Unlearning Color: Seeing the World with an Artist’s Eye
Is the sky really blue? Are trees truly green? Or is it just what we’ve been taught to see? Disconnecting from ingrained biases and training your eye to perceive reality beyond convention can be one of your greatest assets as an artist.
Painting in Lubec, Maine using a viewfinder.
Consider this: the ancient Greeks had no word for blue. Imagine the freedom of describing the sky as a cool shade of green or a muted violet rather than defaulting to "blue." Every child instinctively reaches for the blue crayon for the sky, the green for trees—associations that linger into adulthood, subtly shaping how we interpret the world. These ingrained perceptions create filters, often limiting our ability to see deeply.
“On the point” oil on board by Don Ripper.
I confront these biases daily in my own work. For instance, I avoid using pre-mixed greens straight from the tube, except for viridian in portrait work. Instead, I mix my own secondary colors—an exercise that sharpens my eye and challenges my assumptions.
At its core, becoming a great painter is about becoming a great observer. I am constantly painting in my mind, asking: How would I mix that color? Where is the halftone—the bridge between light and shadow? When I'm at the easel, my internal dialogue loops through essential questions: Is this hue lighter or darker? Is it warmer or cooler than what I see?
One inexpensive tool to help you in your color reality journey is neutral grey viewfinder. This consists of a square that can be changed into a rectangle in order to aid in composition. Overlooked by most in these little gems is a small round hole that allows you to isolate the color of what you are observing against a neutral background. Think warmer, cooler, brighter or darker.
Gustav Klimt, Prince William Nii Nortey Dowuona (1897). Courtesy W&K – Wienerroither & Kohlbacher
Of course, scale, design, proportion, texture, and edges all play crucial roles, but it all starts with seeing. We’ll explore these ideas more in the future, but for now I will leave you with this stunning recently found painting by Gustav Klimt. This amazing find from his early days, far less decorative from his prevailing style in “The Kiss,” shows how great his perception is. Take a look at that shoulder! The range in color and tone is breathtaking. Warm, cool, light and dark in stunning harmony.
Notice the subtle value and hue changes on the points of these triangles. The collar bone I find inspiring!
Keep in mind this period of Klimt’s work we can think of as preparation for what we will remember him as. Being able to see these color relationships will take your Art to another level. An Artist that can see everything can become anything!
Gustav Klimt “The Kiss,” 1907 Belvedere Museum Vienna, Austria
