Saturated Colors Versus Unsaturated Colors

Saturation of a color is how clean, vivid and pure the paint is. A color straight out of the tube is usually saturated. As an example Cadmium Red Light is a saturated color as opposed to a Mars Red which has all three primaries mixed into it to gray the color somewhat. Cadmium Orange is a saturated color as opposed to Burnt Sienna. Cadmium Orange is more vivid in color.

Saturation of colors is all relative in painting. One color might be more saturated that another. Or, I can take Cadmium Orange and add just smallest amount of it’s complement, blue, to it to mix an orange that isn’t as as saturated as the original Cadmium Orange. If I add a little more blue to that same mixture, it becomes even less saturated.

Saturation of colors has nothing to do with the hue which is the color of paint or the value, the lightness of darkness of the color. It is only the intensity of the color.

Saturation of colors is all relative in painting.
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