- are the root of every other hue imaginable. The primary pigments used in the manufacture of paint come from the pure source element of that Hue. There are no other pigments blended in to alter the formula.
- The primary colors consist of 3 unique colors, red-yellow-blue. When mixing these 3 colors hues, at least in theory, all the other hues of the color wheel, including black can be created.
- In paint pigments, pure Yellow, pure Red, and pure Blue are the only hues that can't be created by mixing any other colors together. Printer inks and digital primaries are referred to as Yellow, Magenta and Cyan.
Color Associations:
Primaries red, blue, yellow. The ultimate contrast of hue and the greatest luminosity. Primaries express fundamental qualities, folk art, embroidery, costumes, etc. They are exuberant, decorative, tonic, vigorous, decisive.
 | Red- emotional and active, danger, love, warmth, life |
 | Blue- passive, soft, cool, watery |
 | Yellow- warm, vibrant, the closest to light and warmth |
SECONDARY COLORS
- When you combine any two of the Pure Primary Hues, you get three new mixtures called Secondary Colors.
- Think of the three Secondaries as the Children in the family of colors.
- When any one primary color is mixed with another a secondary color effect is produced. 3 secondary colors are produced from the mixing of one primary color with another. These colors are orange-green-violet. These secondary colors are also known as complementary colors.
Yellow + Red = ORANGE
Red + Blue = VIOLET or PURPLE
Blue + Yellow = GREEN
Color Associations:
Secondaries: green, orange, violet The second most contrast of hue, the intensity of colors diminishes as hues are further away from the primaries.
TERTIARY COLORS
- When you mix a Primary and its nearest Secondary on the Basic Color Wheel you create six new mixtures called Tertiary colors.
- Think of the six Tertiary Colors as the Grandchildren in the family of colors, since their genetic makeup combines a Primary and Secondary color.
- These colors are created when mixing one secondary and one primary color. i.e. blue + violet = blue violet. Three or more separate colors are mixed (one primary and one secondary A– the combination of two primaries), and in our color wheel each tertiary color being created will be an equal combination of the two colors , left and right, surrounding an open segment. The tertiary colors are, yellow-orange, red-orange, red-violet, blue violet, blue-green, and yellow-green.
Yellow + Orange = YELLOW-ORANGE
Red + Violet = RED-VIOLET
Blue + Violet = BLUE-VIOLET
Blue + Green = BLUE-GREEN
Yellow + Green = YELLOW-GREEN
Color Associations:
Mixing the primaries and the secondaries to create tertiary colors. Cosmic universality, celestial, medieval manuscripts, stained glass, other religious art.
Tertiary colors have less distinctive color contrasts and often imply the concrete, mundane, and earthly simplicity.
