B. Drama / D. Visual Arts · Drama and Visual Arts

Visual Arts: Colour Contrast, Absence of Colour and Art About Issues

D1.1 D1.3 D2.1About 50 minutes

Learning goals

I can name and mix the tertiary colours and find complementary pairs on the colour wheel.
I can use different kinds of colour contrast to create emphasis and mood.
I can use absence of colour (black, white and greys) and a colour accent on purpose.
I can create an art work about an issue that shows awareness of multiple points of view.
I can interpret the feelings, issues, themes and social concerns an art work conveys.

Words to know

tertiary colour
A colour made by mixing a primary colour with a neighbouring secondary colour, such as blue-green or red-orange.

complementary colours
Colours opposite each other on the colour wheel. Side by side they look brighter; mixed, they make a dull brown or grey.

colour contrast
Putting very different colours together so they stand out: opposite hues, warm and cool, light and dark, or bright and dull.

saturation
How bright and pure a colour is, or how dull and greyed it is. Also called intensity.

achromatic
Without colour: black, white and greys.

absence of colour
Choosing to use no colour (black, white and greys), so value, shape and line carry the work.

colour accent
A small area of colour in a mostly neutral or limited-colour work, used to create a focal point.

triptych
An art work in three panels displayed side by side.

Remember from Grade 7

In Grade 7 you used analogous colour schemes for harmony, created transparent colour with glazes and tissue paper, and learned how screens (RGB) and printers (CMYK) make colour. You also made art about issues with opposing points of view.

In Grade 8 you'll use tertiary colours and contrast of colour with more control, explore the power of absence of colour, and create art about issues that shows multiple points of view, not just two sides.

Why do stop signs and fire trucks use red?

Red jumps out against green trees, grey roads and blue sky. That's colour contrast at work.

Now think of an old black-and-white photograph. It can feel serious, quiet or timeless. Sometimes leaving colour out is the strongest colour choice of all.

A bright red maple leaf lying on a bed of green moss. — Red and green are complementary colours. Placed side by side, each makes the other look even brighter. AI-generated image

Tertiary colours and complements

The 12-hue colour wheel has:

3 primary colours: red, yellow, blue.
3 secondary colours: orange, green, violet.
6 tertiary colours: mix a primary with the secondary next to it: yellow-orange, red-orange, red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green, yellow-green. Name tertiaries with the primary first.

Complementary colours are opposite each other. Every tertiary has a tertiary complement: red-orange and blue-green, yellow-orange and blue-violet, yellow-green and red-violet.

A 12-hue colour wheel. The six tertiary colours (in bold) sit between the primaries and secondaries. Complementary colours sit opposite each other; the arrow joins one tertiary pair, red-orange and blue-green.

Four kinds of colour contrast

Complementary contrast: opposites side by side make each other look brighter. Strong complements can even seem to vibrate where they meet.
Warm and cool contrast: warm colours (reds, oranges, yellows) seem to come forward; cool colours (blues, greens, violets) seem to recede.
Light and dark contrast (value): often the strongest contrast of all; it's why yellow on black is so easy to read from far away.
Saturation contrast: a bright, pure colour against dull, greyed colours stands out. Mix a colour with a little of its complement to dull it.

Artists use contrast to create emphasis (a focal point), movement (the eye jumps between contrasting areas) and mood (high contrast feels energetic or tense; low contrast feels calm or foggy).

Four kinds of colour contrast. Each pair makes the circle stand out in a different way: opposite hues, warm against cool, light against dark, and bright against dull.

The power of absence of colour

Achromatic art uses only black, white and greys. Without colour, value, shape, line and texture do all the work.

The American photographer Ansel Adams is famous for black-and-white photographs of mountains, national parks and other landscapes, such as Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico (1941), which shows a small village under a rising moon. He carefully controlled the full range of greys, from deep black to bright white.
Pablo Picasso's huge painting Guernica (1937) uses only black, white and greys. Picasso painted it after the town of Guernica in Spain was bombed during the Spanish Civil War. The absence of colour gives it the feel of a newspaper photograph and makes its message about the suffering caused by war feel stark and serious.

Absence of colour can feel serious, timeless, quiet, sad, dramatic or historical. Adding back one colour accent creates an instant focal point and can carry a symbolic meaning.

The same winter scene three ways. With absence of colour, only values (light and dark) are left. Adding back one colour, the red door, makes it an instant focal point.

Art about issues, with multiple points of view

In Grade 7 you made art showing opposing points of view. Grade 8 art works can show an issue from several viewpoints, letting the viewer weigh them. Ideas:

A triptych (three panels), one panel per viewpoint.
One image seen through several "windows", each in a different colour scheme.
A mixed-media piece combining photos, drawings and words from different people.
A digital collage or slideshow where each image shows a different stakeholder.

Colour can show the differences: each viewpoint gets its own colour scheme, or one shared colour accent connects them all.

Worked example

Example: A triptych about "High Water"

Let's plan a triptych about the flood issue from the drama "High Water," showing three viewpoints.

Left panel, Teta's viewpoint (home): her kitchen and maple tree in warm tertiaries (yellow-orange, red-orange). Feeling: love, memory.
Middle panel, Dr. Feng's viewpoint (safety): a map of the river and floodwater in cool colours (blue-green, blue-violet). Feeling: concern, evidence.
Right panel, Gord's viewpoint (downstream): his flooded fields in absence of colour, with one colour accent: a red-orange tractor. Feeling: worry, being overlooked.
Linking element: the river runs across all three panels, connecting the viewpoints.
Contrast: the warm left and cool middle create warm–cool contrast; the grey right panel feels like a different, less-heard world.
For the audience: a sign beside it invites viewers to stand in front of the panel they agree with most, then read the other two.

Colour choices can give each viewpoint its own mood while a shared element connects them, so viewers see multiple perspectives on one issue.

Worked example

Example: Interpreting an achromatic art work

Let's interpret a (made-up) black-and-white photo series by a student: empty swings in a park, a closed corner store, a bus stop with no one waiting. The last photo shows a child's bright yellow boot in a puddle.

Observe: absence of colour in five photos; a single yellow colour accent in the last.
Feelings: quiet, lonely, empty.
Issue or social concern: maybe a neighbourhood losing places where people gather, or loneliness in a community.
Theme: the yellow boot suggests hope: children still live here; life continues.
Evidence: the yellow is the only colour, so it becomes the focal point and a symbol.

Interpret by connecting visual evidence (colour, absence of colour, accents) to feelings, issues, themes and social concerns.

Safety and care

Use washable, non-toxic paints, and cover your work surface.
If you use a phone or computer to make greyscale versions, ask a grown-up first and only photograph people who agree to it.
Keep paint brushes and water away from electronics.

Just for fun

Funny but true: if you stare at a bright red shape for about 30 seconds and then look at a white wall, you'll see a ghostly blue-green shape floating there: an afterimage in roughly the complementary colour. Your eyes do colour theory even when you're not trying.

Hands-on activity

Contrast and absence studio

You need: paint or coloured pencils (red, yellow, blue, white, black), paper, a brush and water, a pencil, and (optional, with a grown-up's permission) a phone or tablet with a camera.

Tertiary mixing: paint or colour a 12-hue wheel, mixing the six tertiaries yourself.
Contrast test: paint four small squares, each with a circle inside, to show the four kinds of contrast.
Afterimage: stare at a red square for 30 seconds, then look at white paper. What colour do you see?
Absence of colour: take or draw a winter scene in greys only. Then add one colour accent. How does the meaning change?
Issue triptych: choose an issue in your community (a new road, a park, screen time rules at school). Make three small panels, each showing a different viewpoint, with its own colour scheme. Add one element that connects all three.
Interpret: show someone your triptych. Ask what feelings and viewpoints they see, then explain your colour choices.

Your turn

Name the six tertiary colours.

What is the complement of red-orange? Of yellow-green?

Name the four kinds of colour contrast.

What does achromatic mean?

What is a colour accent, and what does it do?

Why did Picasso's Guernica (1937) use only black, white and greys?

How can a triptych show multiple points of view?

More practice: warm-up

A tertiary colour mixes a primary with a ___ colour next to it.

Do warm colours seem to come forward or go back?

Mixing a colour with its complement makes it ___.

Which photographer is famous for black-and-white photos such as Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico (1941)?

Which is the strongest kind of contrast for reading from far away?

More practice: on your own

Plan a poster for a winter coat drive that uses complementary contrast. Name the colours and why.

A painting is all greys except for one blue-violet bird. Interpret one possible meaning.

How could you show calm using low contrast?

Explain why absence of colour can make a historical scene feel older.

Choose an issue in your school (for example, phones in class). Name three viewpoints a triptych could show.

Challenge

Design an art work about an issue that uses both absence of colour and complementary contrast. Explain how each choice supports your message.

Why might an artist choose to show multiple viewpoints rather than only one in an art work about an issue?

Explain the science behind the afterimage, and how artists might use complementary contrast because of it.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which is a tertiary colour?

The complement of blue-green is ___.

Achromatic art uses ___.

A single red door in a greyscale photo is a ___.

Which is saturation contrast?

A triptych is ___.

For parents and teachers

Big idea: For Grade 8, the curriculum's focus for colour includes tertiary colours, contrast of colour and absence of colour. Students create art works with traditional and current media that express feelings, ideas and issues and demonstrate awareness of multiple viewpoints (D1.1), use elements for an audience and purpose (D1.3), and interpret the feelings, issues, themes and social concerns in art (D2.1).

**About Guernica:** it responds to a real bombing of a town during a war. The lesson discusses it briefly and respectfully; if your child is curious, look at it together on a museum website and talk about how art can respond to hard events.

How to help:

Try the afterimage experiment together.
On a walk, look for colour accents: a red door, a yellow kayak, a blue jacket on a grey day.
Use a phone's black-and-white photo setting together to see a scene with absence of colour.

Common difficulties:

Muddy tertiary mixes. Clean the brush and add the darker colour a little at a time.
Only two sides of an issue. Ask, "Who else is affected?"
Interpretations without evidence. Ask, "Which colour or shape shows that?"