Colour Study Part 2

COLOUR APPEARANCES
FAITHFUL OR FALSE REPRODUCTION OF COLOURS
AND CHALLENGE FOR COLOUR MANAGEMENT
BY
RANJAN RAGHUVIR JOSHI

Continuous and curious probing
through the angles of Art and
Science, the subject COLOUR
remains a psycho-physiological
phenomenal experience.

Phenomena because certain things such as
colour appearance could not be rationalised
as a perfect science of
COLOUR MANAGEMENT till today.
Sir Issac Newton showed that…
WHITE SUN RAYS BEAM when passed
through the solid glass prism the
RAINBOW or SPECTRUM can be
experienced by anybody the way
Sir Newton did it in 1666 A. D.

This treatise is an attempt to look
through the angle of
Aesthetics, Science and Technology.
This colour phenomena perhaps could be
revealed to us through the said effort.

Here is an attempt to see the colour
appearance through the world of Van
Gogh. Very few great painters- perhaps
only Leonardo-da-Vinci– have taken a
more scientific approach to art. The
artist Seurat, his work of Pointillism is
well known. The law of Simultaneous
contrast of colours by the French man
Michel-Eugene Chevreul is well known.

Notice the following visual details
in the painting the dot formation of
colours which creates an illusion of
colour mixing.
The work of Pointillism by Artist Seurat
were based on optical mixture such as
to produce green it is not necessary to
blend yellow and blue pigments on a
palette. The same effect, or nearer it,
can be obtained by stippling by many
tiny, separated spots of yellow and
blue on a canvas and permitting the
eye to make its own mixture.

Vincent probably
learned Seurat’s
theories not from
the artist himself
but from Signac,
who was Seurat’s
friend and the
man most
responsible for
articulating his
theories.

Vincent Van Gogh could be the best
case study in order to understand the
colour appearances
and the colour management.

Famous Indian Artist Shri N.S, Bendre who practiced pointillism

A
R
T
- for absorption of the light rays by the object being
perceived by our eye
- for reflection or refraction of the same light rays, and
- for transmission of light rays in context to object being
perceived.

In short this word ‘ART’ is nothing
but a science of colour.
Physics, chemistry, physiology, psychophysics
and psychology all in one.
Psychology because it is our brain
that interprets the light signals and gives
the experience of colour reality.

Perception and reality
is all connected with the game of
the optical illusion.

1. Colour change by Juxtaposition
This is placing two colours side by side
to produce the effect of a desired colour.
A single colour seen independently may
show a particular hue or tonal value, but
the same colour if seen in relation with
another colour may appear different.
This is called the apparent change of
colour by JUXTAPOSITION. Even a
neutral grey will appear to be tinged with
the complementary of the background
colour. The hue of a colour is changed
this way.

A particular tone of
a colour will be
changed apparently
when seen against
a dark background.
The colour appears
lighter against a
dark background
and dark against a
lighter background.
A grey will appear
darker against white
background and
lighter against black
background.

2. Colour change by Spreading Effect
This is exactly opposite of colour seen
against contrasting backgrounds. A
colour seen against black background
appears brighter than the original colour.
The black appears to be added visually
in order to give appearance of more
intense colour. The same colour when
seen against white background appears
less saturated as if white has been
added visually to make it lighter tone.

Striped, oil with sand on canvas, 1934.
Fined-grained painted sand adds texture to the painting.
Here geometric shapes gives way to freer forms glowing
colours. Rectangular zones contrast with the overlying
curving biomorphic forms of surrealism.
Artist: WISSILY KANDINSKY .
The Soloman R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.
Ref: Typographic Communications Today
by: Edward M. Gottschall
First MIT PRESS EDITION _ 1989
ISBN O – 262 – 07114 - 2

3. Colour change due to
Simultaneous Contrast
When two or more colours are
seen simultaneously, i.e. at the
same time, appearance of colour
is changed which is called
SIMULTANEOUS
CONTRAST.
It is governed by two types of
changes - change of hue as well
as tone.

4. Colour change due to
Successive Contrast
An artist paints a picture by
selecting certain sequence of
colours. He does it with a
subconscious mind. With his
intuition and experience he makes
his colour selection.

When this pattern is seen by
anybody, the most attractive part
is observed first and then his gaze
is transferred to another part of
the design.

5. Colour change due to Viewing
Distance
Two or more colours, if seen from
a distance of 10 feet or more will
look different as compared to view
from a shorter distance.

“True to Life” was a guiding principle of the 19th
century painters who studied nature carefully so
as to render it realistically, yet romantically and
often dramatically, as in Salisbury Cathedral
from the Bishop’s Garden by the Artist: JOHN
CONSTABLE.
Constable painted his landscapes on the site,
not by synthesizing idealised bits and imagined
scenes in a studio as some predecessors had
done.
From the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest
Stillman Harkness (50.145.8)

Extreme Right TWO PANITINGS:
Impression of Colour add new dimension to
representational paintings by Monet, Renoir, Pissaro and
others. Monet painted 26 versions, for example, of the
Rouen Cathedral at different times of day and conditions of
sunlight, adding to each his personal vision on the light and
colour. He painted more than 100 versions of the Lily pond
in his garden. HERE ARE TWO VARIATIONS OF THE
SAME SCENE BY CLAUDE MONET. The Manneport,
Etretat, I and The Manneport, Etretat II. Both are from the
Metropolitan Museum of Art. No.1 is from the Bequest of
William Church Osborn, 1951(51.30.5) and No.2 is from
the Bequest of Lillie P. Bliss, 1931(31.67.11). For the
Rouen Cathedral Monet sometimes worked simultaneously
on 6 to 14 canvases to catch the CHANGING LIGHT.

6. Colour change due to Size Factor
When a picture is reduced or enlarged a change in the
appearance of colours takes place. Proportion and size of
colours are very important.
A small patch of bright colour would look very attractive but if
the same were enlarged, it would look over powering and kill
other colours too.

Astronomers observing stars using a theodolite,
able to measure both vertical and horizontal distances,
and consulting the Sanskrit texts on astronomy and
trigonometry know as the SIDDHANTAS.
Artist unknown: ( INDIAN PAINTING)
Ref: THEATARCHIVE – ARYBHATTA
THE STORY OF MATHEMATICS
BY RICHARD MANKIEWICS.
A book gift to Ranjan R. Joshi
from: Mrs. Jamila Q. Varawalla.
CASSELL & co. ISBN: 0 – 304 – 35473 - -2.

7. Colour change due to Texture
The appearance of colour will depend
on the type of surface to which it is
applied. The surface could be smooth,
glossy, matt, or rough. In each case,
the same colour will look different.
Rough texture when seen in normal
light will show two tones, lighter tone
of the raised surface and darker tone
of the sunken surface. The same
surface when painted with some
colour will show the sunken areas are
tinged with the complementary colours
and thus produce a rich colour in the
whole. Modern artists use different
methods in applying colours to canvas
or paper, to create a variety of
textures of the ground.

This is an attempt to understand the
subject with the art student’s work
carried out with the help of different
surfaces, tools and medium.
The outcome of these if analyzed one
can come close to the present subject
concern.

Substrate colour affects image contrast
and colours in the image

Original image on White background
4 colour
Original image on White background
Single colour

Original image on Red background
4 colour
Original image on Red background
Single colour

Original image on Yellow background
4 colour
Original image on Yellow background
Single colour

Original image on Blue background
4 colour
Original image on Blue background
Single colour

Original image on Orange background
4 colour
Original image on Orange background
Single colour

Original image on Green background
4 colour
Original image on Green background
Single colour

Original image on Purple background
4 colour
Original image on Purple background
Single colour

Original image on Russet background
4 colour
Original image on Russet background
Single colour

Original image on Citron background
4 colour
Original image on Citron background
Single colour

Original image on Olive background
4 colour
Original image on Olive background
Single colour

Original image on Buff background
4 colour
Original image on Buff background
Single colour

Original image on Sage background
4 colour
Original image on Sage background
Single colour

Original image on Plum background
4 colour
Original image on Plum background
Single colour

Following frames are from the presentation
by Deepak Ghare on perspectives in paintings.
These frames are taken here to understand
how different artists depicted the source of light falling
on the surfaces thereby creating division of
shade and light as shadow patterns. No shadow is
black, because it is just absence of light. White Light
consists all the colours but when they are seen in the
shadow the colour variation takes place.
This allows a lot of scope to study the colour
modulation in context to the colour management.

Painting by Dr.Sudhir Patwardhan

When I look at
Prabhakar Kolte’s paintings
it make me relates to this actual
experience of morning sun rays
which is unique.
Reality and Abstractions
that what I understand!
Photography
by Ranjan RaghuvirJoshi
and its Photoshop interpretation !

Painting from the Ajanta Caves

Time Chronological: Time past-present-future.
Painting by Indian Artist

Painting by Abalal Rehman of Sandhyamath 1890 A.D.
Same spot as seen today in the
photograph an example of
Perception and Reality in 2009 A.D.

To understand colour the source of light,
the object and the eyes of beholder are
important. The source of light normally
considered from the sun, the object can
be anything from natural to manmade.
This slide illustrates the basic division of
light in context to three factors mentioned
above. The colour management must
consider the basic illustrated points given
herewith.

Notice the following visual details in the painting
Highlight The brightest light, where light from the
source fails most directly on the object.
Cast Shadow The darkest shadow, caused by the
object’s blocking of light from the source.
Reflected light A dim light, bounced back onto the
object by light falling on surfaces around the object.
Crest Shadow A shadow that lies on the crest of a rounded
form, between the highlight and the reflected light.
Water colour
painting by
an artist and colourist
Prof.R. P.Joshi.
(12th
March 1911-19th
May1987)

These are the paintings by young Indian artist
Devdatta Padekar, taken here to discuss
And understand how an artist depicts the source
Of light that has illuminated the landscape
thereby allowing us to probe colour management
from the aesthetic angle.
We will see in the next slide close-ups of certain portions.

The portions of the
paintings depicts the light
modulation rendered by
an artist subconsciously
taking care of reflection,
refraction, absorption and
transmission of the sun
rays that are falling on the
various surfaces.
This allows one to
observe the artist’s colour
palette in context to
colour management.

The headlights
of an oncoming
automobile are
nearly blinding
at night, but
barely
noticeable
during the day.
The change of
appearance of
oncoming
headlights can be
largely explained
by the processes
of light adaptation
and described by
Weber’s law.

As light grows
dim, colours fade
from view while
objects remain
readily apparent.
The fading of
colour in dim light
while objects
remain clearly
visible is explained
by the transition
from
TRICHROMATIC
cone vision to
monochromatic rod
vision.

TRICHROMATIC cone vision: They recognised that there
must be three types of receptors, approximately sensitive to
RED, GREEN and BLUE regions of the spectrum,
respectively.
TRICHROMATIC theory simply assumed that three images
of the world were formed by these three sets of receptors
and then transmitted to the brain where ratios of the signals
in each of these images were compared in order to sort out
colour appearances.
The TRICHROMATIC(three receptors) nature of colour
vision was not in doubt, but the idea of these three images
being transmitted to the brain is both inefficient and fails to
explain several visually observed phenomena: -- Maxwell,
young & Helmholtz.

Stars disappear
from sight during
the daytime.
The incremental
illumination of star on the
day time, sky is not large
enough to be detected,
while the same physical
increment on the darker
night time sky is easily
perceived, because the
visual threshold to
luminance increments
has changed between
the two viewing
conditions.

The walls of a
freshly painted
room appear
significantly
different from the
colour of the
sample that was
used to select the
paint in a hardware
stores.
The paint chip doesn’t
match the wall due to
changes in the size,
surround and illumination
of the stimulus.

Artwork displayed
in different colour
mat board takes
on a significantly
different
appearance.
Changes in the colour of
a surround or
background profoundly
influence the appearance
of stimuli. This can be
particularly striking for
photographs and other
artworks.

Printouts of
images do not
match the originals
displayed on a
computer monitor.
Assuming the computer
monitor and printer are
accurately calibrated and
characterised,
differences in media,
white point, luminance
level, and surround can
still force the printed
image to look
significantly different
from the original.

Scenes appear
more colourful and
of lighter contrast
on a sunny day.
The Hunt effect and
Stevens effect describe
the apparent increase
in colourfulness and
contrast of scenes with
increase in illumination
level.

Blue and given
objects (e.g. game
pieces) become
indistinguishable
under dim
incandescent
illumination.
Low levels of incandescent
illumination do not provide
the energy required by the
short-wave length sensitive
mechanisms of the human
visual system (the least
sensitive of the colour
mechanisms) to distinguish
green objects from blue
objects.

It is nearly
impossible to select
appropriate socks
(e. g. black, brown
or blue) in the early
morning light.
In the early
morning light,
the ability to
distinguish dark
colours is
diminished.

There is no
such thing as
a gray, or
brown, light
bulb.
The perceptions of
gray and brown
only occur as
related colours,
thus they cannot be
observed as light
sources that are
the brightest
element of a scene.

There are no
colours
described as
reddish-green,
or yellowish-
blue.
The hue
perceptions red
and green (or
yellow and blue)
are encoded in a
bipolar fashion by
our visual system
and thus cannot
exist together.

Are BLACK and WHITE colours?
We find that mixing all the three primary colours of the
PIGMENT THEORY the result is black or dull grey. The primary
colours are bright, the secondary colours are equally bright. But
the Tertiary and Quaternary colours become gradually duller.
Psychologically, however, black and white are colours because
they produce sensation. They have symbolic meaning’s and
definite effects on visibility.
They give tonality to hues, and have strong effects on other
colours in two ways, by mixture and by juxtaposition.
When mixed black converts a vibrant RED into a deep brown,
white converts a vibrant RED into a soft peach or pink.
By juxtaposition, black makes adjacent colours look richer, and
more intense and white reflects light into adjacent colours
making them lighter.
To a physicist black and white are no colours. To him white light
consists of all colours, where as black is the absence of colours.

LIGHTING FOR PHOTOGRAPHY
MEANS AND METHODS
WALTER NURNBERG
THE FOCAL PRESS
LONDON and NEW YORK

I am grateful with the sense of gratitude to my late father
an artist and colourist Prof.R. P.Joshi who inspired me to
venture into the world of colours, Dr. Mrs. Shalini
Patwardhan known Indian Colour Scientist, who put me to
the world colour map with constant encouragement, Mr.
Kiran Prayagi whose thirst for knowledge with touch of
professional quality and sense of aesthetic with true desire
to bring Art & Science together and finally my Art Guru
Shantaram Pawar with his earthy colour palette paintings
gave an insight about Oriental Indian Art forms and colours,
all of them are equally the contributors to this colour
journey. I have to thanks my friend art and literature critic
Deepak Ghare for allowing me to use some part of his
research presentation on PERSPECTIVE IN PAINTING
and play of shade and light.

References:
Federation of Art Institution (FAI)
Art – No2, Colour Theory & Practice
By. R.P. Joshi
The World of Van Gogh 1853 – 1890
By Robert Wallace and the Editors of Time-Life
Books-Courtesy: Shri Shantaram Raut
Students:
Nadia Shaik
Priyanka Mestry

Colour Study Part 2

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