Week 8: Texture

ColorBook_Comp_05

I had a great time experimenting with textures this week. I enjoy isolating details of images which then become expressive and abstract. I also enjoy creating textures which often resulted in a surprising outcome.

I began with an analogous color palette. I worked with cyan (my primary hue), blue and green. The top three squares are textures from photographs of found objects. These display patterns, spontaneous and organic visual textures. The bottom three squares are scanned textures of fabrics and materials. When looked at closely, the images display a range of shades, tints and tones, but if you squint they blur and the dominant hue appears more distinctly. The top row of images seem more natural, organic and intuitive where as the bottom row of textures seem more artificial, controlled and man-made. All of the textures in this study are strong and vibrant color. The top row is especially active and shows dynamic movement.

My second texture study explores a more subdued analogous set: blue, cyan, green and yellow-green. I scanned found object that have a smaller, tightly woven texture. The top row is scanned images and the bottom row shows how they react to Photoshop texture filters. Filters (from left to right): glass, dry brush, crystalize and stamp. After applying digital effects, I found many subtle variations and shades, tints and tones within each texture, although at first they appeared to have a more uniform hue. These textures are definitely more calming and soft. The all have a subtle grid but are overall more static and placid. This seems like a nice interior color palette, that could use an accent color (red-orange or red-violet) to bring it to life.

I handmade a third analogous color study. In the top row, I created textures with household materials and painted them blue, cyan and green. I like the range of highlights and shadows this achieved. In the bottom row I created texture by painting and stamping objects. I like how the bottom row becomes abstracted and the viewer can associate different meanings for each texture. Someone might see an explosion, reptile scales or the surface of the moon. This shows how textures can sometimes appear representational or symbolic.

This study explored triple complementary pairs. I isolated details from photographs I’ve taken. By doing this, I really love how you can appreciate the beautiful texture and color of a detail in an image. Sometimes when observing an image in its entirety, the unique details can be lost. This is a concept that is driving my color book. I love to highlight the beauty of details found in unexpected places that are often overlooked. These are all items that can be found in the home, but perhaps this study offers a new perspective.

I also tried to focus on choosing shades or tints of each color and not its pure hue. All of these textures seem to be bursting from their squares. You can begin to visualize the rest of the image, just based on this small clue. I especially like the contrast between warm and cool colors in each pair. They are so different, in amount of detail, color and movement, yet work together. They have complementary colors as well as contrasting compositional elements.

Last week, I really enjoyed creating neutral palettes based on my hue (cyan) and its complement (red-orange). I tried to recreate the color palette I achieved last week, using textures. I think that all of these textures show unique qualities and I like that it is difficult to tell where many of them come from. Many of them show how light and shadow affect a hue as well as the difference between a uniform pattern and organic shapes. I am usually very drawn to bright and vibrant colors, so I am happy to have discovered new possibilities when working with neutrals.

Lastly, based on my color book theme, I decided to study the textures and various shade, tones and tints found in the sky. It is rare that we take notice of how active the sky can be and how the clouds take on many different shapes and textures. I realized that I would like to take more photos at dusk, so I can include darker shades of cyan in my study.

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