Educational Galaxy

Nature's Palette — EG's own notes, in simple words

Book: Kriti (CBSE, Class 7)  |  Chapter 16  |  Medium: English

Section: Visual Art

Diagram (labels are printed on the image): A palette of natural colours beside leaves and flowers. A general teaching picture; it is not a picture from the book.

A child painting outdoors from a real leaf. A general picture about nature colours; no book picture is copied here.

What the chapter is about

Colour is an important element of visual art. With regular practice, you will improve your techniques of making, mixing and working with colours. You will learn to use the colour wheel not only for your work, but also to appreciate other artworks. Colours are visible because of light. When light changes, the appearance of colours also changes: a bright red tomato may look dull and dark in a dimly lit room; when there is too much light, everything appears white; when there is no light, everything appears black. In visual art, such effects of light are shown by creating tints, shades and tones of colour.

Nature showers us with colour every day. A rainbow displays the entire range of colours the human eye can see. Not all people see colours the same way, and it is important to be sensitive to how each person sees colour. Those who have colour vision impairment, commonly called colour blindness, see a few colours differently: red may appear brown, or they may find it difficult to differentiate between blue and green. There are many visual artists and designers with vision impairment of various kinds who have excelled in their careers by finding creative solutions to work with their impairments.

Activity 16.1 extends the colour wheel. In the centre of the wheel you find three primary colours — yellow, red and blue. These cannot be made by mixing any other colours. Mixing each pair of primary colours produces a secondary colour: yellow + red = orange, red + blue = purple, blue + yellow = green. Tertiary colours are formed by mixing any secondary colour with one of its primary colours. For example, green is a secondary colour made by mixing yellow and blue, and the tertiary colours made from green are green + yellow = yellow green, and green + blue = blue green. The chapter asks you to look at the colour wheel and write the names of the other tertiary colours, mentioning the colours mixed to make them, and to paint or paste swatches of tertiary colours in the box. Then you make a colour wheel of your own: design it to clearly demarcate the primary, secondary and tertiary colours; mix your colours using only red, blue and yellow to make all the other colours — this is the most important step; paint the colours in appropriate sections, using a variety of strokes, patches, dots or any pattern you like; and display your complete colour wheel and keep it handy for other activities. Watercolours or poster colours are more suitable, but you can also experiment with dry mediums like crayons, colour pencils or colour powder.

Activity 16.2 makes colour tones. You have already learnt to create light and shade using cross-hatching and stippling; now you practise creating light and shade with colour. Make tints and shades of any two colours: create at least four gradations of tints and shades, beginning by mixing small quantities of black or white to the colour, and increasing the quantity of black or white for each gradation. Make tones of the chosen two colours: tones are produced by mixing a colour with grey. Grey itself is made by mixing black and white; mix this grey with other colours to make their tones, and try to get four tonal gradations. The technical tip: while using paints, change the water in your bowl and rinse your brush well after mixing each colour, so you get the right tints, shades and tones.

Activity 16.3 is a plant study in colour. Plants change form and colour as they grow through different seasons. Fruits and vegetables are often green when raw and change colours as they ripen. First study a plant through drawing: select a stem with a few leaves or a single flower in any stage of its life; place it in front of you and do not disturb its position; sit at least two feet away and observe its shapes and the space around it; using light lines, make quick drawings from two different angles; choose one of the angles you tried and start another drawing; cover the maximum space on your paper and draw slowly to capture the details; complete the drawing and keep it ready for colouring. Then add colour: choose any medium — crayons, colour pencils, pastels, watercolour or poster colour; observe the colours on the plant and find the right shades, tints or tones from the colour wheel; mix the required colours, and show light, shade and shadows in your artwork; complete your artwork and have a class display. Self-assessment asks: how many sketches did you make; what were you able to do well; what challenges did you face and what improvements would you like to see in your work? A botanical illustration from the book Hortus Malabaricus — meaning “Garden of Malabar” — is shown: this book recorded thousands of medicinal plants found on the Malabar coast of India during the 17th century.

The chapter then turns to colours in miniature paintings. Paintings can be made on many surfaces — rocks, walls, clay, palm leaf, paper, fabric, wood, metal, glass, rubber and other synthetic plastics available today. Natural colours and pigments for artwork are sourced from soil, minerals and plants, and are extracted in many ways. Colours fade and disappear over time if exposed to excessive light, moisture and touch of various living organisms. A timeline shows important phases in Indian painting and the evolution of colour over time: cave paintings (10,000 BCE), Harappan painted pottery (3000 BCE), Ajanta murals, the birth of the Buddha (560 BCE), the birth of Jesus, and miniature traditions (1500 CE). Miniature paintings are of many styles and generally small in size. In India they were initially done on palm leaves; from the 12th century CE, artists began to use paper as the base. Their themes included religious texts, mythology, nature, portraiture and court life. The word “miniature” originates from “minium”, a red-coloured pigment used to draw outlines and write text in medieval manuscripts. The table of colour sources says: bright red from sindhoor or vermillion; earthy red from geru or red clay; yellow from yellow stone or cow urine; green from malachite (copper carbonate); blue from lapis lazuli or indigo; black from carbon; white from khariya or white clay. These were processed and mixed with gum extracted from the Babul tree to act as a binder. Gold and silver were also used, hammered into very thin sheets known as gold leaf and silver leaf, used in paintings and other crafts. Brushes were made of soft hair from the fur or hair of animals such as camels, goats and cows, and hair from the tails of rats, squirrels and mongoose. Care for art materials and tools: always clean your brushes, palettes and other tools thoroughly with soap after every use; close paint tubes, bottles, sketch pens and markers with their caps, to prevent colour from drying; and store all materials in an organised way so they can be easily found and used by others too.

Activity 16.4 decodes the palette of a miniature. Observe a Rajasthani miniature painting from the 18th century — “Swami Haridasa with Tansen and Akbar at Vrindavana”, 1700–1760 CE. The three people in the lush green landscape are the musician Tansen, his guru Swami Haridas, and the Mughal emperor Akbar. Discuss: what is happening in this painting; can you guess the time and season; what moods or feelings do you experience; analyse the different shades of green you see here using the colour wheel; where is the biggest tree placed, and why do you think the artist did that; observe the patterns on the leaves and the fine lines of the clouds, and what other details do you see? Then write a short paragraph on all that you have learnt about miniatures. The assessment for the chapter: observe the details and recognise moods, emotions and seasons expressed through colours in any given artwork.

What you should learn

• Explain why colours look different in different light, and what tints, shades and tones are.
• Build the colour wheel from three primaries: secondaries from pairs, tertiaries from a secondary plus one of its primaries.
• Make at least four gradations each of tints, shades and tones for two colours.
• Do a plant study: draw from two angles, finish one drawing, colour it with wheel-matched tints/shades/tones, and self-assess.
• Name the natural sources of miniature-painting colours, and explain gold leaf, silver leaf and the Babul-gum binder.
• Decode a miniature’s palette: subject, season, mood, greens, composition and details.

Try it — Activity 16.1: extend the colour wheel

1. Look at the wheel: centre = three primaries (yellow, red, blue).
2. Write the secondary colours from the pairs: yellow + red = orange, red + blue = purple, blue + yellow = green.
3. Write the other tertiary colours with their mixtures (green gives yellow green and blue green; work out the rest the same way) and paint or paste swatches in the box.
4. Make your own wheel: demarcate primary, secondary and tertiary sections; mix everything from red, blue and yellow only; paint with strokes, patches, dots or patterns; display it and keep it handy.

Try it — Activity 16.2: make colour tones

1. Choose any two colours. Make at least four gradations of tints (adding white, a little more each time) and four of shades (adding black, a little more each time).
2. Make grey by mixing black and white, then mix that grey with your colours for four tonal gradations each.
3. After every mixture, change your water and rinse your brush well.

Try it — Activity 16.3: plant study in colour

1. Select a stem with a few leaves or a single flower; place it undisturbed in front of you; sit at least two feet away.
2. Make quick light-line drawings from two different angles, then choose one angle and draw slowly, covering the maximum space on your paper.
3. Colour it: pick a medium, match the plant’s colours to tints, shades or tones from your wheel, mix them, and show light, shade and shadows.
4. Finish with a class display, then self-assess: how many sketches, what you did well, challenges faced, improvements wanted.

Try it — Activity 16.4: decode the palette of a miniature

1. Observe the Rajasthani miniature “Swami Haridasa with Tansen and Akbar at Vrindavana” (1700–1760 CE): Tansen, his guru Swami Haridas, and Emperor Akbar in a lush green landscape.
2. Discuss what is happening, the likely time and season, the moods you feel, the shades of green (using the colour wheel), the biggest tree’s placement and why, the leaf patterns, cloud lines and other details.
3. Write a short paragraph on all you have learnt about miniatures.

Chart / Table: Colour sources in miniature paintings

Colour	Source
Bright red	Sindhoor or vermillion
Earthy red	Geru or red clay
Yellow	Yellow stone or cow urine
Green	Malachite (copper carbonate)
Blue	Lapis lazuli / indigo
Black	Carbon
White	Khariya or white clay

Practice set — try it yourself

1. Why does a bright red tomato look dull and dark in a dimly lit room?
   Hint: Hint: colours are visible because of light; change the light, change the appearance.
2. Write the three secondary colours with the primary pairs that make them.
   Hint: Hint: yellow + red, red + blue, blue + yellow.
3. Green + yellow and green + blue give which tertiary colours? Name the rule they follow.
   Hint: Hint: secondary + one of its own primaries.
4. How do you make a tone, and how is grey itself made?
   Hint: Hint: tone = colour + grey; grey = black + white.
5. Name the source of green and of blue in miniature paintings.
   Hint: Hint: green is a copper carbonate; blue is a stone or a plant dye.

Questions with Answers

1. What are primary, secondary and tertiary colours, with examples?
   Primary colours — yellow, red and blue — cannot be made by mixing any other colours. Secondary colours are made by mixing each pair of primaries: yellow + red = orange, red + blue = purple, blue + yellow = green. Tertiary colours are made by mixing a secondary colour with one of its primary colours, for example green + yellow = yellow green and green + blue = blue green.
2. What are the other four tertiary colours, and how are they made?
   Following the same rule: orange + yellow = yellow orange, orange + red = red orange, purple + red = red violet (red purple), and purple + blue = blue violet (blue purple). Together with yellow green and blue green, these six complete the wheel’s tertiary ring.
3. Explain tints, shades and tones, and how many gradations the chapter asks for.
   A tint is a colour mixed with white, a shade is a colour mixed with black, and a tone is a colour mixed with grey (grey made by mixing black and white). For two chosen colours, make at least four gradations of tints and shades, increasing the white or black a little each time, and four tonal gradations with grey.
4. Describe the plant study in Activity 16.3, step by step.
   Select a stem with a few leaves or a single flower in any stage of its life, place it undisturbed in front of you, and sit at least two feet away. Make quick light-line drawings from two different angles, choose one angle, and draw slowly, covering the maximum space on your paper with details. Then colour it in a chosen medium, matching the plant’s colours to tints, shades or tones from the colour wheel, mixing them, and showing light, shade and shadows. Finish with a class display and a three-question self-assessment.
5. What does the chapter teach about miniature paintings and their colours?
   Miniatures are generally small paintings, first done on palm leaves in India and from the 12th century CE on paper, with themes of religious texts, mythology, nature, portraiture and court life; the word “miniature” comes from “minium”, a red pigment for outlines and text. Their colours came from natural sources — sindhoor, geru, yellow stone or cow urine, malachite, lapis lazuli or indigo, carbon, khariya — mixed with Babul-tree gum as binder, with gold and silver leaf also used. Natural colours fade with excessive light, moisture and touch of living organisms.

Extension Questions — for deeper understanding

1. Why does the chapter say to mix the whole wheel from red, blue and yellow only, instead of using ready-made colours?
   Because mixing from the three primaries teaches how every other colour is related: secondaries from pairs, tertiaries from a secondary plus a primary. Using ready colours would skip the very understanding the wheel is meant to give, and would hide why a mixture looks right or muddy.
2. A classmate mixes a colour that looks muddy. What two practical causes does the chapter point to?
   Dirty water and an unrinsed brush. The technical tip says to change the water and rinse the brush well after each mixture — leftover colour in water or bristles contaminates the next mixture.
3. How does the Hortus Malabaricus example connect art to science?
   It is a botanical illustration book recording thousands of medicinal plants of the Malabar coast in the 17th century. Accurate plant drawing and colouring — exactly what Activity 16.3 practises — was how plant knowledge was recorded before photography, so art served science.
4. Why might an artist place the biggest tree where it is in the Tansen miniature, and how would you argue your answer?
   Any reasoned answer works if tied to observation: a large tree can frame the main figures, balance the composition, set the Vrindavana setting, or lead the eye. The chapter asks “why do you think the artist did that?” — it wants an argued reading, not a single printed answer.
5. Colours fade with light, moisture and touch. What does that imply for how miniatures should be kept and shown?
   They should be kept away from strong light and damp, handled as little as possible, and displayed carefully — the same care the chapter asks for tools and materials, extended to the artworks themselves.
6. How does colour-vision sensitivity change the way a teacher should run Activity 16.1?
   By not treating one person’s colour names as the only correct ones: a student with colour vision impairment may see red as brown or struggle with blue versus green. The activity should be judged on mixing method and gradation, with classmates’ help on naming, not on matching one “normal” eye.

How to use this page: Read the summary, say the Key Terms in your own words, then try the practice set without looking. Check your answers against Questions with Answers, and ask your teacher or parent to check your work.