Significance of Color in Paintings Artists have specific artistic devices in their work. Howard Hodgkin is a British painter and printmaker whose work is often associated with abstraction (Boyd, 1996; Litt, 2006). Both Boyd and Litt examined the quality of Hodgkin’s work in terms of his two artistic devices: they use of lopsided frame and the use of color. In this essay, I will discuss Hodgkin’s two elements with the focus on the use of color as it seems to have an influence on my work. One element that has been discussed with emphasis is Hodgkin’s style elements including the use of frames as part of the composition of his work, as well as the use color to create mood.…show more content… That is, the color of something has to be associated with the actual physical object. For example, the grass should be painted in green. Through using this element, artists can speak to people. Indeed, Hodgkin uses specific color tones to speak to the viewers (Boyd, 1996). Hodgkin asserted, “Color is the means by which his paintings do the bulk of their communication” (Litt, 2006, p. 4). That is, colored can make it easier or more difficult to converse with the viewers. It is then the artist’s advantage to use throughout which he/she can manipulate the feelings of the portrait And therefore, have an effect of the viewer’s mood (Boyd, 1996). In fact, colors have always affected emotions and influenced a great message behind many paintings, through colors we could tell the story behind a piece of art and its significance which can truly be expressed through specific…show more content… Colors have a great effect on our daily lives, ranging from the human eyesight and visuals to the audience that are witnessing this form of art that tries to make one live or give him/her an insight on feelings within the art piece. The colors used within specific painting tell a lot about what the message the artist is trying to express or feeling that he has in mind during the process of painting. It is important, therefore, to use the same colors that reflect the physical object. It is easy to do this since these objects are physical. It may seem, however, difficult to use colors that associate with abstracts for different artists who may have different experiences or have come from different cultural backgrounds. Yet, it may be universally agreed that colors such as red, yellow and orange are known as warm colors that often spark the sense of happiness, warmth and energy. On the other hand, colors such as blue, green and purple usually show a something and calm feeling however it also can express sadness. The neutral colors, including grey, black and white, seem good for backgrounds and
