Glenn Hirsch, Instructor www.glennhirsch.com

1. Color Theory
the Apple and Still Life in
Watercolor
Glenn Hirsch

2. What’s the ‘true
color’ of the
house?
It depends on the
time of day and
the weather
The ‘real’ color
doesn’t exist
independently
of the light

3. Claude Monet painted ‘white marble’ on the Rouen Cathedral in different
times of day, showing that color doesn’t exist independently of the light

4. Since color is “relative,” we use warm and cool versions of each color to
enhance the feeling of “light”

5. Chromatic scale to
enhance the
illusion of “light”
Lighter b/w value in the light
Brighter intensity in the light
Warmer (orangey) red in the
light (vs bluer purplish) in
the shadow

7. Chromatic scale
• Light to dark
• Bright to dull
• Warm to cool

8. Black and white
is the
“value” of
the color

9. Chromatic scale

10. Chromatic scale

11. Georgia O’Keefe

12. Dramatically lit apples using the chromatic scale – light to dark, bright to dull,
warm to cool

13. Apples with and without glowing ‘light’

15. Student study of Cezanne

16. Step 1
Let it dry
Step 2

25. ‘light’ = ‘emotion’
the contrast of light and dark
the variety of warm and cool