The unique colour worlds of painters with colour vision deficiency

Abstract

In previous research about colour vision deficiency in artists, colour-deficient painters were judged in terms of their painting ability through comparison with the colour usage of painters with normal colour vision. Researchers have focused on the colour usage skills of colour-deficient painters in a similar manner to “normal” painters, but have not explored whether colour-deficient painters choose colours according to the “normal" colour world or a desire to create works in line with their own colour worlds. Objectives: The purpose of the current study was to obtain insight into how modern artists with colour vision deficiency use colours. Methods: We conducted in-depth interviews with three award-winning (national or international) professional Japanese painters. We asked them questions related to their attitude toward their colour vision and colour choice strategies, and qualitatively analysed the interview responses. The three participants were T. Harada (born in 1954), who mainly uses watercolours and is an internationally renowned creator of picture books; J. Goto (born in 1968), a Japanese-style artist internationally renowned for paintings of ethnic Asians and a creator of picture books; and Y. Kurosaka (born in 1991), who is entering the contemporary art field, mainly uses oil paints, and won one of the biggest national art competitions in 2019. Findings: Japanese society has perceived people with colour vision deficiencies as unsuitable to be artists because of their lack of colour sense. The artists in this study nevertheless made their colour vision deficiencies public when they were aspiring to become artists, because they wanted to improve society’s understanding of colour vision deficiency and encourage children with such deficiencies who may want to be artists in the future. We found that all three painters felt that the use of colours was important to express their feelings and aesthetic sense, and they disliked choosing colours using a personal computer or a colour-measuring device merely to comply with normal colour vision. At the same time, they were also keen to ensure that their colour usage was not strange to people with normal colour vision and used harmonious colour combinations in their works for people with all types of colour vision. Conclusion: Each painter in this study has their own colour use strategy. The strategies are not only based on the “normal” colour world but also on the painters’ colour worlds. The painters are aiming to create original works as professional artists on the basis of their unique colour vision.