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

One Black or Many?

During Medieval times, painters used ground up mineral pigments for color. The preparation of colors was a laborious process. Black pigments had a strong tendency to clump and were the most time-consuming to prepare.

No coloring agent yields a perfect black; they are either bluish or reddish---cool or warm. Black absorbs light and no paint or dye can quite achieve perfect absorption. Traditionally, natural blacks were obtained by mixing a very dark red-brown with a dark blue. In the 18th century, improved black dyes were made based on indigo and the woods logwood and sumac. These arrived just in time for the 19th century, in which black clothing, with its connotations of morality and modesty, was much prized.

Clerics, teachers, members of the legal and medical professions, and domestics all wore black. As the century progressed it became even more stylish. Dandies dressed in black, particularly in the evening; grieving women of wealth wore glossy black silk.


Like white, black is a color that does not exist in a pure form except in the imagination. It took centuries to create fine blacks in dyeing, but good carbon  black pigments, which absorb light well and approximate a true black, have been known and used since earliest antiquity. The color black has fascinated many artists, including the brilliant colorist Vincent van Gogh (1853-90).

The 20th century modernist Jean Dubuffet (1901-85)  stated, "Black is an abstraction; there is no black, only black things such as black satin, a black cloth, a spot of ink on paper, black shoe polish, black chimney soot and tar. But they are black in different ways, for there is the question of brilliance, whether they are matte or shiny, polished, rough, fine, and so forth, which is very important---the way an artist applies it is more important than the color."

Lilian Verner-Bonds, author of The New Life Library: Color Healing, states that "Black is the favorite color of those who keep control by not giving information to others. Black indicates that something is dormant or buried. It is connected to philosophical thoughts and ideals.

Someone who wears black continuously may be saying that there is something absent from his or her life. Negative black believes all is ended, there is nothing to look forward to. It is afraid of what is coming next.


But at the heart of black is discipline. Black can complete the incomplete. The mystic arts relate to black. There are no parts of the body specifically connected to black except when seen on x-rays or in the aura as disease. A black feather represents respect for the old. And, black foods heighten your awareness of the magic within you.


Wearing black jewellery will announce that you have hidden potential. Some see that dressing in black says 'I'm young, I'm ready and I'm totally in control.'


Negative black keywords: Destructively strong, troublesome, superior, despairing, and constrained.


But, to end on a positive note, the positive black keywords are: Beneficially strong, creative, idealistic, and secretly wealthy."