Distinction in paint colours and grey tones

The word ‘hue’ derives from an old English word for ‘form’ or ‘appearance’. It is often used
interchangeably with the word ‘colour’ but in fact in painting theory its meaning is a little more
specific.

In painting, ‘hue’ refers to a ‘colour family’. More specifically, it refers to one of the twelve
colour families within the colour wheel, which are comprised of the primary, secondary and
tertiary colours.

The primary colours (marked above with ‘P’) are red, blue and yellow. The three secondary
colours (marked above with ‘S’) of orange, purple and green can be achieved by mixing the
primaries together (yellow + red = orange, red + blue = purple, blue + yellow = green) Lastly the
six tertiary colours (marked above with ‘T’) are made by mixing the primary and secondary
colours which are closest together on the wheel, achieving the colours of yellow/green,
yellow/orange, red/orange, red/purple, blue/purple and blue/green.

We use the word hue to describe both the colour ‘families’ that form the twelve colour wheel
colours, and any particular colour’s relationship to these families. For instance, we could say that
the different red colours in your paint box such as Scarlet and Burgundy are ‘red hues’ because
they are colours in which red is dominant, as opposed to either blue or yellow. Olive green and
Emerald green could both be described as ‘hues’ of green, whilst Turquoise Blue could be called
a ‘blue/green hue’.

It wouldn’t be accurate to talk about something being a ‘Turquoise hue’ or an ‘Olive hue’ but
colloquially, people tend to do this. More accurately, Olive should be described as a
‘yellow/green hue’, where green predominates.

Pure black, white and grey are not hues, and the word in its truest context refers to only a ‘pure’
colour that is not a ‘tint’ or a ‘shade’ (meaning that it has no white or black in it). Nor is a brown
considered a hue, because you achieve it by mixing all three primary colours together.

‘Hue colours’ – a different meaning

There’s a related but different and more practical use of the word hue in fine art. A ‘hue mixture’
is a paint colour that is created to imitate a traditional pigment that may be now obsolete due to
toxicity or environmentaly achieved either by substituting an alternative pigment or by blending
several pigments together to approximate the original colour. For example, ‘Cadmium Orange
Hue’ is sold as a much cheaper alternative colour to ‘Cadmium Orange’ but contains no actual
cadmium pigment within it. Hue colours are commonly found within student grade paint ranges,
providing a cheaper alternative to the most expensive paints.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE COLOR GRAY

Unlike black and white, gray saw its earliest use in fashion and art during Medieval times. During
this period, gray was the color of undyed wool and was thus the color worn by peasants and
poor folk. Gray robes were also worn by Cistercian monks and friars of the Franciscan and
Capuchin orders as a symbol of their vows of humility and poverty.

Gray began to play an important part during the Renaissance and Baroque periods. During this
time, black became the most favored color among European nobles while grey and white
harmonized with it.

It was also during the Renaissance and Baroque periods that gray was frequently used for
drawings in oil paintings through a technique called grisaille. The painting would first be
composed in gray and white to act as shading underneath the transparent color glazes that were
added on top.

Paintings with Gray Color

The painters Rembrandt and El Greco also favored gray as a background color for its ability to
complement gold and skin tones.

Gray continued to be a fashionable color in the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly for
women's dresses and men's waistcoats. Soldiers' uniforms were usually gray during this time as
the color made the soldiers less conspicuous targets.

Also around the 18th and 19th centuries, painters like Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot used tones of
gray to create memorable paintings. James McNeill Whistler even created a special type of gray
for the background of his famous painting of his mother.

In the 1930s, gray became the color of war and industrialization. Pablo Picasso used the color
profusely in his painting depicting the horrors of the Spanish Civil War, Guernica.

After the war, the gray business suit became a metaphor for uniformity of thought as
popularized by the book and film The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit.
GRAY COLORS: PSYCHOLOGY AND MEANING

Gray is a relatively newer color, at least when compared to its parent colors. That said, it has
nonetheless gained various associations and symbolic meanings through the centuries.

Earlier associations for this color link it to old age, dullness, depression, and loss.

If gray could be described in one word, it would be "neutral". This color is neither hot nor cold,
neither material nor spiritual.

Because of its neutral color, gray is considered too weak to be considered masculine but also too
menacing to be considered feminine. It's this characteristic that's made gray one of the least
favored colors in Europe and the USA.

That said:

It's the color gray's neutral tone that also lets us associate it with balance, compromise, and
intellect.

SHADES OF GRAY

The color gray has not only gained popularity, purpose, and meaning through the centuries but
also variations.

Fun fact:

While we don't usually consider white and black as variations of gray, both can be considered
achromatic versions of gray as both contain equal amounts of red, blue, and green.

But:

When it comes to the number of gray shades, we may have to leave that one up for debate.

See:
While there are actually 101 shades according to X Window System's definition of grey, the
human eye can usually differentiate just 30 shades.

Here are just a few of them:

GAINSBORO

Please do not adjust your monitor. You may be fooled into thinking there are several splodges of
grey paint above but if you look a little closer you’ll see there are very subtle differences
between all these hues. As with our recent blush paint guide we’ve placed some of our favourite
grey paint (or grays for our American friends) side-by-side to demonstrate their varied
characteristics.

Back in 2014 we featured a post all about choosing greys in your interior decor and I can tell you
know my love affair with this neutral is far from over. In fact my whole house is likely to be kitted
out in the palest of greys. Equipped with a few more shades, today’s post is an update to the
original colour guide to help anyone intent on decorating with this uber stylish colour.

Farrow and Ball Cornforth White

A neutral warm grey paint. I’ve used Cornforth White in my living room and adore the soft hue.
In my own home (with a lot of natural light) it’s taken on a ‘mushroom tone’ but in rooms with
less light it appears a ‘true grey’.

B&Q Grey Hints

I think you can imagine what I’m going to say here; yup Grey Hints has a subtle hint of blueish
grey.

Farrow & Ball Slipper Satin