--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Based on mixtures of the three primary…" description: "\"Based on mixtures of the three primary colours, along with black and white, I come up with a certain number of possible colours and, by multiplying the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/gerhard-richter-2249_art_based-on-mixtures-of-the-three-primary-c_2070729.jpg" --- # Based on mixtures of the three primary colours, along with… ![“Based on mixtures of the three primary colours, along with black and white, I come up with a certain number of possible colours and, by multiplying these by two or four, I obtain a definite number of colour fields that I multiply yet again by two, etc. But the complete realization of this project…” quote by Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/gerhard-richter-2249_art_based-on-mixtures-of-the-three-primary-c_2070729.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/gerhard-richter-2249_art_based-on-mixtures-of-the-three-primary-c_2070729.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/gerhard-richter-2249_art_based-on-mixtures-of-the-three-primary-c_2070729.jpg) > “Based on mixtures of the three primary colours, along with black and white, I come up with a certain number of possible colours and, by multiplying these by two or four, I obtain a definite number of colour fields that I multiply yet again by two, etc. But the complete realization of this project demands a great deal of time and work.” [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artist describes a complex, time‑intensive process of combining primary colors, black and white to create many color fields, emphasizing the massive effort required for completion. **In simple terms:** Creating many colors and fields needs lots of work and time. Key Takeaway Plan and allocate ample time for detailed color work. Themes art process color theory effort Mood determined reflective Type descriptive analytical When to use this quote - painting a mural - designing a digital palette - preparing a large installation - educational workshop on color mixing Key Concepts visual composition systematic experimentation scale Questions to Reflect On - How can the process be simplified without losing depth? - What resources are needed to support such a project? A Different Perspective The method may be overly complicated, limiting accessibility for less experienced creators. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Based Mixtures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/based-mixtures-3995877/) [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Black and white](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-and-white/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Colour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colour/) [Colour Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colour-fields-1073403/) [Colours Multiplying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colours-multiplying-3995875/) [Come up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/come-up/) [Deals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deals/) [Definite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/definite/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Etc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/etc/) [Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fields/) [Four](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/four/) [Mixtures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mixtures/) [Multiplying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/multiplying/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Possible Colours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possible-colours-3995876/) [Primaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/primaries/) [Primary Colours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/primary-colours-3288697/) [Projects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/projects/) [Realization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realization/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) ## Related quotes > [I first came up with the idea for the colour-chart pictures back in 1966, and my preoccupation with the topic culminated in 1974 with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/i-first-came-up-with-the-idea-for-the-colour-chart-pictures-back-in/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [There are not more than five primary colours, yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/there-are-not-more-than-five-primary-colours-yet-in-combination-they/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [I've spent so much of my life examining the smallest details. In some ways, it's where I feel most at home. For me, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-collier/i-ve-spent-so-much-of-my-life-examining-the-smallest-details-in-some/) [Jacob Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-collier/) > [“There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/there-are-not-more-than-five-musical-notes-yet-the-combinations-of-2/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [I use a wide selection of colours. It is impossible to produce work like mine using only the primary colours as they only mix…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dyer/i-use-a-wide-selection-of-colours-it-is-impossible-to-produce-work/) [John Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dyer/) > [My life is all math. I am trying to add to my income, subtract from my weight, divide my time, and avoid multiplying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-life-is-all-math-i-am-trying-to-add-to-my-income-subtract-from-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So that, were it the purpose of God to produce comets as signs of his wrath it would be true to say that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bayle/so-that-were-it-the-purpose-of-god-to-produce-comets-as-signs-of-his/) [Pierre Bayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bayle/) > [But hope got in, no matter how hard and fast I tried to stomp it out. Like these tiny fire ants we used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/but-hope-got-in-no-matter-how-hard-and-fast-i-tried-to-stomp-it-out/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [People who deal with life generously and large-heartedly go on multiplying relationships to the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-benson/people-who-deal-with-life-generously-and-large-heartedly-go-on/) [A. C. Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-benson/) > [Futurologists have been multiplying like flies since the day Herman Kahn made Cassandra's profession "scientific," yet somehow not one of them has come out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-lem/futurologists-have-been-multiplying-like-flies-since-the-day-herman/) [Stanislaw Lem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-lem/) > [...This large and expensive stock of drugs will be unnecessary. By...doses of...medicines...multiplying...combining them properly, 20 to 30 articles, aided by the common resources of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-rush/this-large-and-expensive-stock-of-drugs-will-be-unnecessary-by-doses/) [Benjamin Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-rush/) > [If you depend on your company to take care of your retirement, your future income will be divided by five. Take care of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/if-you-depend-on-your-company-to-take-care-of-your-retirement-your/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [The Islamic conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. It is a discouraging tale, for its evident moral is that civilization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/the-islamic-conquest-of-india-is-probably-the-bloodiest-story-in/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [O thou beautiful And unimaginable ether! and Ye multiplying masses of increased And still increasing lights! what are ye? what Is this blue wilderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/o-thou-beautiful-and-unimaginable-ether-and-ye-multiplying-masses-of/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Probably the greatest single obstacle to the progress and happiness of the American people lies in the willingness of so many men to invest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-rockefeller/probably-the-greatest-single-obstacle-to-the-progress-and-happiness/) [John D. Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-rockefeller/) ## More by Gerhard Richter > [Art shows us how to see things that are constructive and good, and to be an active part of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/art-shows-us-how-to-see-things-that-are-constructive-and-good-and-to/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [They are specific places I have discovered here and there when I am on the road to take photos. I go especially to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/they-are-specific-places-i-have-discovered-here-and-there-when-i-am/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [To me, grey is the welcome and only possible equivalent for indifference, noncommitment, absence of opinion, absence of shape. But grey, like formlessness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/to-me-grey-is-the-welcome-and-only-possible-equivalent-for/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Now that we do not have priests and philosophers any more, artists are the most important people in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/now-that-we-do-not-have-priests-and-philosophers-any-more-artists-are/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Yes, we were amazed when that happened. It was a real joke to us. Konrad Lueg and I did a Happening, and we used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/yes-we-were-amazed-when-that-happened-it-was-a-real-joke-to-us-konrad/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [A work of art is itself an object, first of all, and so manipulation is unavoidable: it's a prerequisite. But I needed the greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/a-work-of-art-is-itself-an-object-first-of-all-and-so-manipulation-is/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [The photograph is the only picture that can truly convey information, even if it is technically faulty and the object can barely be identified.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/the-photograph-is-the-only-picture-that-can-truly-convey-information/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Perhaps the choice is a negative one, in that I was trying to avoid everything that touched on well-known issues - or any issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/perhaps-the-choice-is-a-negative-one-in-that-i-was-trying-to-avoid/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Gray is the color... the most important of all... absent of opinion, nothing, neither/nor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/gray-is-the-color-the-most-important-of-all-absent-of-opinion-nothing/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [All photographs are far more important than any painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/all-photographs-are-far-more-important-than-any-painting/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [You can compare it to dreams: you have a very specific and individual pictorial language that you either accept or that you can translate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/you-can-compare-it-to-dreams-you-have-a-very-specific-and-individual/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [What attracted me about my mirrors was the idea of having nothing manipulated in them. A piece of bought mirror. Just hung there, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/what-attracted-me-about-my-mirrors-was-the-idea-of-having-nothing/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [But it is also untrue that I have nothing specific in mind. As with my landscapes: I see countless landscapes, photograph barely 1 in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/but-it-is-also-untrue-that-i-have-nothing-specific-in-mind-as-with-my/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [My landscapes are not only beautiful or nostalgic, with a Romantic or classical suggestion of lost Paradises, but above all 'untruthful'...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/my-landscapes-are-not-only-beautiful-or-nostalgic-with-a-romantic-or/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [I have always been structured. What has changed is the proportions. Now it is eight hours of paperwork and one of painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/i-have-always-been-structured-what-has-changed-is-the-proportions-now/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) [Explore all 176 Gerhard Richter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Based on mixtures of the three primary colours, along with black and white, I come up with a certain number of possible colours and, by multiplying these by two or four, I obtain a definite number of colour fields that I multiply yet again by two, etc. But the complete realization of this project demands a great deal of time and work.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gerhard Richter" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/based-on-mixtures-of-the-three-primary-colours-along-with-black-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/based-on-mixtures-of-the-three-primary-colours-along-with-black-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/gerhard-richter-2249_art_based-on-mixtures-of-the-three-primary-c_2070729.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/gerhard-richter-2249_art_based-on-mixtures-of-the-three-primary-c_2070729.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/gerhard-richter-2249_art_based-on-mixtures-of-the-three-primary-c_2070729.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Based on mixtures of the three primary colours, along with black and white, I come up with a certain number…” — Gerhard Richter", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gerhard Richter", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Based on mixtures of the three...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/based-on-mixtures-of-the-three-primary-colours-along-with-black-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/based-on-mixtures-of-the-three-primary-colours-along-with-black-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```