Understanding Colour

How does colour work? It seems that many have this innate fear when it comes to colour. It confuses and scares us. Most people stick to neutral shades, but let's be honest...it can get pretty boring at times! Think about when you see a man or a woman in a bright, beautiful colour - any colour - that suits them. It immediately makes them look smarter, sexier and younger. THIS is what colour can do, if done correctly!

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Annie Sloan - a paint legend, classically-trained fine artist and a pretty darn cool, down-to-earth lady from the UK. She lead a Stockist workshop where she focused on understanding colour. I must admit, I was somewhat intimidated as I haven't thought about primary colours since kindergarten! We've all seen those massively confusing, abstract and technical-looking colour wheels!

Now Annie's logo doesn't have coloured fingers for no reason. She literally uses her fingertips to mix and combine her 32 Chalk Paint™ colours - showing us how flexible the carefully selected range of colours really is. Every Chalk Paint™ colour mixes together to extend the range and create endless colour possibilities - without getting muddy or just plain 'brown'. She taught us colour theory, but with a much simpler approach.

She showed us how to use her less-intimidating triangle of colours, built around the 3 primary colours - Red, Yellow and Blue. Using this chart, you can easily find a colour's complementary colour. But why do I care, you ask? Some often think that adding Graphite (or 'black') will darken a colour, but this isn't the case. Mixing a colour's complementary - that is, the colour on the direct opposite side of the chart - will give a darker shade, but with much more depth than simply adding black. For example, to darken English Yellow, add a little Emile.

Mix red and yellow to achieve an orange hue, yellow and blue make green or red and blue to make a lovely purple. I was playing with purple today - trying to match a Royal Purple for a client. By simply blending Emperor's Silk (red) with Napoleonic Blue in different ratios, I was able to achieve a range of gorgeous purples - from a magenta, plum to eventually a deep eggplant hue that was a perfect fit for my client's space.

I often get asked for a colour combination to achieve a 'brown' hue, to match the neutral tones we're seeing in tiles, hardwood, and soft items like bedspreads and sofas. Annie Sloan has a colour called 'Coco' in her lineup of 32 colours, but Coco is a soft brown-grey, almost a 'latte' shade - much softer than a traditional brown.

Now if we blend Emperor's Silk or Burgundy (strong red's) with Antibes Green (complementary colours!) we get a traditional brown, rather than a grey, because Antibes has yellow undertones. Add Old White to soften or create a pale mushroom colour.

The number of colour combinations are truly endless - from bold and daring to pale and muted. Here are just a few additional colour combinations to inspire you...

This adorable coral dresser by Sarah M. Dorsey Designs was created using a custom blend of Barcelona Orange and Emperor's Silk Chalk Paint™ .

knot too Shabby achieved this beautiful peacock blue hue using a 1:1 ratio of Napoleonic Blue and Florence Chalk Paint™.

This barely grey dresser by Centsational Girl has been painted using a blend of 2 parts Old White to 1 part Paris Grey Chalk Paint™. Use Old White to lighten a shade and give a vintage look, or use Pure White to lighten giving a crisp modern look.

So as you can see, working with colour is much easier than you thought. You don't need to be an artist or scientist to mastermind some pretty fabulous equations for creating colour. Truth is, some of the best colour blends I've seen have come when I've made a mistake or when washing used brushes during our Chalk Paint™ 101 workshops! Don't be afraid to experiment with colour - after all, it's only paint....