You Really Don't Have to Understand Colour Theory to Be an Artist

Can we just clear this up once and for all? Because I feel like colour theory has become this looming thing that puts a lot of people off painting before they even let themselves started.

You do not need to understand colour theory to enjoy painting. You don't need to know what complementary colours are, or what a split-complementary palette means, or any of it. You really don't.

Colour theory is genuinely interesting if you get into it. But it's also genuinely complicated and takes ages to properly develop a feel for. Expecting someone who just wants to paint on a saturday afternoon to have this knowledge is a bit like expecting someone who wants to bake a cake to understand the chemistry of gluten development first. Technically related but completely unnecessary.

The thing is, and this is the bit people miss, you don't need the colour theory knowledge in your own head. You just need it to have been applied at some point before the paint reached you.

That's literally the difference between a random paint set and a curated one. Someone who understands colour sat down and thought carefully about which shades belong together, which combinations will feel harmonious, what the palette will be like to actually use. 

You get all the benefit without any of the homework.

Every Plinky Paints set works exactly like this. The colour thinking is already done. You open the box and everything works together and you don't have to know why. You just get to paint.

Close the colour theory tabs. You're ready.

Find your perfect palette here!