Color the world

 

  

  Color. We live in a world of color. They are the stuff of metaphors. Green with envy, feeling blue. purple with rage. Hw did those colors get associated with emotions? Some suggest it has to do with auras. maybe they're just picturesque. Perhaps it's our emotional response to them.

    When I was in kindergarten, I was playing around with some colored pieces of plastic in different shapes when one ended on top of another and beyond- to my amazement I discovered that mixing two colors made a third. It wasn't until I took color theory in college that I rediscovered that awe. I still use a color wheel when painting, fiddling with percentages to get the right shade of greens, violets, or earthy tones.

But here's the weird part, you can't make red, blue or yellow from other colors. They are primary, the master triad where all other colors derive. Now I look at colors trying to figure out which divine color created this or that hue.

    Green is the most soothing for depression as it is the color of light filtered through the trees of a forest, while red is more energetic. My favorites are Van Dyke brown, warm and sultry like chocolate or deep Hooker's green- soft and lush like a carpet of moss.

My mom's favorite color was warm neutral gray which we dubbed "Way gray" ( after her name).

    See how we give colors personality. In this country we tend to blandness, whereas in West African countries, the houses and clothes are splashed with bright vibrant colors. No shyness there. Don't be shy, explore colors and like a small child in kindergarten, you'll be amazed.