent in his times to provide the viewers with an insight to the aspects of life. It can be said that it is very difficult or nearly impossible to portray such kind of information without the proper usage of colours ((Gogh & Ives 2005; Withrow 2004; Case & Dalley 1992). Another famous artist is Paul Cezanne who is known to be the father of modern art as he introduced colours in such a way that everyone came to know about the real essence of colours. He used colours in such a fashion that they seemed to change the whole meaning of artworks. He used colour excessively in his paintings to depict his inner feelings and emotions (Schapiro & Cezanne 1988). He believed that colours should be used in such a fashion that they express the meaning of the painting themselves. But to do so he believed that colours should be used in order. His famous artwork Bathers clearly shows is orderly usage of colour because of which he became quite famous. He used colours in such a fashion that the whole theme of the picture was not disturbed. It is believed that Paul started making the picture by using a natural location but then with the use of colours he changed the whole course of the painting such that the painting later came to be known as an abstract form of painting (Golding & Krumrine 1996; Burlington Magazine 2006). The Card Players was another famous painting by him which showed the luminescence of the colours used by him. The usage of colours in the paintings represents dignity in the life of common man. Colours have been used in such a way that other objects are also coloured but these objects are not given any heed by the audience because of the orderly use of colours on them by Paul Cezanne. Paul was known for his use of vibrant colours in his paintings which made him popular in his era. He used both vibrant and dull colours in such a fashion that the original meaning of the painting was delivered to the audience. Such was Cezanne’s love for colour that he was later known to be the master of colour art in the world (Golding & Krumrine 1996). If art is clearly examined it can be seen that all the realities of the world have been captured in one picture. Many of the aspects of the world are laid down in these pictures which if clearly examined can leave a sense of morality on the subject. Artists are individuals who give every aspect of the life a great thought and they further put their thoughts in their paintings. It has been noticed that colour has been a very important tool to describe feelings and emotions of an artist. The colour usage is such that it leaves an impact on the viewer. However this colour usage must be as orderly as Paul Cezanne and Vincent Van Goghe had used. From previous discussions it can be clearly seen that both the artists greatly helped the world to realize the power of colour in the paintings. It is believed that further if the use of colours is carried on much more new innovations may arise which would provide more information about the artworks (Case & Dalley 1992; Withrow 2004). Bibliography Top of Form GANIM, B. (1999). Art and healing: using expressive art to heal your body, mind, and spirit. New York, Random House International. Bottom of Form Top of Form WITHROW, R. L. (2004). The Use of Color in Art Therapy. Journal of Humanistic Counseling Education and Development. 43, 33. Bottom of Form Top of Form GOGH, V. V., & IVES, C. F. (2005). Vincent van Gogh: the drawings. Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Bottom of Form Top of Form GASCOIGNE, L. (2006). Vincent van Gogh and Expressionism. SPECTATOR -LONDON- WEEKLY-. 58-59. Bottom of Form Top of Form SCHAPIRO, M., & CÉZANNE, P. (1988). Paul Cezanne. New York, Harry N. Abrams. Bottom of Form Top of Form GOLDING, J., & KRUMRINE, M. L. (1996). Paul Cezanne: The Bathers. The New York Review of Books.43, 45. Bottom of Form Top of Form (2006). Paul Cezanne (1839-1906). BURLINGTON MAGAZINE. 148, 583-585. Bottom of Form Top of Form CASE, C., & DALLEY, T. (1992). The handbook of art therapy. London, Tavistock/Routledge. Bottom of Form Read More