Make Your Quilts Glow with Saturation Contrast

This is the second in a series of five (5) articles by MJ Kinman, maker of her signature gemstone quilts. MJ is taking us on an adventure in color unlike any you may have experienced. She has taken the words and wisdom of influential artists and theorists such as Josef Albers and M.E. Chevreul and interpreted them in ways that we as quiltmakers can use in our own work to make your quilts glow with saturation contrast.

In the coming weeks, you’ll learn how to make your quilts sparkle, create effective transparencies, and “push” colors around simply by introducing a new neighboring color. These ideas are applicable to all quiltmakers, regardless of their inspiration, and are intended to help makers approach color with confidence and joy.

Overview

Michel Eugene Chevreul, a French chemist in the early 19^th century, articulated color theories that would launch French Impressionism and influence artists to this day. He articulated the kernel of his theory in one simple statement:

When the eye views two colors in close proximity, it adjusts to make them as dissimilar as possible in terms of tonality and hue.  

He specifically referenced “tonality” (value) and “hue” (color). However, I’m going to take the liberty of adding one more characteristic of color to Chevreul’s definition: saturation – the brightness or dullness of a color. 

What I propose is that when you place two colors of different saturation levels next to one another, your eyes adjust to make them as dissimilar as possible. This is what creates the optical quality I like to term “glow”.

Several years ago, I was enjoying my morning coffee in the backyard when I noticed the arrowhead plants in our little pond. They looked as if they were glowing from within. 

I noticed that the “glow” wasn’t a factor of the lightness of the color. Parts of the lily pads below the arrowhead plants were nearly white as they reflected the sunlight, yet they didn’t appear to glow like the arrowheads did. I immediately wanted to better understand what was at play here and how I might be able to replicate that dramatic effect in my own quilts. 

That experience beside our little pond prompted me to start searching for any examples of glow I could find. Here are a few examples that appear to me to have that special characteristic. 

The first image below is an October view of the cherry tree in my front yard. The central leaves shine with what appears to be an inner light, while other leaves do not. The second image is of a shell-like material. The blue, green, yellow, and oranges all seem to glow from within. 

Searching For the Secret of “Glow”: A Valuable Visual Model

After collecting images depicting a glowing effect, I opened them in an image editing app. All image editing apps offer a Color Picker tool that allows users to sample colors in an image and determine their hue, value, and saturation.

Here’s how it works. When I select the little eyedropper icon at the bottom left corner of the tool and then click anywhere on the actual image, the tool will graphically show me where that color lands on a continuum of color from the highest to lowest levels of saturation and value.

Let’s define the terms “saturation” and “value”. 

• The saturation of a color refers to its dullness or brightness, the presence or absence of gray tones in the hue. A dull color has a low saturation. A bright color has a high saturation.
  
• The value of a color refers to its lightness or darkness, the presence of either pure white or pure black in the hue.  

How do these characteristics present themselves in the Color Picker tool?

• The very top right corner of the window depicts the hue in its purest expression. No white, black, or gray have been added. It is the highest saturation level (or greatest brightness) of the color. 

• If you move horizontally from the top right corner to the top left corner, the hue becomes progressively lighter in value while still retaining its high level of saturation.

• If you move vertically from the top right corner to the bottom right corner, the hue becomes progressively darker in value while still retaining its high level of saturation.

• If you move diagonally from the top right corner to the bottom left corner, the hue becomes progressively duller – or less saturated – with the addition of gray tones.

Finding the Secret of “Glow”: Saturation Contrast

As I sampled different areas in the images of the arrowheads, cherry tree leaves, and shell, I noticed that the areas which appeared to glow sampled toward the top right hand corner of the tool. They also sampled along the top horizontal axis and right vertical axis, which means they were either lighter or darker, but still highly saturated.

Equally important, the areas surrounding the glowing area consistently showed up in the middle area of the window – the area of low saturation. In other words, they had more gray tones in them and were, therefore, duller or less saturated.

It became very clear that to convey “glow” in an image, you need the interaction of both high and low saturated color. More specifically, an image truly glows when an area of highly saturated color is surrounded by lower saturated color. This is another example of the magic that takes place between colors, or as Josef Albers phrased it the “interaction of color.” 

The images below show the various areas I sampled on the images and where that hue subsequently appeared on the Color Picker tool. Sample A is the part of the image that glowed, while Samples B and C were areas that surrounded Sample A. 

Notice where the A samples fall on the Color Picker tool. They all fall in the upper right region, confirming that they are highly saturated colors. Now compare where B and C samples fall on the Color Picker tool. They are clearly in the areas of lower saturation.

Here are the results from the arrowhead plant image.

Here are the results from the cherry tree image.

Here are the results from the shell image.

Keep in mind that the contrast between saturation levels is relative. You don’t need to use the brightest, most highly saturated colors to convey “glow”. As long as you have a  relatively saturated color that is surrounded by less saturated color, the saturated color will appear to glow. The contrast between the high and low saturated colors is what’s critical.

What happens when you use all bright, highly saturated colors and no contrasting dull color? When you use a palette of colors that are all highly saturated, the image can convey a circus-like atmosphere. As M.E. Chevreul stated, when everything is bright, nothing is bright. You need the contrast between bright and dull colors to create “glow”.

To summarize, to create true “glow”, surround highly saturated colors with less saturated colors.

Let’s practice identifying which of two color samples has the highest saturation. Below are several colors of different saturation levels. Select the color with the highest saturation in each pair. After you’ve completed the list, I’ll show you where these colors appear on the Color Picker.

Example 1 — Which color has the highest saturation level? Your answer: ____________

Correct Answer: B

Example 2 — Which color has the highest saturation level? Your answer: ____________

Correct Answer: A

Example 3 — Which color has the highest saturation level? Your answer: ____________

Correct Answer: B

Example 4 — Which color has the highest saturation level? Your answer: ____________

Correct Answer: B

Creating Examples of Glow 

Using the pairs of colors presented above plus adding a third color to each, I’ve created three little compositions that appear to me as though they are glowing in the center. And now you know why! The center squares are highly saturated color and each of them is surrounded by less saturated color.

You can also create glowing effects by combining different hues while still preserving the contrast of their saturation levels. As above, the color of the center squares is highly saturated. Even though the surrounding colors are of a different hue, they are still less saturated than the center squares, thus causing the center square to glow.

Here are a few examples of how I’ve used saturation contrast to create “glow” in my quilts.

Example 1: “Eclipse 2020”

Eclipse 2020 was created for a travelling exhibit entitled “For the Love of Gaia”, which was curated to call attention to the looming climate crisis. The exhibit was sponsored by eQuilter.com. I chose a luminous Paraiba tourmaline to represent planet Earth and a dramatic black diamond to represent the crisis.

Paraiba tourmalines, once found in the mines of Paraiba Brazil, are gorgeous stones the color of a tropical ocean. When painting the fabric for the Paraiba tourmaline, I used swaths of bright color surrounded by dull colors. By doing so, I hoped to capture the luminosity – the glow – of the stone. How did I do?

Torch Song is the second work in my “National Treasures” series, quilts inspired by the gemstones of the Smithsonian’s National Gem Collection. This piece is inspired by the Whitney Flame Topaz, a stunning Imperial topaz that glows red.

In this work, I chose 30 KONA Cotton solids in a range of bright and dull reds, purples, pinks, and oranges. I specifically placed the bright and dull colors next to one another to create the deep, pulsating glow of the original gemstone.

My goal for this block was to feature the beautiful glow of an almandine garnet. To that end, I selected two of the brightest red-orange solids in the Painter’s Palette collection (Paintbrush Studio Fabrics) and surrounded them with brown-red and dusty taupe fabrics. The result: the garnet throws off a fiery glow.

Conclusion

I hope this has given you a new perspective on how to combine colors to create glow in your own quilts. More importantly, I hope this has provided you with new language to describe what you’re seeing when you encounter such a combination of color.

MJ’s newest in-person class titled “Color Play: Beyond Color Theory” explores the concepts she describes in this 5-part series. MJ also offers “Color Play” as a one-hour lecture or full-day in-person class that gives participants a chance to experiment with these concepts in more depth. Guilds can contact MJ at [email protected] for her availability. You can also check MJ’s website at https://www.mjkinman.com for a listing of classes that may be scheduled near you.

While you’re visiting her website, be sure to check out her collection of gorgeous gem patterns in her online shop.

Read our interview with MJ.