A journey through some visual illusions show how a simple physical concept of human colour vision doesn’t work. It’s all about perception, not physics.
colour theory
Colour theory from the ancient Greeks to Munsell, via several artists including Leonardo da Vinci and Phillip Otto Runge.
How he became interested in colour, and how he developed his colour system – which remains one of the most widely-used colour ordering systems.
A brief look at the history of colour ordering, and colour systems, as an introduction to the pioneering work of Albert Henry Munsell.
It is evident that the rules of colour harmony vary widely and lack a solid basis. Opinions have changed often. (Rolf G Kuehni)
How pigments work, and some of their practical problems.
Chroma is hard to separate from lightness. An important painting point is that mixing paints cannot increase chroma. Instead it tends to reduce it towards muddy grey.
Although lightness and chroma can usually be approached successfully using methodical approaches, long experience has shown that hue is much more hit or miss. Developing a good ‘eye’ for colours is generally much more important.
Lightness is key to the depiction of materials, textures, edges, and form. Illusions can confound the viewer, and it is vital to map the lightness of your motif to that of your painting.
What do we actually perceive of colour?
The Eclectic Light Company 