Creative Color Design

For this project we were asked to create an art piece consisting of 84 different colors. The whole color wheel as well as 3 tints and shades for each color on the color wheel (primary, secondary, and tertiary). We could basically do whatever we wanted as long as all 84 colors were on the painting. You didn’t have to include equal amounts of each color, making it so you can have more dominant colors throughout your work. You could also use a color multiple times in various places , for example, I had a lot of white in various places. My work was made using acrylic paint. We were given the colors, red, blue, yellow, white, and black (I also had an additional secondary color - orange). At first, I sketched the general shape of the fish and some other details like the eye, phin, and gills. Then, I taped the edges so I would have a cleaner look when finished. After this I began to paint the background as I figured the fish would take the longest (it did). I started randomly when talking about colors with a shade of red, violet. I added shades of red, violet, and even yellow in the background. When doing the fish I started at the lower half with greens and blues (and tints and shades of those). I moved up to the top half, knowing I was going to use warmer colors - yellows , reds, oranges. After experimenting with color combinations and matches I was able to create a yellow/orange dominant top half of my fish with blue/green accents and a yellow shade for balance by the gills of the fish. Finally, I added the bubbles in the background. My project evolved when the colors started to match more and I added the additional highlights and shades, making it look more realistic.

I obviously used a lot of color in this piece but with this color I created value with the tints and shades of each. The rainbow-like pattern also created value. I created texture using lines and shades (value). I created emphasis especially on the fishes eye which leads the viewer over to the bubbles. These bubbles create movement as they are spread out nicely (balance) and lead you to the phin on the lower left-hand corner which also has many white accents. I feel there’s a nice balance of color creating unity with the fish and background. The bubbles also create unity with the fish, specifically the fish eye, as it looks very similar to the bubbles with the white outline. There's a contrast with the background and bubbles as the bubbles are way lighter/brighter than the background. We also see that contrast with the fish and its white highlights as well as its darker shades, for example, the gills and mouth. Lastly, the fish is a major “shape” in this piece. It takes up a lot of space as I was trying to make that the main viewpoint with the obvious balance of the bubbles.

There’s no specific story or idea besides the fact that it's a lurking, curious, innocent fish (pogie). This relates to my life as my dad actually pogie fishes in the summer, using a big net and his lobstering boat as well as two additional boats and obviously helpers to lure in the schools of pogies and then pull in the net as he drives the boat. I thought this would be a nice relation to my life as my family is associated with fishing, more importantly my dad. I’m proudest of the fish and it’s overall color scheme as well as its details like the eye, gills, phin, and lower half (with all of the greens/blues/white/blacks). I’m also pleased with the bubbles, they didn’t take a long time at all however look really good. I struggled a lot with the fish. I started with the same colors however they just weren’t mixing, matching, or cooperating with each other. I didn’t have a definite plan so I didn't know what to do at points. After thinking for a while and taking a break I came back to it and it finally started to look better. Once I added the gills they worked as guiding points for colors and I was able to create the top half. After this I didn’t have any major problems, the only thing that was hard at moments was the application of the colors and how they appeared on paper. They kept looking too smeared to where I had to add more coats of paint. Overall, this project took me a while but I am very pleased and it's definitely one of my favorites.