The cool colors in art help to give your painting depth, dimension and highlight a particular part. Cool colors are generally used to represent calmness, since they remind viewers of ocean waves, pine trees and deep blues skies. The 3 cool colors in art are blue, green, and purple.
1. Blue
Blue is a cool color that is often associated with the feeling of serenity. A dark blue, like midnight or navy, tends to evoke feelings of security and structure, while an light blue, sky blue or baby blue, can evoke feelings of peacefulness and relaxation.
Mixing the two variations of this color can help provide a multi dimensional paint color. Blue is often seen in works of art that depict the sky or sea, as it gives off a calming and peaceful feeling.
Shades of Blue
Shades of blue can vary from a very light sky blue like with a light green undertone, to a medium greyish blue, to a very deep navy or midnight blue. Cool blue tones like teals, cyans and more generally aqua’s are popular to use in art.
Mixing them with a few other colors gives an airy but deep effect, like that when looking at the sky or a lake on a bright but clear day.
Using Blue In Paintings
Using blues in artwork can be a great tools for creating an aesthetic scene, either of the sky, a serene lake or anything else you can imagine. If the focus of the painting is an aerial landscape, cool blues can create a breathtaking background to draw the viewer in.
If the focus of the painting is of a person in a scene, the use of the cool blue tones can add a feeling of resilience that stands out against the person in the foreground. (This will give a sense of clear purpose)
2. Green
Green is a cool color in art, it is seen as being a sign of nature, foliage, growth and life. It has the power to evoke feelings of peace and serenity. Darker greens or greens with a brown undertone like olive, ochre green and sage, give an feeling of stability and permanence, while light greens or yellows greens tend to provide a feeling of refreshment and calm.
Shades Of Green
The shades of green can range from soft yellows, to dark greens, to earthy browns. It’s a color in the spectrum of blue and yellow, so you can use some yellow to lighten it up if need be. Darker brown and olive green shades can also be used for more dramatic effects in a painting.
Lime green and electric greens are sometimes seen as very modern and trendy.
Using Green In Paintings
Green is a great colour to use in your paintings because it creates a crisp, refreshing feel and can help tie all the tones and textures of a picture together. It is the perfect color to use when painting landscapes and landscapes with water, as the vibrant color of the water against the green vegetation provides extra dimension and contrast.
You can also paint vibrant green grass to make a scene look bright, cheery and full of life.
3. Purple
Purple is a very cool colour, so using it in your artwork helps to create a more calming environment. Dark purple is a colour that is associated with depth and power, while lighter purples tend to give a feeling of joy and prosperity. With its ability to create vibrancy and a peaceful atmosphere, purple is an excellent colour to use when painting a serene landscape.
Shades Of Purple
Shades of purple can range from light, lilac tones to dark, almost-black wisteria tones. It can also have a range of purple and blue hues that can create an incredibly ethereal look.
Warm purples, like lavender or light mauve, bring a sense of freshness and vibrancy to a painting. Using a mixture of light, medium and dark shades of purple creates layers of colour that draw the viewer into the painting.
Using Purple In Paintings
Painting with purples lends itself to creating a serene atmosphere, like a warm sunrise or the reflection of a beautiful sunset over the horizon. It can be used to add a feeling of depth to a painting and can help highlight a particular part of an image. It can also create a sense of peace and security, which is why it is often found in works of art that aim to depict tranquillity.
Conclusion
Whether you are looking to evoke feelings of calmness or emotions of power and mystery, the 3 cool colors of blue, green and purple are the colors you need to go to. Blues are perfect colors to use when the sky or water is the focus of the painting, greens perfect for giving a painting a sense of liveliness and vibrancy and purple perfect for creating a soft and serene landscape.
With all the shades of color you can experiment with, you are bound to give your artwork the dimension it needs.