Colour – JSS2 Cultural & Creative Arts Lesson Note (First Term)

Colour is what we see when light hits an object and bounces back to our eyes.

• Subject: Cultural and Creative Arts
• Class: JSS2
• Duration: 40 minutes

• Key idea: an object absorbs some colours of light and reflects others.
• Groups: colours are grouped as primary, secondary and tertiary.
• Use in art: artists mix and combine colours to create harmony and mood.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. Explain why we see different colours.
2. Name natural sources of local colours.
3. Name the primary, secondary and tertiary colours and say how each is made.
4. Describe the colour wheel and sort colours into warm and cool.
5. Describe ways of creating colour harmony in an artwork.

Why is colour important?

Colour makes the world beautiful, helps us recognise things and shows feelings.

• Beauty: the sky, trees, clothes, food and even our skin all have colour.
• Recognition: colour helps us understand things, for example a ripe banana is yellow and a fresh leaf is green.
• Feeling: red can make us feel excited or energetic, and blue can make us feel calm and peaceful.
• Art: artists use colour to express feelings and create moods in their work.
• Black and white: a world without colour, like an old photograph, would look dull.

Why do we see different colours?

We see different colours because objects absorb some colours of light and reflect others to our eyes.

1. Sunlight shines on an object.
2. The object absorbs some colours of the light.
3. The object reflects the other colours back to our eyes.
4. The colour that bounces back is the colour we see.

• Example: a red apple absorbs all the colours except red, so we see it as red.
• Light is needed: in a very dark room, everything looks grey or black.
• Test it: when the light is switched on, the colours appear again.

What are the sources of local colours?

Local colours are colours found naturally in our environment and community.

There are four main sources: plants, soil and earth, fruits and vegetables, and other natural sources. People used them for painting, dyeing cloth and decorating homes long before factories made paint and dyes.

1. Colours from plants

• Leaves: give green. Crush fresh leaves and use the juice for colouring.
• Flowers: hibiscus gives red or pink, and yellow flowers give yellow dye.
• Bark: the bark of trees like the camwood tree gives orange or red.
• Roots: some roots give yellow or brown.
• Indigo plant: gives deep blue. It was used to dye cloth blue.
• Henna leaves: give orange-brown, used to decorate hands and dye hair.

2. Colours from soil and earth

• Red soil: found in many parts of Africa, gives red and orange.
• Clay: comes in brown, red, white or grey.
• Charcoal: burnt wood gives black.
• White clay or chalk: gives white.
• Use: soils were mixed with water or oil to make paint for houses and traditional art.

3. Colours from fruits and vegetables

• Tomato: red.
• Carrot: orange.
• Beetroot: deep red or purple.
• Onion skins: yellow or brown.
• Spinach and other green vegetables: green.
• Palm oil: orange-red.

4. Colours from other natural sources

• Ashes: mixed with water, give grey.
• Rust: from old iron, gives reddish-brown.
• Mud: gives various shades of brown.
• Stones: can be crushed to make powders of different colours.

How are colours classified?

Colours are classified into three groups: primary, secondary and tertiary colours.

What are primary colours?

Primary colours are the first colours, and they cannot be made by mixing other colours.

The three primary colours are red, yellow and blue.

1. Red: a warm, bright colour, like a ripe tomato or a stop sign.
2. Yellow: a cheerful, sunny colour, like a ripe banana or the sun.
3. Blue: a cool, calm colour, like the sky on a clear day or the ocean.

• Mixing: red, yellow and blue paint can be mixed to make almost any other colour.
• Paint sets: school paint sets always include these three as the foundation colours.

What are secondary colours?

Secondary colours are made by mixing two primary colours.

The three secondary colours are orange, green and purple (violet). Remember: primary + primary = secondary.

How does the amount of each colour change the result?

• Orange: more red gives red-orange, and more yellow gives yellow-orange.
• Green: equal yellow and blue give a medium green.
• Lighter green: more yellow gives a bright green, like lime.
• Darker green: more blue gives a deep green, like forest green.
• Purple: equal red and blue give a true purple.
• Reddish or bluish purple: more red gives a reddish purple, and more blue gives a deep violet.

What are tertiary colours?

Tertiary colours are made by mixing a primary colour with the secondary colour next to it.

Tertiary means third. There are six tertiary colours.

• Use: tertiary colours give more choice when painting.
• Realism: they help make realistic pictures, because many colours in nature are not pure primary or secondary colours.

How do the three groups compare?

What is the colour wheel?

The colour wheel is a circle that arranges colours to show how they relate to each other.

• Primary colours: equally spaced around the wheel.
• Secondary colours: sit between the two primary colours used to make them.
• Tertiary colours: sit between a primary and a secondary colour.
• Total: a full wheel has 12 colours (3 primary, 3 secondary and 6 tertiary).
• Use: artists use it to choose colours that work well together.

What are warm and cool colours?

Warm and cool colours are two groups of colours based on the feelings they give us.

• Warm colours: remind us of fire, sun and heat, and make us feel energetic and excited.
• Cool colours: remind us of water, sky and shade, and make us feel calm and peaceful.

What is colour harmony?

Colour harmony is choosing colours that look good together in the same artwork.

• Harmony: means things that go well together and create a pleasant feeling.
• Effect: harmonious colours do not fight each other, like singers in a choir blending their voices.

What are the ways of creating colour harmony?

There are four main ways: similar colours, opposite colours, shades of one colour, and all warm or all cool colours.

1. Using similar colours (analogous)

• Meaning: colours next to each other on the colour wheel.
• Examples: blue, blue-green and green; red, red-orange and orange; yellow, yellow-green and green.
• Effect: a peaceful feeling, because the colours flow from one to another.

2. Using opposite colours (complementary)

• Meaning: colours directly across from each other on the colour wheel.
• Examples: red and green; blue and orange; yellow and purple.
• Effect: side by side, they make each other look brighter and stronger, which adds energy and excitement.

3. Using shades of one colour (monochromatic)

• Meaning: lighter and darker versions of the same colour.
• Examples: light blue, medium blue and dark blue; pale yellow, bright yellow and mustard yellow; pink, red and dark red.
• Effect: a calm, unified look.

4. Using warm or cool colours together

• All warm: red, orange, yellow and red-orange give energy and excitement.
• All cool: blue, green, purple and blue-green give peace and calm.

What are the tips for good colour harmony?

• Limit bright colours: too many bright colours together make an artwork look confusing.
• Use neutrals: balance bright colours with white, grey, black or brown.
• Repeat a colour: use one colour in different parts to tie the artwork together.
• Plan the mood: decide the feeling you want before choosing colours.

What practical activities can students do with colour?

Activity 1: Mixing primary colours

1. Get red, yellow and blue paint.
2. Mix red + yellow to make orange.
3. Mix yellow + blue to make green.
4. Mix blue + red to make purple.
5. Notice how the amount of each colour changes the result.

Activity 2: Creating natural colours

1. Crush some leaves to get green juice.
2. Squeeze a tomato for red.
3. Mix some red soil with water for brown paint.

Activity 3: Making a colour wheel

1. Draw a circle and divide it into 12 sections.
2. Paint the primary colours first (red, yellow, blue).
3. Paint the secondary colours between them.
4. Paint the tertiary colours in the spaces left.

Activity 4: Finding colour harmony

1. Look at pictures in magazines or books.
2. Note which colours are used together.
3. Decide if they create harmony.
4. Decide if they are warm or cool, and similar or opposite.

Evaluation

1. Why do we see a red apple as red?
2. Name three natural sources of colour and the colour each one gives.
3. Name the three primary colours. Which two primary colours do you mix to make green?
4. What is the difference between warm colours and cool colours? Give two examples of each.
5. What are complementary colours? Give one example.

Assignment

Draw and paint a colour wheel with 12 sections showing the primary, secondary and tertiary colours. Below it, list five natural sources of colour and the colour each one gives.