ArtBistro

 This might be kinda off-topic and I apologize if I'm veering too far. Is anyone here interested in the general psych. of color in our environment?  This has fascinated me.  In another life I'd like to be an interior designer on a global/industrial level...Not sure what that title is (World Color Consultant :-).  When we first looked at the condo. that we are now in- the previous owner had gorgeous, large-scale abstract paintings on the butter-colored walls. Everything was muted yellows, blues, ochre... colors I myself wouldn't use for an entire painting.  But it created a warm, inviting environment.  I didn't want to leave. Long ago I worked in an area of San Francisco that had about 2 options nearby for food and coffee. The cafe I went to daily had this massive wall painted dark purple and aluminum chairs.  It was so cold, uninviting.  One day I sent the owner an anonymous letter, posing as a designer and recommended they re-vamp. I shared that ORANGE has been known to be the color of the appetite and sensuality. Some even say it could make you overeat if it's on the kitchen walls. Therefore- if they warm up the wall and entire place, patrons will likely EAT MORE and hang out.  A few weeks later my advice was taken to heart and the wall became pale orange, the tables and chairs wood and rattan...ficus plants in orange and rust pots abounded (yes, they went from sleek 80's to earthy 70's- but oh well)!  As a makeup artist now, I am mostly dealing with color in relationship to skin tones.  My husband is a tattooer so he deals with pigments going into skin of various tones and textures... We have some cool color discussions.

Psycology of color is an interesting topic.  Though most colors dont really affect me to the extent the psychologists say they are supposed to.  Things like red makes you hungry or aggitated and if you have a red car you are prone to drive faster, therefore, higher insurence on a red vehicle.  Blue supposed to have a calming effect. 

If I go to McDonalds its because I am already hungry, and the red doesnt make me want to leave any faster, the people that are working or eating there do.

A room that is painted with cool colors does "feel" cooler. And a room painted with warm colors does make the temperature warmer. In terms of what colors do to our emotions, that can only be experienced on an individualistic level. For instance, when I make a painting and present it to an audence, a whole gamut or responses are given. Part of what I do as an artist is to break down absolutes. For example, there is this theory that warm colors advance and cool colors recede. Not so fast. A lot of times the placement of pigment and scale can turn all that around. How color "feels" doth bring forward interesting discussion. I can't imagine a world without color.

Thanks for the topic.  L

 Yes, the color you're referring to Sheila was called "Baker-Miller" Pink.  I never got to see a swatch, but also found it a curious color to be used in prisons. I think it was predominantly painted in holding cells- so it must've had an immediate, short term effect to calm drunks, belligerents etc.  Probably very pale. Or perhaps a shade, not a tint?

DonnaMe-  I remember avocado green APPLIANCES and mustard carpet!  We even had dark brown and rust shag carpet wall hangings. Color palettes within interior decor and fashion trends say a lot about the mood of a decade, I guess. People can trash it all they want, but I had a blast growing up in the 70's- very carefree!  

 The Psychology of Color SIDE BAR. There is an interesting workshop I took, it is called 'Colors' based on the Matrixx System from the National Curriculum & Training Institute. The quick of it is, when asked a series of questions, the class returned their responses which were depending on the answers, aligned with four category Colors: Red, Blue, Orange and Green. Each color represents attributes and character qualities.  After the workshop, we like so many others who had taken it began to identify with the attributes and qualities that surfaced in the workshop. 

There are forty survey questions divided in to ten segments (a - d) containing unique incomplete sentences that describe people. Each sentence has four possible endings. Points are assigned 1- 4 points depending on which is most like you. The highest score determines the color you represent. For times sake, I will list the segment titles to peak your interest or make you run to another group. 1. I like to:   2. The best way for someone to show they love me is:  3. In a relationship,   I like to provide:  4. I like to (different incomplete sentences than #1)  5. The quality or strength I can be counted on to display is:  6. When I look at things around me I seek:  7. People who know me best say I am:  8. I have a great need ( desire) to be: 9. When I am feeling discouraged,  I most often:   10. In a social situation with friends or colleagues, I usually: 

Yes, this an interesting survey and I mention it here because it was fascinating to see how people began to identify them selves by the particular color category the survey revealed to them.     

Color me Gone.

Raymond

Raymond

 Hi Sheila, I ended up being Blue, which as a Libra actually made color sense when you look at the blue person characteristics. You may have ran across this survey in your previous line of work as large organizations often use it. If so, what color were you?

Blue: Some words that describe me are: peaceful, sincere, spiritual, subjective, sympathetic, insightful, caring, compassionate, personal, empathetic, romantic,humane,nice,poetic, sensitive, accepting, patient, giving and true.

I'd be lying if I said this is not me, but it is. At first I didn't like being found out in a survey, I guess I thought I could hide out in this world in plain site (lol). Okay, now that you see I'm Blue, let's explore what color say you. 

Raymond

 Well Sheila, next thing we may discover may be we lived in the same towns and went to the same schools. That was a push no doubt, we do though have the Love for color to embrace and call our own. As for us being Libra's, that is cool we share that as well. 

Color me gone was a name a race team had on their 63 Ram Charger back in the days when drag racing was in my blood, so I'll borrow it for a spell as a parting phrase. Till we meet again for coffee here in the halls of Art Bisrto,

Color Me Gone !

Raymond  

 As a big fan of black and white, using color in art is a colorful meandering to places far and wide. It may be that this wandering between the appeal yet starkness of black & white and color are glimpses we are given so we might appreciate the cycles of life. So subtle is this process at times it may easily escapes the eye, yet as artists we are fortunate in that we have the ability to open visual doors that perhaps would not have been opened at all.

very good point raymond and donna.sometimes in our life we have to go to the edge so that we can be able to learn and explore one's life and

others....just like COLORS.

 Ah Yellow, I agree with the magic of yellow so I pulled out the cards from the Colors workshop but no yellow so, I will highlight attributes of Gold and Orange.

If you were found to be a Gold person, some words that describe you are: Sensible, Practical, Organized, Provider, Parental, Stable, Thorough, Punctual, Dependable, Painstaking, Conservative, Detailed, Solid, Hard working, Consistent, Structured, Positive, Predictable, and Reliable.

If you were found to be a Orange person, some words that describe you are: Immediate, Generous, Witty, Spontaneous, Competitor, Performer, Trouble-shooter, Optimistic, Eager, Charming, Courageous, Independent, Willing, Reactive, Fearless, Excitable, Enthusiastic, Adaptable,Easy - going, Mechanical, Compromising, Persuasive, Wild, Fun and Crazy.

You may have found parts of each fit you much like astrological signs may, visually though all these color are inviting and are present within my two favorite natural Beauties, Sunrise and Sunsets.

Raymond, I think your color workshop was different from the book I've just read. I'm feeling like a rainbow here! But if I had to pick, right now I'm all enamored with aubergine and find it curious that variations of purple might be considered a neutral. Purple has been coming out lately in fashion and that usually moves on into home decor. I noticed a lot of it on that "Lipstick Jungle" show. I watched it on line and they used a rich, earthy purple in the graphics probably to work with a very similar color in the clothing. 

The purple hue has a sense of mystery and intrigue, is is also seen as a color of enchantment adding an ethereal quality. It is a complex color, the redder purples more passionate and advancing, the bluer more subdued, serene and contemplative. I might use a lilac or periwinkle in a bedroom, a brighter shade in the kitchen and maybe an aubergine in a powder room. A grape version would do well in a dining area suggesting fruits and wine!

Great topic! I would love to look into the psychological effects of color more thoroughly.  As a sculptor, I haven't done a lot with color. I think your environment does really affect your mood and color is a big part of that. I would think that how colors are used together would be as important as the color itself. Using yellow in a space would have a different feeling if there were a blues in the same space than if there were reds or greens. One color next to another really changes how your eye perceives it.

Also, about the personality-color connection. My sister-in-law had a speaker come to her work and administer a personality test so that they could decide what kind of people to have work together and who to keep apart! It was divided similarly to the one Raymond described. Through a series of questions and grouping words that describe activities you like to do, you end up with your color. Basically: Gold - organized, traditional, stable; Blue - empathic, understanding, emotional; Green - analytical, scientific, curious; Orange - risk taking, impulsive, needs excitement. I'm equally blue and gold, my husband is mostly orange and green. I guess opposites attract.

KAHH says ...

the only explanation i've heard for the use of pink in a detention facility was to humiliate people held there.  one sheriff explained that, "when these 'girls' (referring to males) learn to behave as men, they'll be treated as men."  (in one case, a sheriff went so far as to require that people being held in his jail wear pink underwear, carrying the misguided idea even further.)  those attitudes do not reflect correctional professionalism, and intentionally humiliating people in custody violates at least one international convention to which the U.S. is a signatory.  so that's about pink in a correctional setting.  another sheriff painted his entire jail bright red because, he said, he wanted the detainees to think they were in hell.  seems to be some 8th amendment concerns there.

other aspects of color - its meaning, affect on mood, and use in art are subjects beyond my kin.  but i sure am enjoying the discussion, and perhaps learning a little, too.

I think the Sheriff's you've written about are still living in the days of "boys will be boys" and "this line of work isn't for girls, pretty missey".    So sad that they help keep stereotypes of law enforcement alive and not well.

 Some good posts so far. Related to the first post concerning color in the environment, would be interior design. I have meet some interior designers here, and perhaps they would have a better perspective on the following:

In some recent reading, I have found that yellow may be making inroads on orange as far as a popular color in home interiors. It has been suggested that yellow combined with black or gray is becoming fashionable. I saw a picture of a wall that combined wide vertical strips of pale yellow and gray on a wall that looked handsome. I would think yellow could be a bit much for the eye to process as color for a rooms walls, unless perhaps it was a pale yellow. Perhaps yellow accents in a room would be another approach. I also read that some people use pale yellow as a color for a ceiling.

Any thought about yellow as an interior color? This is not meant to interrupt other discussions currently going on in this thread.

As long as its not school bus yellow. 

Please God...don't let me live in a room that reminds me of the Bus...That dreaded vehicle of evil on wheels that go round and round, which delivers us to the most fowl of places.

Just as I would hope not to hear this again.