Color and Emotions

Color is a powerful influence in our everyday lives whether we are aware of its power or not. When we enter a room or see an object for the first time, our minds register its color before any other detail. The 7,000,000 colors our eyes can see are like words that form a patois of mood, energy and insight. Color can exert a gentle effect on the mind and body, influencing our dispositions and our physical health. It has the ability to trigger our emotions, affect the way we think and act, and influence our attitudes. Advertisers and color psychologists know the power of colors well, we would all do well to become as savvy. We unconsciously respond to the color of the walls in our homes, cars, clothing, and the food we eat based on our bodies' natural reactions to certain colors and the psychological associations we have formed around them. The consequences of the decisions to paint a room or wear a specific article of clothing goes beyond aesthetics! Egyptian and Green physicians, including the father of Western medicine, Hippocrates, used different colored ointments and salves as remedies. They also practiced their medicinal craft in treatment rooms painted in healing shades. The Arab physician Avincenna systematized the teachings of Hippocrates in the 9th century. He wrote about color both as a symptom of disease and as treatment. He suggested, for example, that red acts as a stimulant on blood flow while yellow reduces pain and inflammation as well as depression. We are drawn to the color we need, such as a lively red when exhausted. Blues, greens and violets soothe us when we need rest and healing. Notice the colors of fast food restaurants when you next visit them. Red, orange, and yellow are somewhere in the color scheme. These warm colors speed up our production of digestive juices, urging us to eat fast. In a tony restaurant when quick turnover of diners is not desired, the colors will be soothing and relaxing. Candlelight adds to the ambiance of the location. NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS OF NOTE Georgia O’Keeffe November 15, 1887 1 William Merritt Chase, 1849 2 James Lesesne Wells, 1902 2 Jean-Baptiste Siméon Chardin, 1699 3 Benvenuto Cellini, 1500 3 Walker Evans, 1903 3 Loïs Mailou Jones, 1905 6 Alois Senefelder, 1771 7 Francisco de Zurbarán, 1598 8 Charles Demuth, 1883 10 William Hogarth, 1697 11 Paul Signac, 1863 11 Édouard Vuillard, 1868 11 Claude Clark, 1915 12 Auguste Rodin, 1840 13 Wilmer Angier Jennings, 1910 14 Claude Monet, 1840 15 Georgia O’Keeffe, 1887 15 Wayne Thiebaud, 1920 15 Miriam Schapiro, 1923 17 Isamu Noguchi, 1904 18 Louis Jacques Daguerre, 1787 19 Nicholas Poussin, 1594 21 René Magritte, 1898 23 José Clemente Orozco, 1883 24 Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1864 26 George Segal, 1924 28 William Blake, 1757 28 Morris Louis, 1912 30 Gordon Parks, 1912 30 Sam Gilliam, 1938  Remember to click on the name to find out more about these artists. If your birthday coincides with one of these artists, you may find you have more than a birthdate in common with him or her. Other dates  to enjoy: Roy Rogers' birthday Nov. 5th,  Daylight Saving Time Ends Nov. 6th, The Frost Moon is full on Nov. 10, Veterans' Day is Nov. 11, Abigail Adams's birthday was Nov. 22, wnjoy Thanksgiving on the 24th, and last, but by no means least, Mark Twain's birthday is the 30th.

Many experts say Vincent van Gogh had eye problems. He liked to paint the night sky and reflections. The picture above is entitled "Reflections on the Rhone River.

Human Eyes

Marilyn vos Savant recently had an interesting column in Parade magazine. She addressed the fact that human eyes have two kinds of photosensitive cells, cones and rods.

"Cones are used for seeing when it's relatively dark. No animals, not even owls, can see in total darkness. The center of your eye contains only cones; the perimeter is dense with rods.

When we look directly at a star, for instance, it disappears because the cones cannot "see" it. But when you look nearby, the star reappears because the rods can see it.

This is the reason observers so often feel that they're never looking in quite the right place during a meteor shower. They are correct! Mostly we see the shooting stars only in our peripheral vision.

Chickens have nearly all cones, so they can barely see at night. Rats are the opposite. Their eyes have nearly all rods, which is why they dislike daylight so much."

The American Heritage Dictionary has these definitions:

Cone=A photoreceptor in the retina of the eye.
Rod=Rod-shaped cells in the retina of the eye that respond to dim light.

You may be wondering what this has to do with color, the subject of this blog. It is this: these same rods and cones which help us see stars and comets also help us see color and shades of colors.

I am grateful we have eyes able to distinguish nuances of color in our surroundings. It is difficult to imagine seeing only in light and dark.

Fall Colors

I've always been intrigued by the color changes in leaves each autumn. Evidently there are many "leaf-peepers" who plan vacations to fill their eyes with the glorious hues of transforming leaves every year. Phrenology is the study of timing in nature. Fall's changing colors are linked to cooling temperatures, decreasing sunlight and soil moisture. Once the green layer fades away, a wall goes up between the leaf and the parent tree. The flow of nutrients back and forth ends.

The brilliant colors associated with fall happen when production of chlorophyll, the green pigment in plants crucial to photosynthesis, slows down as the days get shorter and the nights grow longer. That triggers the leaves to reveal their yellow, orange and red pigments that are normally hidden from view. In some years, the colors are more vibrant than in other years.

Phrenologists caution that heavy rain, drought-like conditions or temperature extremes can cause dramatic fluctuations year-to-year. Researchers at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Seoul, South Korea use satellites to show the end of the growing season this year was delayed by 6.5 days from 1982 to 2008 in the Northern Hemisphere.

All this money and time spent as well as effort don't impress me as much as a journalist's interview with an 82 year old woman named Nancy Aldrich at Polly's Pancake Parlor in Sugar Hill, New Hampshire. She has been keeping her own records since 1975. Her numbers show that color change is a moving target, and she's not willing to go out on a limb in terms of making any declarations."I know I'm vague about it, but so is nature," Nancy said.

Foliage aficionados insist there is nothing that has occurred this year to prevent the nation's leaf peepers from getting their full color fix this autumn. A bigger concern than the timing of the color change in leaves is whether tourists can afford to get out and enjoy the sights.

Fall is still an enigma, and I revel in it!

Alchemy by Barbara Boothe Loyd

Upon a blank canvas alchemy is afoot.

His hues park temporarily on my palette,

mirroring autumn’s vivid colors of

pumpkin, pimento, persimmon, and

cardinal red---revealing the final party

dresses worn by the soon departing leaves.

Always admired for their ability to leave

with flair, their inevitable fading into decay’s

cloudy shades of brown,

they layer themselves at the foot of their

parent tree to sleep through their conversion

Color Wheel Coordination

Amazon.com has listed at least 16 various Color Wheels to buy. They are all basically the same useful tool. The terms below will help all interested in finding their way around the clock-face of the wheel.

• ACHROMATIC=A colorless scheme using blacks, whites and grays.
•  
• ANALOGOUS=Combining 3 colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel, i.e. red-violet, red, and red-orange.
•  
• COMPLEMENTARY=Combining a shade, tint, or tone of one color and the color opposite on the wheel.
•  
• MONOCHROMATIC=Using any shade, tint, or tone of one color.

TRIAD=Combining 3 colors that are equally spaced from each other on the color wheel. 

*The PRIMARY COLORS are red, blue and yellow. Note that red-orange, blue-green, yellow-orange, for example, always have the primary's name first, then a hyphen followed by the secondary color.

Color Wheel

A color wheel (also referred to as a color circle) is a visual representation of colors arranged according to their chromatic relationship.


In October, leaves transform from green to red or yellow, all brought about by lessening light rays. These are the days when light becomes the color of old gold, enjoy the treasure of this season.

Many major artists have October birthdays. If one corresponds to your birthday, research "your" artist. Click on the artists names on the calendar to read more about them. Pierre Bonnard is known as a "painters' painter" because of his free use of color; he remains one of my favorites. Let me know who is your favorite.

October
Benjamin West October 10, 1738
3	Pierre Bonnard, 1867
4	Jean-François Millet, 1814
4	Frederic Remington, 1861
5	Maya Lin, 1959
8	Faith Ringgold, 1930
8	Beverly Buchanan, 1940
9	Frank Duveneck, 1848
10	Benjamin West, 1738
10	Jean-Antoine Watteau, 1684
10	Alberto Giacometti, 1901
12	Richard Meier, 1934
14	Alesso Baldovinetti, 1427
16	Paul Strand, 1890
19	Umberto Boccioni, 1882
20	Jacqueline Winsor, 1941
21	Katsushika Hokusai, 1760
22	Robert Rauschenberg, 1925
25	Pablo Picasso, 1881
27	Lee Krasner, 1908
27	Roy Lichtenstein, 1923
28	Giovanni Antonio Canaletto, 1697
28	Francis Bacon, 1909
29	Niki de Saint Phalle, 1930
30	Angelica Kauffmann, 1741
31	Jan Vermeer, 1632

Lifting Spirits with Color

BENJAMIN MOORE PAINT COMPANY is leading the way by offering to paint 51 shelters in 50 days with colors to uplift the spirits of residents. This is the most positive use of color which I advocate. A teacher long ago complimented me for wearing bright colors on a dreary, rainy day. She said I perked everyone up. If we can uplift others simply by wearing or decorating with color, shouldn't we? See the article following:

Benjamin Moore Embarks on "Color Care Across America"

America's Top Paint Brand Teams With U.S. Conference of Mayors + Painting & Decorating Contractors of America To Provide Color Makeovers for 51 Shelters in 50 Days

MONTVALE, N.J., Sep 26, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) --" The uplifting emotional impact of color is being put to the test as Benjamin Moore Paints launches "Color Care Across America," a color makeover program for shelters. The initiative launched September 21, in Laredo, TX and Trenton, NJ, and it will continue over the course of 50 days, as crews of volunteer professionals who are members of the Painting & Decorating Contractors of America (PDCA)--a team in each state plus DC--pick up their paint rollers and brushes to provide color redesigns for shelters that provide housing for those in need.

The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM), which has made reducing homelessness one of its top priorities, partnered in this ambitious campaign. "The nation's mayors are the first to understand the hardships facing families today," said Tom Cochran, CEO & executive director of the United States Conference of Mayors. "With the failure of the national economy to rebound and the dwindling resources on the ground, many people are out of work, homeless and must turn to these shelters for help. That's why we are pleased to be a part of this Benjamin Moore program. Color is powerful! If it can brighten lives and uplift the spirits of our neediest citizens. We are all for it."

The individual shelters that will undergo the color transformation were chosen through a competitive process that included a USCM review committee.

In explaining Benjamin Moore's decision to undertake Color Care, company director Carl Minchew said, "Many hard-working families are experiencing the loss of their homes, and finding that the American dream of home ownership is fading. They are among the growing ranks winding up in shelters. It's demoralizing, and in some cases, a de-humanizing condition that can break the spirit of any family. Then, of course, there are the hundreds of women and children seeking sanctuary from abusive households. The increasing demand from these growing populations is taxing and straining the organizations that offer emergency living. Obviously, there's no simple solution to this troubling occurrence, but the aim of Benjamin Moore in launching 'Color Care Across America' is to bring attention to this situation while helping to improve the living environments for those who seek this basic human need of having a roof over their heads."

According to Richard Greene, CEO of the PDCA, association members were quick to sign on for the initiative. "You'll often find PDCA members among the first to volunteer for community projects, offering their time and skills to help the less fortunate. So, we're proud to be officially onboard with this tremendous undertaking and applaud each individual painting and decorating firm that has committed to the program."

With a promise to paint the interiors of shelters that are up to 10,000 square feet in size, Benjamin Moore is providing enough paint for bedrooms plus common areas such as living rooms, dining rooms and recreation spaces, entries/foyers, hallways and stairwells. It estimates that by the completion of the final shelter in Washington, DC, this November, more than 3,000 gallons of paint will be put to use. Minchew said the painting contractors will handle minor repair on walls, ceilings and trim to properly prepare the surfaces being painted. There's a plan, as well, to leave behind a few extra gallons with brushes and rollers "in case residents, staff or volunteers feel inspired to spruce up other areas of the house that remain in need of a coating."

Helping to ensure that the color options for these community residences will add an upbeat mood while respecting local and regional tastes, Benjamin Moore turned to the editors of House Beautiful magazine. They joined with Benjamin Moore's senior interior designer, Sonu Mathew, in putting together seven suggested palettes that each shelter will be able to choose from.

"There will be no cookie-cutter looks," said Minchew, "and no standard institutional hues. This is an empowering opportunity for the shelters to select colors that are livable and likable."

The Color Care program is also underway in Canada, where a shelter in all but one of the country's 10 provinces is getting a color makeover, as well.

To track the progress of this program, please visit the Color Care Across America tab on the Benjamin Moore Facebook: http://www.facebook.com"

(The color being applied to the wall in the photo above is what psychologists call Bubble Gum Pink. Research has shown that it lifts the moods of depressed people who are institutionalized.) It's true that color can make a difference!

Colors of Agony

Ruth Ganley, an Interior Designer from Long Beach, California, asked several residents in her city and surrounding areas what colors they would use to describe 9/11. She says, "What I call 'Colors of Agony' were the most often chosen. Black symbolizes the dark day, ash gray represents steel and dust from The Towers, and fiery red describes the anger they felt as well as the blood spilled that day."

"I asked these same residents what colors they would use to describe the future of America. What I call 'Colors of Hope' were what they mentioned. Green for life and hope, white for moving forward, and American Flag Blue for freedom."

Tomorrow marks the 10th anniversary of that fateful day in our country; we will probably all pause to remember those lost in the attacks. I hope we can visualize those colors of hope that Ruth mentioned.

I will be posting on these colors of agony and hope in the future. Fine artists' birthdays follow:

September
Suzanne Valadon September 23, 1865
2	Romare Bearden, 1911
3	Louis Sullivan, 1856
7	Grandma Moses, 1860
7	Jacob Lawrence, 1917
7	Leo Sewell, 1945
12	Ben Shahn, 1898
12	Richard Hunt, 1935
13	Robert Indiana, 1928
16	Jean Arp, 1886
20	Hughie Lee-Smith, 1915
22	Alma Thomas, 1891
22	Jesús Bautista Moroles, 1950
23	Suzanne Valadon, 1865
23	Paul Delvaux, 1897
23	Louise Nevelson, 1899
26	Théodore Géricault, 1791
28	Caravaggio, 1573
29	François Boucher, 1703