Color Intensity and Space

Casey's Palette

Intensity was my self selected assignment for the two month color study that Katherine Tyrrell has been posting about. Here is what I found out about intensity, and how it relates to the elusive color space theories.

Consider me a convert to the linear color space proposed by Da Vinci. The reasons are that the spectrum lays out in a linear fashion when you view it through a prism, and that my actual palette is arranged in a line.

Also, I understand that violet cannot be produced in the additive system except by blending, and that red violet inhabits a pole opposite blue violet on the spectrum. I know that sounds horribly brainy and hopelessly immaterial to the pastelist. Let's just say that the visual perception side of the house teaches me that light is a dominant reason for intensity in color.




Put plainly, your eye sees wavelengths at their highest meter and this represents greatest intensity. See this page about wavelengths and color. Need it plainer? See this page.

High key (more intense) blue is the peak of its wavelength, and so is high key green. I understood this intuitively before I knew the why of it, and made a special place in my palette for high key green. Later, I organized the blues by key as well.

I like Marie Meyer's use of the Munsell system as a number space, since their is a linear aspect to the numbered hues. Although the Munsell is a cylinder, I like seeing the linear description better. But, I find Munsell too abstract, and apropos to the additive people. My own color space will always be subtractive and pigment mixture based.

Bits

Jennifer Phillips - Daily Encounters With My Paint Brush

Here is a post with little bits of new things that I encountered at the Bellevue Fair last weekend. Since it is paramount that I catch up on sleep, and get reorganized here at the studio, I'll give you the random thoughts now, and coherent "lessons" later.

In the category of Art Blogs in Washington State, at the fair I was happy to meet Jennifer Phillips of Seattle who blogs here. Her tonal landscapes are a breath of fresh air. They present a living scape of trees and field's edges where you'd like to be. Beautiful works.

Also met was Deborah Burns, who blogs for art retailer Daniel Smith, of Seattle. Nothing beats a visit to this large box retailer, especially for a huge selection of paper and a fine selection of pastels. I give them kudos for their drawing department and their workshop program. Their popular catalog is a resource of art materials instruction that I have benefited from many times, and their website has much of this instructional content as well. See the new blog here, although Deborah informs me that it is in beta stage, and that she will be transferring the blog to a private server that is not blogspot. Deborah is a former store manager at DS, and an arts promoter extraordinaire in the Seattle area.

Next: Lessons learned from Michael Monroe at the ArtsFair. And, I plan to give some linkage to the pastelists who show at the fair.

Back To Blogging

Back...

The week-long absence, due to the Bellevue ArtsFair in Bellevue, WA ends here, and your regular posts will begin again. "Back in the saddle," so to speak. I will try to compose a review of my long last week for you, as soon as I can. Much was learned - perhaps more than any of the past few years of art fair participation.

I'll just mention that one of the benefits of being in these shows is the tremendous networking that gets done. I was pleased to meet many different artists, both from the patronage and the exhibitors, and I met some bloggers, too.

Of course, a little sleep-in time is also in order.

Beck's Beer Art Labels

Beck's beer has the following presser for you readers of The Colorist. I credit Beck's for seeing the value of fine artists, in their emerging years, to their libations patrons. I, for one, see the cultural link between spirits and art, don't you?

Hi Casey,
Hope that you are well. Just a quick email to send you the finalists pictures from Becks Canvas. I’ve attached a small selection of the finalist’s artwork for you. We have loads of final artwork that I can send you across but didn’t want to be responsible for crashing your outbox.
Let me know what you think?
Kind Regards,
James

Background behind Becks Canvas

Contemporary art is a living part of our cultural heritage. Encouraging raw ability and building a broader public appreciation of the diversity and excellence of artistic accomplishment is a vision which Beck’s has long supported.

To this end, we have championed talented artists without compromise for over 20 years. As a bold statement of commitment, Beck’s has given outstanding artistic talent a truly original canvas to work on. Our label. Collaboration over two decades reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of contemporary art; Gilbert & George, Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, Tim Head, Sam Taylor-Wood, Jake & Dino Chapman, and Tatsuo Miyajima to name but a few.

The result of these partnerships has not only been the creation of a unique library of contemporary artwork, but also providing a significant platform for emerging artists to reach a greater audience. This year we plan to take the project to a new level by literally placing contemporary artwork in the hands of the public.

2008 sees a landmark for the Beck’s art programme, with the launch of Canvas. For this very special project, we needed a very special partner. The Royal College of Art is a particular kind of ideas factory unlike any other. As the world's only wholly postgraduate university institution of art and design, the college boasts a global reputation for artistic excellence and an unrivalled creative environment. College alumni and internationally admired artists Tracey Emin, Tim Noble and the Chapman Brothers all created Beck’s labels during the 1990s. Then, as now, Beck’s was striving to support those determined to express themselves creatively. A partnership with the College presents a great opportunity to achieve this goal.

Four young artists will be selected by a panel of judges from the Royal College of Art to showcase their art on the labels of over 27 million bottles to be distributed nationwide from August 2008. The first bottles to receive the new labels will be launched at an exclusive gallery exhibition to be held at the RCA.

In the endless state of motion that is contemporary visual art some elements remain constant, but never static. Beck’s Canvas marks an evolution of our ongoing support for emerging artists and our vision to bring inspiring and challenging artwork to a broader public.

The Finalists

Riitta Ikonen

http://www.riittaikonen.com/

Riitta Ikonen, 27, is studying a two year MA in Communication Art and Design at the Royal College of Arts, graduating in June 2008.

Originally from Finland, Riitta believes the Beck’s Canvas project resonates with her own belief of taking art out of the gallery for people to see in a wider context. In her mind individualism is a little space inside your head reserved just for you, like a private restaurant table that serves you anything you think to want.

Riitta takes inspiration from ‘the performance of images, through photography and costume design. Certain things, usually small and insignificant, excite me to the point that I have to wear them and then document that process.’

Key achievements for Ritta include featuring on the cover of a ‘mail art’ book published by Lawrence King Publishing and compiled by Flat 33 (RCA Alumni). She has also been interviewed by WWF for her ‘Snowflake’ project, which was funded by the RCA and addressed climate change in the Baltic. In November 2007, Riitta was commissioned by the Tate to produce an interactive costume experience and has most recently been shortlisted for the Adobe Creative Futures 2008.

Riitta is currently still working on producing a herring costume for a dive in the Baltic Sea – another attempt at raising the awareness of climate change in the area. She is also contributing to a campaign to encourage commuters in London to interact on the underground, as well as working with the Tate’s events programme. Plans for the future include travelling around the world to create artwork that highlights local issues for charitable use, “I’d love to take my work to Japan; go to Mongolia to work hard; go to Cuba for the amazing colours and people; learn new skills and share ideas with unique people.”

Tom Price

http://www.tom-price.com/

Tom Price, 26 is an alumni of Sculpture (2006). Subsequent to this, he received a First Class BA (Hons) Sculpture from Chelsea College of Art in 2004 and currently works from his South London studio, in Brixton.

In April 2008, Price exhibited a solo presentation of his art at the NEXT Art Fair, Chicago and will also be showing work at the ‘Personal Freedom Centre’ in October during Freeze Week at the Hales Gallery. Other awards include receiving the Sir John’s Cass Bursary, which allowed him to study at the Royal College of Arts.

Price is now working on new sculptures and continues to explore different materials and formats.

Simon Cunningham

http://www.simoncunningham.com/

Simon Cunningham is an alumni of the MA Fine Art, photography course (2007) Cunningham lives and works in London.

Cunningham has sold more work than he has been able to exhibit mainly through his group shows and to private collectors. Cunningham is currently exhibiting film and photography work in Fragile at Espai Uba in Barcelona and also in Italy as part of ‘In our world’ at Galleria Civica de Modena.

Charlotte Bracegirdle

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/yourgallery/artist_profile/Charlotte+Bracegirdle/29409.html

Charlotte Bracegirdle, 34, is an alumni of the Masters degree in painting (2006). Originally from Broardhembury, Devon, Charlotte spent seven years applying to art schools across the UK before accepting a place at the RCA.

Charlotte has previously been awarded the Davis Langdon award (2006) and was shortlisted for 2007’s New Contemporaries.

Plans for Charlotte’s future are to continue painting and exhibiting her work, she is currently working towards an exhibition for the Madame Lillies Gallery, Stoke Newington, running from 10 September 2008. Bracegirdle dreams to be an artist in residence at the National Gallery, she loves all the history in there and dreams to spend all her days painting.

Sorry to break my promise about "no advertising", but I'm giving this beer commercial a free shout-out for being really art-centric and innovative.

Bellevue Fair is Next Weekend

Thin on posts these days! With the Bellevue coming up, I am scrambling in the studio to get ready. A studio assistant is coming today to help, and so the posts will have to wait a while.

I have installed the Blogger active blogroll widget, but it is time consuming today. Please be patient if your blog doesn't show up, yet. Feel free to request a link, BTW. I will definitely consider it, but will hold to a few standards: good content; regular posting; generally fine art oriented.

Thanks for reading!

Ateler Practice

See this informative post by Bill Sharp on the Atelier disciplines. He offers you a nice list of realist art bloggers.

For Everything There is a Season____

Frau Framing: Priceless. Dog is Free to New Owner.

A time to create,

A time to frame.

Right now, we're framing. My pace in the studio is down to a crawl. There is one large extra-full sheet work on the easel, and some plein air works in a notebook, and maybe a few odd paintings to do. Otherwise, the onus is on mien frau to get the art framed and ready for the Bellevue Arts Museum ArtsFair, which is July 25 - 27.

Foreground is the Mat Cutter on the Draftsman's Table; Background is the Wooden Folding Table and Shelving Closet.

Here is a peek at the framing room in the studio trailer. It occupies what would otherwise be the main bedroom, and is at the south end of the structure. I guess it is @ 14' x 10', and is outfitted with mainly two surplus furnishings. One is an oversize wooden folding table that we got when the venerable and famous REI on Capitol Hill in Seattle closed. It is set upon a home made wooden cot, which makes the working height ideal for veteran backs.

The other big item is a metal draftsman's table which was redundant at a friend's architecture office in Tacoma. It has a massive top surface, and features a power outlet on one leg. The lovely Lorie uses the folding table for organization, her laptop which is used for archiving data, and a cutting area for miscellaneous cuts. The drafting table gets the mat cutter and frame assembly tasks. The closet holds shelving from floor to ceiling.


the walls are one big pin cushion

Because the studio structure is a dedicated building, the walls are one big pin cushion for hanging framed art, and waiting-to-be-framed originals. Lorie claims that having the ready work hanging on the walls streamlines her tasks tremendously. In framing multiple works, everything revolves around efficiency. Of course, presentation and archivality are foundational.

We actually scored quite a few furniture items at the REI closing, and the opportunist in you may seek out large building surplus events to outfit your studio. I recently missed the closing of the old Spokane Art School and will forever wonder what cool furnishings I missed out on.

On another happy note, I am grateful to Pollocksthebollocks for the Brilliante Weblog Award (Premio 2008). I will tag some new awardees in due time. I am thinking of bloggers outside of the fine art circle for this, because I love to go exploring.

Applied Science & Your Color Choices

Pastel Collecting 101

For a fun exercise in choosing new pastels, see the following posts at my blog, Pastel. Hue, Chroma & Value Chart, and Purple Pastel Secrets.

These posts at Pastel will be informing our Colour Project when I research the color property: Intensity.

Studio Spotlight

Custom Palette Table Seen in the Kitchen. Do You Have a Beer Refrigerator in Your Studio?

Too Much Sun from the West; Portable Tables, My Convertible Easel at Left, and My New Wall Easel Sitting on the Floor at Top Center.

Organizing Drawers and Table Tops.

Last week I posted on my new Studio Interior. I found these other photos from different angles, and post them now for your further enjoyment.

See other studios at Making a Mark-Art Blogs-Artists and their studios.

Rothko The Courageous

Do you ever argue with historians? You should. It keeps your reasoning fresh, and exercises your critical thought.

Not long ago, the BBC series, Simon Schama's Power of Art, aired in the USA. I had the unfortunate experience of seeing Schama's segment on Bernini. On the one hand, I learned a great deal about the artist, but decided to quibble with the historian.

Then I had the chance to see Schama's segment about Mark Rothko, in part, on You Tube. Having just re-read the TASCHEN book on Rothko, I was thrilled with this video. The Power of Art series reenacts key, historical artists' lives in vignettes, with narration and lecture by Schama, who is compelling in his writing and not a bad speaker.

Historian and art historian Simon Schama, in the year 1970, took a wrong turn in the Tate and was confronted, unexpectedly, by the Rothko Room. He admits, and I think very transparently, that when he realized it was the Rothko display, he expected to see the "cemetery of abstraction...a dead end". Instead, he was transported.

"This isn't about now,
this is about forever.
Can art ever be more complete; more powerful?
I don't think so."
Simon Schama on Rothko.

In this video, Schama illuminates Rothko's courage as an artist, and the essential quality of his art that transcends paint and canvas. I have no argument with this opinion!

The Seagram Murals at the Tate Modern.

Studio Interior

Welcome To My Studio. North Light at Left; West Window on Right. From Left to Right: My Custom Palette Table, Bookshelf, and L-Shaped Desk.

It is a life changing event to have a big, new studio. Conveniently located behind the garage and next to the garden, it is situated northwest of the house. Here is a peek at how my studio is organized, and my plans for the future.

It is a life changing event
to have a big, new studio.

Last year we installed and leveled the 14 foot by 60 foot house trailer that was to become my art studio. Before the winter, we trenched in the electricity and my new studio was electrified. After that, I had to replace the floor substrate and lay linoleum in the kitchen and studio room. Then I moved the balance of my furnishings in, and went to work.

Kitchen, with Large Flat File & Book Shelving

The studio building has two bedrooms, the larger of which is for framing and the smaller for storage. The bathroom, which is not yet plumbed, serves as more storage, and the pantry, by the back door, is mat and large frame storage, with a cupboard for common tools such as drills, hammers etc.

The kitchen is a flex-space, with a large pantry for storage, wall space for mounted book shelves, my file cabinet and two flat files for paper stock and originals waiting to be framed. Recently, we began cutting glass here.

Uber-Organized With a Peg-Board & Bookshelf Combination.

A recent addition was a bookshelf that I surplussed from the old Seattle REI store. Complete with pegboard back, I now have well-organized tools and accessories. My desk, shown in the picture below, faces the front door, and allows me a dual use surface for business and some drawing.

Brown All-Around. The Original Paneling May Be Low-Rent, But it Has The Advantage of Being a Neutral Value for Displaying Art Against.

My laptop comes and goes from the house, and when it is in the studio it provides tunes with a nice speaker system. I have a relay for internet, but somehow it decided to quit working and so I rely on a dim signal for limited internet use.

North Facing Studio Receives Muted Light. On The Left is The West Window.

The studio is north facing, but large pane windows also face west and east. Here in sunny Eastern Washington, the Southern exposure can be brutal, and so it is nice to have the bulk of the trailer insulating me from that awful orb. I keep the west windows shaded in the AM, and the east is blocked in the PM.

The studio is north facing,
but large pane windows also face west and east.

Additional artificial light is provided by various sources. My former drafting table light now covers the palette, and track spots with alternating warm and cool cans provide the additional light I need for the big easel. A wall mounted easel allows me to mount bigger paper, since the mast of my big easel bumps the low ceiling and denies the big sheets. My convertible easel, which becomes a table, moves from the studio to the kitchen. Several knock-down tables provide additional flexibility.

Future Plans:

The skirting on the trailer needs to go on, and an already purchased air conditioner will be installed, hopefully before August. The plumbing will be served by a septic and drain field system.

A section of drywall will be put up in the studio with display lighting. I also want to add an outdoor "pila" sink, and a deck that may accept an easel, or provide covered outdoor seating and sleeping space.

The big plan? I want to break ground north of the studio proper, and lay the foundation for a pole built addition that will be the new, new studio. The trailer will remain office, storage and framing. The addition will be at least 20 feet by 20 feet, with a minimum of 9 foot ceiling height. The dream is to have north light via skylight and/or picture windows. Limited to no side windows, of course.

Leonardo da Vinci Researcher

La Giocanda, AKA the Mona Lisa, 1503-6

O/P
Leonardo da Vinci

Consider this link, including my own information, and heavily relying on Charley Parker's collection of links, as your start to researching Leonardo da Vinci.
Endure the links, and you will be rewarded with a wealth of LdV information.

Spotlight on Leonardo

Casa da Vinci
Birthplace of the man.

My posts on da Vinci.

Our heroic artist and definitive Renaissance man, Leonardo da Vinci, was born April 15th, 1452, in Vinci by Florence, Tuscany. His hometown is a hilltop one, situated originally with a castle and the wall that follows the hill contours - a classic Italian style.

I fancy the little hamlet that da Vinci was born in, because it is at the end of the road (I think). A small and unassuming (well, unassuming other than the fact that they changed their name to "Vinci") comune in the Apennines that is like so many others that I visited two years ago in Northern Italy. It is quite near Pisa and Pistoia. 

Charley Parker has probably the best set of da Vinci links, but don't miss his interesting reverse image of the Mona Lisa and a captivating story of his own encounter with the image. 

I had the pleasure of viewing the Codex Leicester by da Vinci in Seattle, after Bill Gates purchased it. If you so desire, the download prompt for his collection of notebooks (free e-book) can be found at this page.

For your pleasure, here is a very nice, thrifty Chianti with legs: Cantine Leonardo da Vinci. Are you looking to be a great artist? Put on your list of "must haves" a wine label of your own.

Universal Leonardo dot Org.

How Blue Can You Get?

Yellow Trunks (On Blue)
25.5" x 19.5"
Pastel
Casey Klahn

Blue.

Did I mention yellow?

Wiki Warning

Since many of us art bloggers utilize Wikipedia for our references, I thought this article would provide fair warning. The Scotsman article doesn't provide a casual link between the falling test scores of students, and the Wikipedia usage of the students, but the link seems plausible. Maybe reporters aren't what they used to be either, eh?

Catherine C. Marshall has this well written defense of the Wikipedia concept versus the dust collector style of old school encyclopedias. Some parents won't let their little redheaded girls wear red dresses. Her parents wouldn't let her use encyclopedias at the library. She reminds us to go to primary sources - you'll be the better for it.

One of the tests that I place on my own Wikipedia research is to avoid factual statements based on a Wikipedia article. I get other resources involved. Usually the beginning of further research is found in the links section at the bottom of Wiki articles.

Can you tell by the way an article in Wikipedia is written whether it bears value or not? I am more impressed with articles written with thorough content (more data) and with attributions. As a matter of fact, a grammatically well written article , with interesting content, tends to get my seal of approval.

Does the gist of the Wikipedia article agree with other articles about the subject, both in factual content and in opinion? That can reveal a big red flag if the Wikipedia is too far from the norm of broader scholarship.

Take this article on Picasso, for instance. What I notice is that it uses many links, and that the sections are very brief. Links are not attributions. The overall article is longish, but I'm not sure that I'm getting anything really meaty. Maybe it provides a starting point for those who know absolute zero about the 20th century master, but I'd be quick to find other sources here.

Now, compare the article on Leonardo da Vinci. Granted, da Vinci is the subject of more scholarship by virtue of the times he lived in and the fact that his work is a half a millenium old, rather than a half a century for Picasso. But, the point is the da Vinci article does a thorough job of covering many facets of the great master's life. After the biography comes painting, then non-painting legacy, and then it reflects upon his legendary status. Included is a list of paintings, a worthy list of footnotes and a bibliography and links round it out. There is even a pronunciation .ogg file for his name offered at the top. Looks like they missed this really nice link, though: universalleonardo.org.

Do use references in your art studies, but keep it accurate to the best of your abilities. The blogger world is reading.

Art Is As Art Does

The BBC has posted a shaggy review of Bob Dylan's fine art exhibition in Great Britain.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7445327.stm

While I am more than happy to see actual art critique coming from a newspaper, it is difficult to take this one at face value. No wonder Bob Dylan has been shy to show his artwork. I think he knows it won't be a free ride, and it is inevitable that his paintings will be held up against his song writing and music-making talents as a comparative measure.

I have news: there is no comparison anywhere to Dylan's song writing. He is his own genre, and the word genius is certifiably and forever attached to him in the music world. Now, how does anyone, including the fine artist Bob Dylan, ever stand up to that?

The following vid has Dylan's work in print in a Scottish venue (small and new gallery).



Here we have a Welsh gallery opening, but the proprietor's word-rich interview almost puts the truth to the Beeb's negative spin.



Thanks to Katherine for keeping us up on the Bob Dylan art events.

Book On Color

Here is a quick reference to the terrific Huechroval book that arrived a few days ago. This unique and thought-provoking reference book is based on a scientific measurement and comparison of 5,500 pastel sticks. The blurb given in Huechroval is, "Build Your Collection by Design, Not Accident".

I read with a critical eye, and am an enthusiastic supporter of this exhaustive tool for the serious pastelist. The benefit I will take from it is that I can accurately compare my jpegs and slides for jury against my actual artwork. As it is impossible to represent true pigments in the CMYK color space (photography & print) I am often frustrated when my art is represented incorrectly. This gem of a book actually lists the particular colors of pastel not rendered by CMYK. My tactic in the future will be to submit for jury those artworks that stay closest to the CMYK color space.

Thank you, Huechroval! A longer review will be forthcoming here at The Colorist.

Note: the book from publisher Huechroval is titled: "Multi-Brand Color Chart for Pastels".

Olive Trees & Paint

Olive Trees & Paint
21".5" x 14"
Pastel, Charcoal and Liquid Pigment
on Diane Townsend Paper
Casey Klahn

This is a companion piece to the work that I posted about a week ago, Olive Tree Grove.

On the subject of color, I don't know if I've ever posted about the non-objective colorist Joanne Mattera. Joanne is a blogger organizer, as well as a fine essayist on color. See her current exhibition post, Awash in Color: "No Chomaphobia". And, her recent post on color wheels is not-to-be-missed. It features some dated but fun color wheels, and a survey of some talented colorists that she recommends.

Here are some embedded videos of her Art Blogger Conference:







If you have some trouble loading these videos, I offer you the You Tube Addresses:
Part 1
Part 2

Deciduous Trees Series

Green Maple
May June 08
6.5" x 6"
Pastel
Casey Klahn

At my blog "Pastel", I have been posting about my series of deciduous trees. See them here and here. The second link includes some of my Five for Friday instructional tips exclusive from my studio. What that means is that I am opening my head, and disgorging thoughts about pastel technique.

My goal is to be roughly 75% - 80% original in these pastel instructional tips. I have received word that a venue may be forming soon which will allow me the opportunity to teach workshops. Put me in the school of those who take teaching as a strict calling, with no small requirement on the preparation side. These Friday tips at Pastel have been a lesson plan builder for me. And now you know the backstory on that.

Wheel Versus Real

Katherine Tyrrell, at Making a Mark and her other web sites, is engaging in a two month long study of colour. I think this will become one of the best organized references available about color on the web. I will be participating by studying the characteristic of "Intensity".

First, some groundwork on color theory.

Of course color is a problematic study. Opinions vary, and dogmatism can be a booger. Artists may be dogmatic based on what they learned in art school. People who use computer-based color applications will be off in their own strange world, adding lights of various colors to their white base. Painters will vary a little from print makers, and the dye-using artists also differ in their color models.

The important thing to remember is that points of view exist, and to keep in mind that you need a point of view that works for you. But, it doesn't hurt to be grounded in reality, either. So, measuring results helps. Science brings us that.

If science gives us conceptual theories, we should also feel indebted to Modern Art for uncoupling artists from the hegemony of visual perception. What I mean is this: I don't care at all how other's "perceive" color, or what the "mean average" is for perception of a given color, What I care about is how I use colors!

Put a different way, there has been much written about the ineffable state of color. Colors are perceived differently from person to person; visual perceptions are the result of mental processes and even psychology; cognitive and computational variances; blah, blah, blah. I don't want to ignore the science, but there is an intrinsic color there in the pigment and it behaves the same from day to day, your "perception" be damned.



My own recent studies of color have me occasionally pitching fits because the dominant paradigm on the internet is based on computer uses of color. When artist's use of color is addressed, it often is delivered through the lens of the new paradigm, and what results is misinformation, mistakes and generally not useful stuff for the pigment user.

In a rare entry of clarity, the Wikipedia on the Color Wheel has this to say:

There is no straight-line relationship between the colors mixed in pigment, which will vary from medium to medium. Whereas with a psychophysical color circle, the resulting hue of any mixture of two colored light sources can be determined simply by the relative brightness and wavelength of the two lights, a similar calculation cannot be performed with two paints. As such, a painter's color wheel is indicative rather than predictive, being used to compare existing colors rather than calculate exact colors of mixtures. Because of differences relating to the medium, different color wheels may be created according to the type of paint or other medium used, and many artists develop their own individual color wheels. These will often contain only blocks of color rather than the gradation between tones which is characteristic of the color circle.

The difference between the artist's pigment "color wheel" and the other color theories is best understood by the different colors anchoring them. Red, Yellow and Blue are the primaries of the pigment user because they cannot be mixed from any combination of other pigments. The science oriented, and the print maker or computer user, will identify some other set of base colors because of how light functions. I want to call that "experiential", and the pigment based paradigm I want to call "elemental".

I also want to wretch when someone wishes to impress on me that the "real primaries" are Red, Green and Blue because of so-and-so's color circle theory, or because of the way one's eye perceives color. Fine, I say. Show me that with paint on a palette!

So much for my color model position. Next: Intensity!

Skip these links if your brain hurts thinking about color as perception:
Qualia - Mind numbing experiential theories including color perception.
Paper on the Ineffability of Color.