A Word About Color Temperature

One of the most important rules of color temperature is that warm colors protrude (pop forward) and cool colors recede (fade back). So, if you think about the color scale, this would mean that red, yellow and orange would surge forward in a painting as opposed to the cool colors of blue, purple and green which would make things look like they are further away. That is why cool colors are used to signify elements in a distance like trees and houses because it denotes atmosphere between the foreground and the background of a painting.

We won’t go into a lot of detail about value (light and dark) but I will mention that the value scale is also used to show how close or further away something is and that there is a value scale within these temperature groups that will also intensify atmosphere. The closer something is to us the darker and clearer it should look and the further away it is the lighter and more diffused it should be, again signifying more atmosphere. Nothing explains concepts better than examples so let’s look at a painting by Henri Lebasque titled Blue Mountains in Cannes.

Henri Lebasque

Starting at the top of the painting, we see the mountains are painted with cool blues & purples (very gray, meaning lack of color intensity), showing atmosphere and visually telling the viewer that the mountains are far away.

Now, here is something interesting. Balconies are usually high, higher than the landscape below them and in this painting the perspective tells us that the balcony is indeed very high in the air. Which would mean that the possibility of having trees right next to the balcony is not impossible but is improbable. So, let’s focus on the balcony. Look at the first opening to the left. The cool purple makes it look like whatever you are catching a glimpse of is far away but look at the other openings to the right of the figure. The dark green is too dark and not cool enough. Do you see how that green looks like its bursting through the balcony openings? Now, I am not saying that the great Mr. Henri Lebasque did not see that intense green on that bright beautiful day in Cannes, but I AM saying that this is a great example of how temperature is important to denote atmosphere in a painting.

So remember, cool colors recede, warm colors push forward so the next time you look at a painting notice how the artist has used temperature to portray atmosphere and mood. 


Think Creatively!