Science In Art-The Ways We See And Use color - 
by Dorothy Gauvin

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Many years ago, in the days before I learned to say "No", I was asked to deliver a lecture to a philosophical discussion group. Then, I found the subject had been chosen for me. Its title was The Spiritual Meaning of color. What did I know about it? And I sure wasn't going to study up what others had to say about it. I suspected they were only guessing, too!

You can see I was a little wary of that word "spiritual" in such a context. So I decided to turn it around a bit. First I gave a bit on the physics of color and a brief rundown on the physiology of color perception.

Next was a discussion of our emotional responses to color, sold as universal by pop psychology, despite the many differences in cultures: e.g.

• the adoption of red instead of white for weddings
• the adoption of white rather than black for funerals in Asian societies. 

Nearing the end of my allotted time, I sprang the trick I had up my sleeve. At the start, I had asked the organizers to hand out cardboard squares on which I had painted a large dot of color: red, yellow, blue, green, or purple.

Now, I asked the people to look steadily at their colored dots as I talked. (I'd timed my next remarks to last for one minute.) When time was up, I asked them to turn the square over. For a moment or two, the place was filled with gasps of surprise. From the dais, I blandly remarked on what I knew each was seeing. Those with a red dot were now seeing a green; those with purple saw yellow. And so on.

When the excitement leveled off, I asked them to consider this fact: They had just seen something that doesn't exist and which cannot, as yet, be explained by science. I suggested that, until it can, it might as well come under the heading of "spiritual." (That got me neatly out of my dilemma.)

Of course, this audience was seeing a negative after-image in the hues complementary to the original dots. These appeared because the cones in our retinas react that way. So far, no one can say just how this works.

As well, neurobiologists have now found a system of cells in the brains of primates - humans and the great apes - which perform myriad calculations producing what is called "color constancy." Because of this, as yet mysterious, faculty, we always perceive a white tablecloth as white, a lemon as being yellow, whether the object is seen under daylight or by candle or neon tube.

So, we've covered, briefly, the physics and physiology of color; such knowledge gives us a springboard to using color in Art. But what artists need to know is how to utilize the emotional impact of color in their work.

Psychology can help a little - so long as we recognize that the response to color is culturally conditioned. I've mentioned a few of the differences between Western and Asian uses of color. Language, too, reflects our built-in prejudices. In English, we talk of "having the blues," of being "green with envy " or feeling "in the pink;" of "seeing red" and so forth. We say "pink for a girl, blue for a boy." Interestingly, this last may have a basis in physiology.

A woman's brain can distinguish many more shades of red than does a man's; he reacts more strongly to the blue range. Age can have a bearing too. The very young have been shown to prefer reds and bright orange; older folk often lean towards blues and greens.

We instinctively divide colors into warm and cool. "Warm" reds, yellows, and oranges are associated with terms like aggression, cheerfulness, excitement, while "cool" greens and blues evoke feelings of security, calmness or peace. The browns and greys - which artists know can be either "warm" or "cool" - are usually considered to signal sadness or melancholy. Black can register as dramatic or it can be seen as depressing or even as evil.

Therapeutic use has been made of color, though fashions in this field change as often as hemlines. Green has long been popular in hospitals, blue in prisons. Red is favored for restaurants, on the basis that it stimulates the desire to eat more, eat faster, and leave quickly. Pink will always sell cosmetics but brown is a no-go in this area of retailing.

Purple is historically the color of royalty. Before modern dye-making, it was fabulously costly, produced from a mollusk found in ancient Phoenicia, (now Lebanon.) Princes of the church are "raised to the purple" and some attribute this to the "spiritual vibration" of that color, rather than its royal connotations.

The concept of "taste" in color is a purely individual matter. One man's enjoyment of puce can be another's poison. People of exuberant nature revel in combinations of riotous, flamboyant color. Those of reserved style favor schemes of sedate pastel shades. No one way can be defined as "right" or "wrong." You may as well go with what suits your own personality.

Still, some basics can guide the painter in choosing a color design. If what you're aiming to convey is a sense of tranquil intimacy, say in a scene of domestic life, a scheme of pastel blues, violets and greys sparked by soft yellows could fit the bill. Think of Vermeer's quietly exquisite interiors, e.g. his "Servant Pouring Milk."

An ominous impression of violence can be described with dramatic reds and blacks. Rembrandt was able to convey this feeling in his paintings of seemingly mundane subjects like a beef carcass hung in a butcher's shop. Have a look at his "The Slaughtered Ox."

The French Impressionists famously put their understanding of the science of optics, light and color to work, producing canvases that shimmer with rainbow light. They banished black from their palettes and pioneered the use of cool shadows contrasting with the warm highlights they discovered in painting outdoors. Their concern was with the effect of natural light falling on objects.

Because of this focus, narrative was thrown out along with the Black. Many works from this school are extremely pretty and they remain popular with interior decorators. For my money, study of the Impressionists will richly reward new students of color use but I think they should not be expected to yield much more than that.

The great Spanish masters Velazquez (born 1599) and Goya (born 1746) used color sparingly, yet what an impact their work still has on us. To stand in front of "Las Meninas" - the astonishing portrait of the Spanish royal family with a self-portrait of Velazquez as he paints them - is a revelation. Goya's paintings, and even more his etchings, of events from his nation's invasion by Napoleon, bring home the horrors of war.

The concern of these artists was with Story. They managed to show one moment of history that makes us think about the effects of extraordinary events on ordinary people. To make paintings about what is called "the human condition" you need to have a facility with figure drawing and a basic grounding in Anatomy. And that's a whole other story...

This article Copyright ©2004 - Dorothy Gauvin. Reproduced with permission.

About the Author: Jorothy Gauvin - Dorothy Gauvin is an internationally acclaimed artist who specializes in an epic theme of the Australian pioneers. Her tips and advice for artists, beginners and collectors are freely available on her website: http://www.gauvin.com.au/