Yurmby Colour Wheel

I feel that art theory can be pretty confusing. You're trying to express your thoughts and feelings through a creation all while you try to remember some "rules" that you haven't quite grasped yet. That's how I feel nevertheless. However I've discovered a colour wheel I think will be a big help for me: the Yurmby colour wheel.

I painted this colour wheel myself and it's not spot on but it will definitely still be helpful. You might have noticed that this colour wheel isn't like the classic one. The so called primary and secondary colours aren't on their "right" places. This colour wheel therefore won't help you in the sense of colour mixing but it will help you create beautiful colour palettes for your paintings. 

The way to do this is by choosing some colours for your painting and with these limit your palette. I just choose some random colours and limited the colour wheel to see how it would look. 

Once you've decided on the part of the colour wheel you'll be using it's time to name some new primaries and secondaries. The corners of your limited area are now your primary colours and the colours opposite are now your secondaries. The colour in the very middle of your triangle is your neutral colour. Even though it might be a purple or green this colour will now look neutral in your painting.

You can use these limited palettes to create beautiful artworks with a simple colour range. Paintings with a simple colour combination are often more appealing than paintings that are too busy plus it's easier to handle. It's a win win.

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Gouache: Schmincke