Andy Warhol: The Color Wheel
Primary Colors
Primary colors are the three colors we need to make all other colors. They are red,
blue, and yellow. These three colors can be used to create the next level of colors,
called the secondary colors.
Secondary Colors
Secondary colors are purple, green, and orange. They are created using the primary
colors. If you look on the color wheel, you’ll find the secondary colors in between
two primary colors.
red + blue = purple
blue + yellow = green
red + yellow = orange
Tertiary Colors
Tertiary colors are created when you mix primary colors with a secondary color.
They are known as two name colors, red-orange, yellow–green, etc. Can you find
other tertiary colors on the color wheel?
Complementary Colors
Complementary colors are those colors opposite each other on the color wheel.
Color Terms
Let’s take a quick look at some color-related terms that will help you understand
the different types of colors you might be using as you work on your art projects:
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Hue: the name of a specific color; traditionally refers to one of the 12 colors
on the color wheel
Shade: a hue darkened with black
Tone: a hue dulled with gray
Tint: a hue lightened with white
Saturation: refers to the intensity or purity of a color (the closer a hue
approaches to gray, the more desaturated it is)
Value: refers to the lightness or darkness of a color
SilkscreenFlowers,1970
Check out the vivid colors in Andy Warhol’s Silkscreen Flowers. Take note of the
color combinations he used.
Campbell’s Soup Cans, 1962
Have you ever heard of Andy Warhol? Andy Warhol was part of the Pop Art
movement. Pop artists wanted to make art part of everyday life, something that
everyone could enjoy. Many of the artists were inspired by advertising, comic strips
and product packaging. Pop Art is often very bright, colorful and bold.Warhol was
famous for exploring popular culture in his work, using images of brands like Coca
Cola, Listerine and Campbell’s Soup (which was one of his favorite things to eat).
What do you think about using an everyday object like soup as art?
Marilyn 1967
He liked to use bright colors and silk screening techniques to mass-produce
artworks based on publicity photographs of stars, like this famous image of Marilyn
Monroe.
Silk-screening is a process which can create lots of artworks/prints that look the
same. Sometimes Warhol would switch colors around and present a group of prints
with inverted or contrasting colors together.
Warhol’s studio was called The Factory, which was a reference to the massproduced nature of his artworks. He saw art as a product, the same as a production
line of Coca Cola bottles.
Self Portrait, 1986
Fun Facts:
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He wore silver wigs (he actually had a drawer full of them!)
He loved his mom, and she often helped with his art.
He had 25 cats, all named Sam.
His style of art is called Pop Art.
Pop stands for popular.
He painted Campbell's Soup cans because he ate it everyday for lunch.
In addition to painting, he also drew, but was most famous for his screen prints.
Screen printing allowed him to make many copies of the same piece of art.
He liked to use color to make each print different.
His art studio was called The Factory, because he produced so much art.
Watch Video:
K-1: Primary Colors
2-5: Andy Warhol and Pop Art
Now let's create our own Andy Warhol inspired art!
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