– What happens when an artist mixes paint for a painting? Are the pigments actually changing physically/chemically? What is actually happening to make the paints change color?

Question

– What happens when an artist mixes paint for a painting? Are the pigments actually changing physically/chemically? What is actually happening to make the paints change color?

In: 4221

Answer 1

The only way you can see anything without staring directly at a light source is for light to reflect off a surface to reach the light sensitive cells in the back of your eye.

– When you see green, it’s because only green light is reflecting to reach your eye. The other colors are absorbed.
– When you see red, it’s because only red light is reflecting to reach your eye.
– If both red and green light reflect to reach your eye, you see yellow.
– If red and blue reach your eye, you see magenta.
– If green and blue reach your eye, you see cyan.
– If all colors reach your eye, you see white, and if no colors reach your eye you see black.

Printer’s ink colors are called CMYK for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black. You might have learned in school that the “primary colors” of paint are red, yellow and blue, but they are actually magenta yellow and cyan.

If you mix red paint with blue paint then a little bit of red light will reflect to your eye and a little bit of blue light will reflect to your eye, and you will see purple.