Major and Minor Chords

Over the past several blog posts, I have sought to elaborate on various palettes built from the Full Spectrum Palette. Initially, I delved into creating a Full Spectrum Palette based on 12 intervals corresponding to the light spectrum and the 12 musical notes of a chromatic scale. I then elaborated on the Bi colors derived from these 12 intervals. I then expanded this palette to include the 6 Hues of the most neutral colors. Each of the 3 lines, Full Spectrum of 12 intervals; the 15 Bi colors of semi-neutrals; and the 6 Hues, is fully integrated with one another, therefore producing a harmonious and versatile palette.

This palette is expansive, as it displays all possible tones produced by the 12 intervals from the most intense root notes, descending in intensity to the most neutralized notes. Both H.G. Maratta and Robert Henri sought patterns of color relationships within this extensive palette by relying on the idea of limitation. One possible limitation was based on an arrangement derived from musical chords. The musical intervals that make up a chord are set at intervals 3-4-5 in any sequence. There are 12 major and 12 minor chords. Let’s examine a major and minor chord through the parameters of a triangular palette format.

The triangular palette design can be found in John Sloan’s On Drawing and Painting, p. 120. H.G. Maratta developed this triangular palette design based on models from European colorists, such as Tobias Mayer’s Mixing Triangle. Maratta provided this diagram to artists in pad form [hence, it can be found in the Sloan, Henri, and Bellows archives] so that artists could experiment with various color arrangements for each image, finding the most evocative combinations to elicit the appropriate emotional response.

Below is a major chord R-YG-BP. In the color chart, I have mixed between the root notes to get the RO Bi, GB Bi, and PR color. I have added white below the top line to see the tone quality at a higher value.

Below, I have diagrammed the chord. All the tones within the red triangle are available to use. Note that a large portion of the palette is accessible because it is a major chord. The full scale of R, YG, and BP is available and forms the axes of this palette. The most intense Y and B are cut off. The secondaries O and G now reside in the Bi color zone. But P remains at full intensity. All Hues and the neutral are accessible. The cools of PR, P, and BP dominate. The R and YG are near complements and when mixed, approach the RO Bi, O Bi, and the Y hue. These warm tones support the root note R, adding echoes with the YG. Muted G’s also echo with the R in simultaneous contrast. There is variety and depth to this major chord.

Below is a minor chord RO-YG-P. In the color chart, I have mixed between the root notes to get the OY Bi, G hue, and PRR Bi. I have added white below this top line again to see the tone quality at a higher value.

Below, I have diagrammed the minor chord. One can immediately see that this palette is more focused. Large portions of the palette are cut off. We see the full scale of the root notes RO, YG, and P moving towards the neutral center. We can also observe that YG and P are near complements and, when mixed, produce tones that approach neutrality, and a series of muted G’s, while maintaining YG-ness and P-ness at the extremes. Note that warm tones dominate this palette: R Bi-RO-O Bi-OY Bi-YG. P acts as a counterpoint to this warm feeling in this arrangement.

I chose these 2 chords because they share characteristics, namely the YG. But there is also a small shift between these chords in the R-RO and in the BP-P. You may find that with your image, you are debating which of these chords may enhance your painting. You may find that there is a decidedly warm cast in your image, and may choose the minor chord. Or you may find that you need the major chord to account for the color of your various objects within your painting. Either way, each chord produces its particular color quality and color interaction between the notes that is surprising. In practice, it is important not to over-mix the color notes. The root notes of the chord need to remain firm in the image to create emotive color interaction in the arrangement. As a practical note, I will often create 2 studies in this situation to try out each chord and see the visual effect, then decide which one works for my image.

Experimentation and risk are the raison d’etre of real painting. Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself and step outside your comfort zone. There is a vast well of wisdom gained in the process.

I cover these ideas in Chapters 8 and 16 of my book, The Color Investigations of Robert Henri, Vols. 1 & 2. Check it out.

Creating the Hues- The Third Line of the Full Spectrum Palette

The Y Hue is at the bottom, center. It is derived from the O [left] and G [right] from the Full Spectrum Palette. Bottom right- Y Hue + white. Bottom left- I used the Y Hue added to the yellow to create a Y of reduced intensity [Y Bi color. This is an alternate way to achieve a Bi Color].

In the last two blogs, I have focused on the Bi Colors, which compose the second line in the Full Spectrum Palette. Now, I would like to consider the third line of Hues. The Hues, as defined by Robert Henri, are those colors that come closest to the neutral but still maintain the color character of their root notes. B Hue is as close to a neutral as blue can get while still retaining its blueness. The Hue is the color that is one interval removed from the neutral.

Most artists derive their neutral tones by combining complementary colors. The complementary combinations can shift towards one complement or the other, depending on the needs of the image. My neutral can appear more blue or more towards orange using the B-O complementary pair. Henri’s Hues also depend on a set of complements plus a dominant color. These Hues are more subtle and more accurately formulated when using a balanced Full Spectrum Palette. They are easily built from the secondary colors of O-G-V of the balanced palette. I stress this idea of the balanced palette because if one begins in harmony, one ends in harmony. In this blog, I assume you have already created 12 evenly spaced intervals along the full color spectrum [top line of the Full Spectrum Palette]. Both the Hues and the Bi colors are derived from these mixtures.

If I wish to create a Y Hue, I will look for the secondary colors that lie on either side of my Y at full intensity [top line]. I have the O on one side and the G on the other side. The combination of the O + G = Y Hue. Both O and G contain Y. But they also contain the complements of R-G and O-B. Let’s examine this idea. The R is derived from the O set against the G; Or one can look at it in another way. The B is derived from the G set against the O. What is key is that the dominant color within the Y Hue is yellow. This Y is subtly neutralized by a complementary pair, so that the Y Hue remains within the Y scale, just above the neutral. Also note that the complements within the Hue are not evenly balanced. There is less R interacting with the G. The R is 50% of the O mixture set against the G at 100%. But this specific interaction creates a balanced Y Hue dominated by Y.

What I like about the Full Spectrum Palette is that I don’t need to find the right balance to achieve a Y Hue. It just comes out as it should by mixing my secondary colors of O and G. The Y Hue should appear visually as raw sienna or yellow ochre, but slightly more intense than these earth tones. I use this tone extensively in both my flesh tones and my landscape paintings- any place you find yourself dipping into something like yellow ochre. But this Y Hue is perfectly integrated into your palette already, and there is no need to super-add another color such as yellow ochre.

Emile Gruppe, The Birch, 20 x 16

I am fond of the landscapes of Emile Gruppe, who was a student of John Carlson. I noticed that Gruppe often used the secondary colors of O-G-V as the basic scheme of his palette design. You see it again and again, these colors combined to form subtle variations of the primary colors. Also, when all three secondaries are combined, he achieves an extensive variation in his neutrals. Gruppe, obviously, had a balanced palette and easily achieved his semi-neutrals and Hues from this innate harmony. He then adds his blues, allowing them to sparkle amid these O-G-V’s.

Emile Gruppe, Fishing Boat in the Harbor, 17 x 21

Note that the B Hue is derived from the secondaries G + V, and the R Hue is derived from O + V. You can read more on the process of building the Hues in my book, The Color Investigations of Robert Henri, Vol. 1 & 2 [Vol. 1, p. 46; Vol. 2, Image 7-6, 7-7]. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have about the mixing process.