Oct, 26: Color and Light: Chapters 8 & 4: Visual Perception

James Gurney says, "We can't know for sure hiw one person sees the world compared to another, even if both have normal color vision." color blindness affects about 10% of the population. I think that these two statements are important things to know about others, especially those who will see our work, but I agree with Gurney that our role as artists is to share the world how we see it with others so thy can see it for themselves.

The visual brain processes tonal information separately from color information.
- Tonal pathway of thought interprets the where
- Color pathway interprets thee what.

Specifically, Gurney says moonlight, but it applies to any type of lighting, "Since we cannot escape the prison of our own senses, paintings by artists are the best a=way for us to share our personal perception of moonlight [insert light source.]."

Moonlight questions:
If moonlight is a neutral or reddish colored light, and if it is so close to the minimal threshold of our color receptors anyway, then why do so many artists paint moonlight with a blue or green cast?
Do we really see it that way?
Is it some kind of illusion, or perhaps is it just an artistic convention?

Translating a moonlight scene involves translating a rod experience into a cone experience.


Edges and Depth:
Oversharpness in paintings happens because our eyes naturally adjust their focus to both the near and far objects when we look around at the real world. This can confuse a viewer and should be adjusted so that the painter can emphasis the focus of the painting.
Adaptation and Contrast:
Colored light affects all other colors in a  painting and afterimage is an important consideration. When painting a light source the shadows or planes "unaffected directly by the light receive a complimentary contrast to the hue of the light source.



Chapter 4 

The Color Wheel:
- Complements: Any color that holds a position directly across the wheel from another is known as a complement.
- Chroma: The perceived strength of a surface color seen in relation to white.
-Traditional wheel: 
Problems:
1. Any of the colors on the outer rim of a traditional color wheel could be primaries not just red yellow or blue.
2. None of the colors are secondary by nature.
3. The spacing on a this wheel is out of proportion.

The Munsell System:
These colors range in value from black(0) to white(10) and a range of chroma from least to most intense. thus creating a cylindrical shape.
The Yurmby color wheel:
This system uses 6 equal primary colors and should be remembered even of the pigments to match them are not always available.

Grays an Neutrals: 
- In the middle of theses pages Gurney talks about how you can use grays mixed from the colors int he painting to balance the contrast and harmonize the painting because the colors you are using will be complimented by the same color found in the grays.


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