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Irish Florists
> Floristry > Colour
Theory of Colour
Colour is made up of three primary colours, three secondary colours,
and six tertiary colours. Colour harmony is based on which is based on
the twelve colour wheel of 'true' colours. Each of the twelve are modified
by the addition of white, grey or black.
| Primary Colours |
Red - Cannot be made by mixing other colours
Blue - Cannot be made by mixing other colours
Yellow - Cannot be made by mixing other colours |
| Secondary Colours |
Violet - Mix blue and red
Green - Mix blue and yellow
Orange - Mix yellow and red |
| Tertiary Colours |
Red / Orange - Mix red and orange
Yellow / Orange - Mix yellow and orange
Red / Violet - Mix red and violet
Blue / Violet - Mix blue and violet
Blue / Green - Mix blue and green
Yellow / Green - Mix yellow and green |
Colour Wheel
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The choice of colours by a florist is the most fundamental
aspect of floral design. Colour suggests emotions and influences
how we view things. For example red is evocative of love, red and
green suggests Christmas time to us, and yellow can evoke thoughts
of Easter. The choice of colour is vital for florists. Colour can
be soft and gentle engendering a sense of calmness. Warmth and vitality
can be suggested by vibrant colours. Colours interpret and convey.
Colour Wheel Construction
It is a good idea for florists to make their own colour wheel using
water-colour paints. The only colours needed are, the primary colours,
red, yellow and blue, plus black and white. Create a large white
card circle and mark it out with 'spokes' into twelve equal segments.
Then moving out from the centre draw three equidistant circles.
This will leave each pie segment with four sections. Working from
the outer segment towards the centre
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these are for hue, tint, tone and shade. Mix the water-colours to produce
the right colour for each segment. When the colour wheel is complete separate
cut-outs can be made for each colour harmony so that when a cut-out is placed
over the colour wheel a harmony is readily identified.
Colour Harmonies
It is crucial that a florist has sound awareness and comprehension of
the relationships amongst colours and how to produce harmonious floral
arrangements. There are eight generally recognised colour harmonies:
| Monochromatic |
As the name suggests this involves the use of hues,
tints, tones and shades from a single segment of the colour wheel |
Red/orange, cinnamon, rust
Red/violet, pink/violet, purple
Blue, pale blue, airforce blue |
| Complementary |
This colour harmony is derived by choosing two colours
from opposite sites of the colour wheel |
Red and green
Red/violet and yellow/green
Blue and orange |
| Split Complementary |
This is derived by using a colour in combination with
another colour on either side of the opposite colour. |
Red/violet opposite green & yellow
Yellow/green opposite red & violet |
| Near Complementary |
This colour harmony is made by choosing one colour and
one of the two colours beside its' complementary |
Red/violet and yellow
Red and blue/green
yellow/orange and violet |
| Contrast |
Use a colour with one that is three full segments away
in the colour wheel. Contrasting harmonies may be harsh |
Yellow and red
Green and orange
Orange and violet |
| Analogous |
This harmony is made up of three or four colours that
are beside each other in the colour wheel but only includes one primary
colour |
Yellow, yellow/orange, orange
Red, red/violet, violet, blue/violet
Green, blue/green, blue, blue/violet |
| Triadic |
Three colours that are separated by three full segments
in the wheel. Triadic harmonies may be harsh so choose one dominant
colour, with less of the second, and still less of the third colour |
Green, violet, orange
Red, yellow, blue
Blue/violet, yellow/green, red/orange |
| Tetradic |
This four colour harmony is derived by choosing colours
that are separated by two full segments in the colour wheel |
Green, yellow/orange, red, blue/violet
Yellow, red/orange, violet, blue/green |
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