Color Theory II
by Patricia L. Cummings
Did you know that there is a Color Marketing Group that predicts the "hottest" color trends for each year? For example, four colors were predicted to dominate the year 2000's consumer products. They were "Wild Berry," (a bright cardinal red); "Aero Blue," ("like a sky approaching dusk"); "Spaqua" (like green-shaded water); and "Aluminum foil" ("to represent a cold, urban feeling). This information was published in USA Weekend, March 12-14, 1999, page 12.
This photo was sent to me from Sweden because a teacher had asked her students to re-create this outline stitch design from our website and interpret it into a quilted item. Red and white are a classic color combination.
Number of Colors Seen by the Human Eye
Are you aware that 7 million colors can be seen by the human eye? In a column called, "Smart Decor" by Rosemary Sadez Friedmann, she revals that and more. She states that pure color, especially yellow that is very bright, is a very fatiguing color. In her column, she also discusses the concept of "after-image." You can try this concept for yourself. Cut out a piece of red cloth or a piece of red construction paper. Stare at it for 30 seconds and then look away, at a white surface? What do you see? You will always see the complement of red, in other words, green.
Degree of Saturation Matters
Red and yellow colors are intense in their most saturated forms. Red can connote the emotion of anger, as seen in a "suicide quilt" that was once displayed. When the quilter finished it, she took her own life. An all-Red quilt is too much to enjoy, visually. Too much red is an eye-irritant. Red can symbolize passion. Red is often included as one of the colors of national flags. Red is sometimes the color of the cape used to bait a bull. Red can mean "danger." Stop signs are red. As the color of blood, Red recalls the battlefield and violence.
However, don't stop there. Red is the color of Roses, a flower that means true love in the lexicon of flower symbology. Pure Red is so seldom seen in birdlife, the Cardinal does stand out due to its color.
We can take many clues from how nature puts colors together. This is a Vermont field of Daffodils. photo by Charlotte Croft
The obvious association with the color yellow is the sun. Yellow can mean to proceed with caution, in traffic. Yellow can be as innocent as a Daffodil in Spring, or can connote cowardice in battle, or treason against the country, as in the actions of Benedict Arnold.
This "Grandmother's Flower Garden" quilt is loaded with "tints" of all kinds of colors. photo by James Cummings
Tints
A tint of any color is one that has had white added to make the color lighter. Pastel colors of fabric were not in use until they were produced in the early twentieth centuries, and then, women went gung-ho in making baby quilts, Dresden Plate quilts and Double Wedding Ring quilts with pastel colors. That is why it is so easy to spot and date quilts from the 1930s. The fabrics often show a lot of white, in their backgrounds.
Pink and green are naturally complementary colors. photo James Cummings
Green and Blue Are Soothing Colors
The Celtic people considered the color green to denote fertility. That concept makes a lot of sense, considering the green and fertile meadows of Ireland. Friedmann reveals in another syndicated column that during the Renaissance, wedding gowns were green, to show a bride's willingness to have children.
Green can also have an ugly side to it. We say that someone is "green with envy," or so sick that they are "turning green." My father was always leary of eating "green" chicken, meaning undercooked chicken. "Give me some green," can mean "Give me some money."
Blue = Tranquility
Blue seems placid: the color of sea and sky. We say that someone is "True Blue," meaning that the person is a loyal friend, and adheres to the truth. Cobalt Blue is a mineral dye that was used extensively during the nineteenth century, particularly to color glass.
Purple: A Royal Color
The color purple has long been associated with priest's robes or drapings for the altar during the Easter season. In the past, royalty has also wanted to reserve the color purple for nobility.
Some Colors More Expensive to Make
To know the true "value" of a specific color, we must turn to the history of that particular color and its use. The source of certain colors, such as the dye from the Cochineal beetle of South America; or the sources and use of Indigo, are the subject of informative books.
Keep the Meaning of Colors in Mind When Designing
One can use color as part of unwritten expression, and as a way to impart a mood, and an overall feeling in a painting or quilt. When I was choosing colors for "The Gossips" quilt, seen above, I chose "poison green," beige, and mainly dark, colors, except for their lighter faces. Every stitch was purposefully-placed, and every color, purposefully-chosen. Read more about the history of this piece.
This Brief Study
In Color Theory - Part I, we examined primary, secondary, and tertiary colors as set forth in variations of the Color Wheel. We looked at the Charles Ives Color Circle as a deviation from the norm. We discussed the temperature of specific colors, and color terminology.
In Part II, we have talked about the Color Marketing Group as an agency that predicts color use and given some examples. We have also discussed the intensity or saturation of colors, the color words, "saturation" and "tints," as well as specific color associations. I have more to share with you, another time.
2009. Patricia Cummings, Quilter's Muse Publications, Concord, NH. All rights reserved. This information is for your personal use at home. As quilters, I believe we should all take a moment to consider the properties of color and how we can make them work to their best advantage. Stay tuned!