Color theory - reduced to bite size

Wikipedia defines color theory as this:   In the visual arts, color theory is a body of practical guidance to color mixing and the visual impacts of specific color combinations.

Pretty concise for such an involved theory.  But as I said, this is bite sized.  Like the candy you give to kiddies at Halloween.  Bite sized and yummy.

Theory has lightness, saturation and hue to consider - not to mention complimentary color.  But for our intent, lets make this simple - Color Theory refers to the saturation of light in a hue, and to a lesser extend how that hue behaves in settings.

Again from good ole' Wikipedia:  Color theory is built around “pure” or ideal colors, characterized by sensory experiences rather than attributes of the physical world. This has led to a number of inaccuracies in traditional color theory principles that are not always remedied in modern formulations. 

 

The most important problem has been a confusion between the behavior of lightmixtures, called additive color, and the behavior of paint or ink or dye or pigment mixtures, called subtractive color. This problem arises because the absorption of light by material substances follows different rules from the perception of light by the eye.

A second problem has been the failure to describe the very important effects of strong luminance (lightness) contrasts in the appearance of surface colors (such as paints or inks) as opposed to light colors; "colors" such as grays, browns or ochres cannot appear in light mixtures. Thus, a strong lightness contrast between a mid valued yellow paint and a surrounding bright white makes the yellow appear to be green or brown, while a strong brightness contrast between a rainbow and the surrounding sky makes the yellow in a rainbow appear to be a fainter yellow or white.

A third problem has been the tendency to describe color effects holistically or categorically, for example as a contrast between "yellow" and "blue" conceived as generic colors, when most color effects are due to contrasts on three relative attributes that define all colors:

lightness (light vs. dark, or white vs. black),

saturation (intense vs. dull), and

hue (e.g., red, orange, yellow, green, blue or purple).

Thus, the visual impact of "yellow" vs. "blue" hues in visual design depends on the relative lightness and intensity of the hues.

Ok so maybe it wasn't bite sized, more like an entree portion...but the intention was there.  If you are considering a paint job, I would very much recommend that you try to paint large swatches near a window and check the color during different times of the day.  Do you like the hue in morning light?  What about dusk - does the shade change appreciable?  It's a small thing but I promise you that it will make a huge difference, especially when you've committed to a color.  You will be amazed when you actually stand back and realize how the light saturates the color to alter the shade.  

"Q"