The psychology of color is a very interesting subject, Savvy advertisers are well aware of the power of color. They use color to sell to us. Some colors calm us, like the soft blues and greens, used in operating rooms, known to actually lower our pulse. Calming colors are also used in prisons.
Color can be used to excite us. Bright, cheery colors are enticing. It is said that introverts shy away from wearing bold colors, instead opting for muted or darker tones.
When my children were infants, I draped bright fabric strips over the edge of their bassinette, and changed them frequently. I thought laying there must be boring and that as their little eyes tried to focus, discovering the world, I could provide something of interest, for pennies, from the remnant rack of the fabric store. Call me crazy, but I think they enjoyed looking at those bright and diverse patterns.
Some insects are attracted to certain colors. On my honeymoon, to Bermuda, we were on a small glass bottom boat, and I was wearing yellow. Another passenger was also wearing yellow, and we were constantly attracting little bugs to lit on us. The other passengers were not bothered. The meat packing business uses color to ward off flies.
We have lots of color references in our language: green with envy, a red letter day, etc. And of course, we have days when we are feeling blue.
An interesting exercise is to write down the number of color names that you can come up with. How many different colors can the human eye detect? With the amazing technology of our digital cameras and computers, millions of colors can be replicated.
If color interests you, you may want to read “Color, A Natural History of the Palette” by Victoria Finlay (Ballantine Books, 2002). She describes, in a very entertaining way, where various pigments come from and how that has affected painting throughout time.
Well back to the camera. An exercise that I use with my college students, is to go out and photograph the color red, wherever they see it. Of course I get a lot of red stop signs, but they learn to be searching, and scanning with their eyes. They become “hunters” looking for a patch of red. They are amazed at what they find.
It really could be any color. You might want to try it out yourself. I swear that Scotland has more shades of green than any place on earth. Of course, that is not scientific, just my perception. For you, it might be the color blue. Where will you find it? How many variations of blue are in the sky or ocean?
Challenge yourself. Select a color and pursue it like a big game hunter. You may be surprised by the result.
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