COLOUR HARMONY

Radio Record, Volume I, Issue 4, 12 August 1927, Page 6

COLOUR HARMONY

Can you think of any woman of your acquaintance who is really indifferent to:the atmosphere created hy her surroundings? Who does not wish to capture that illusive thing called "charm" for her drawing-room or lounge? To know, too, how to choose fabrics for the bedroom that are soothing, calming, and restoring. The home is mot merely a medly of haphazard colouring. It is far more-it stands as a restful retreat from the outer world, picturesque, but peacefully intimate. To choose and blend colours correctly necessitates a knowledge of colour balance and design that will give the right atmosphere. Thé. production of: colour harmony, said Miss _Puchegud recently from 4YA, depends on the expression of a correct feeling for colour; and in order to express colour harmony we must know what the meaning of colour is What Are Colours? Colours are the result of rays of. white light falling upon various snubstances, each of. which has the property of absorbing some of these ravs and reflecting others. Thus red paint absorbs all other rays except red ones, which it reflects. | Violet absorbs all.

xcept violet ravs, and so on. But in ractice the effect is infinitely more omplicated, because no substance can ver be coinpletely isolated, and each mves, not only its own peculiar red r green or violet rays, but also relections from all adjoining substances. further, each colour has its contrastg or complementary colour, green be-. g the complementary of red, orange f blue, and yellow of violet. Thus, fter looking mtently for a few momnts at a patch of red on a_ white ound, the eye sees more or less disinctly that the red patch is surroundd by an aureole of its complementary, inctly visible Again, where there e two colours side by side, each surunded by its complementary, these mplementary colours will be fixing here they meet or overlap, again proucing a new combination. Primary Laws of Colour, There are- two main primaty laws be borne in mind-that complemenry colours, when placed side by side, eighten one another, while colours hich are not complementary detract om one another. Thus blue placed v the side of its complementary, ornge, appears more intensely blue, beuse it receives the addition of the Ine which is the complimentary of ange. Contrast of colour is due to lours that are caused by the differces in hue, brightness, and purity adacent »r contignous colours. So um see how necessary it is to -have understanding of the natural laws at govern the production of colour fore attempting to successfully haronise or contrast colours. Are Colourists Born or Made? e 4 It is common enough to hear that lour cannot be taught," said Miss chegud, ‘This is, however, an erneous idea, for colour can te taught only requires, as IT have already inted out, a knowledge of the laws colour. How often do we not sce

HUSTLE eee LLL UL) certain colour arrangements which .are harsh and _ discordant, immeditely change or alter to agreeable combinations by ihe introduction of another tone or colour, It is true that some are born colourists, knowing instinctively the right combination to use. These happy beings have what is known as true colour sense-some-times with, but mostly without, actual knowledge of the laws operating, These people are, indeed, fortunate, for they are true artists, Tone Values. "Tone," she continued ‘~a word. continually on the lips of modern art-. ists and critics-implies the ielation of all colours to each other, as determined by the amount of light which each reflects. It is the value of the colour inthe scheme of the whole. Tone values are to the painter cr decorator what harmonies are to the musician. Splendour of colouring is wot produced merely by the use of brilliant local colours. There is all the difference in the world between a number of bright, unblended tints promiscuously spotted together in a kind of patchwork, and a consistent colour scheme, Nattire’s Colour Schemes. In nature, objects do not appear as simple masses of hard and uniform col- ours, but are broken into subtle gradations of endless variety, every tint bor-

vowing something from its neighbour, every surface displaying reflections and counter-reflections, every colour exerting its influence by relation or contrast. We have ouly to look at the irridescent colours seen in the plumage of peacocks’ feathers, humming and cther birds, also the splendid greens, bInes, browns, and ruby colours of beetles, moths, and butterflies and other insects, also shells, to realise the wonderful law that operates in governing colour harmony and contrast. Some of the wonderfui and exquisite combinations of colours seen in these furnishes ene with schemes of colour harmony superior to any of the flora or other domains of nature. ‘he more brilliant combinations might be used with great advantage in stained glass, enamels, and pottery. While some more sober and dusky harmonies scen on certain moths and butterflies’ wings could very well be used, as mnotives for carpets and other textiles, wall coverings and other ‘interior decorative colour schemes. Early Use of Decorative Art. "Right down through the age from the most primitive times humans have been susceptible to the influence of colour-from the savage who, knowing only the bright primary colours of red, vellow, and blue, down to the present period of culture and appreciation of the finer harmonies. The use of colour in decorative art dates at least from the dawn of the earliest historic periods. Tt would be safe to say that the first attempts in colour arrangements were those affects produced by the weaving of different kinds of grasses and strips of bark together to form mats for clothing and other purposes. We know that some of the verv earliest examples of colour arrangements in ancient Egvntian decoration were copied from the desiens and natterns of woven mats Coloured bricks and small discs of coloured clavs have been used in the formation of these patterns and snecimens of this work have been fonnd in some of the oldest tombs and pyramids in the valley of the Nile. Even in their hiehest artilstic efforts, as in the design and colouring of the humatt

figure and animals, the treatment adopted was the illumination in colour of flat surfaces, and consequently they relied on well-balanced contrasts of colour for artistic effects. Considering the limitations of their colour range and methods of execution, it is remarkable how well they managed to obtain and preserve the fine sense and expression of colour harmony which generally characterises their work. Origin of Primary Colours, Miss Puchegud procecded to say that "The colours used by the Egyptians were the pigments and tints of yellow, red, blue, green, brown, black, and white. ‘The yellows, reds, and browns were obtained from the ochre earths, the bright blues were mineral colours composed of copper, sand and a subcarbonate of soda. Some colours used were of vegetable origin, such as indigo. ‘he greens were mixtures of blue and yellow, blacks were obtained from carbonaceous substances, and whites were made from lime and gypsum Iigyptian colour combinations haye a distinct character of their own, that is quite different from the colour arrangement of any time and country. As an illustration of the knowledge of the laws of colour put into practice, the Egyptians, like other nations of the Hast, remembering their bright and dazzling sunlight, have used only strong and positive colours, in order to emphasise the forms and contours of their architecture, to give the necessary varicty to surface, to keep the construction clear and to distinguish the various members of architecture which would be, if it were not for colour, almost indistinguishable in the brilli--aney of the Eastern sunshine. ‘The positive colouring of the dress material used by the natives of the East is not by any means harsh or strong when secn under the intense sunlight. Kvery race has its own particular idea of colouring, but whatever the arrangement it will always be found that it is the expression of a correct feeling for colour. The Eye the Best Judge. "Although successful decorative harmony -and contrast depend on the correct feeling and expression, it must be adinitted," concluded Miss Puehegud, ‘that the eye is the best judge of what constitutes harmony and contrast. Sometines one is at a loss to know what particular tint or shade one should select to complete the harmony of some arrangement. When in a situation like this, turn your attention to some of the countless schemes of natural harmonies. ‘The time spent in the study of this fascinating subject will more than repay one, for there are few more lasting and exquisite pleasures. than the creation of beauty in our homes and intimate surroundings.’’ .