inspiration #003 | color
A fading sign of an old building's storefront, wildflowers, the tone of a film photo, a fabric's pattern, food or drinks, a makeup palette, the sky at different times of day, the eyes of someone you cherish.
What do all these things have in common? Color. Color is one of the classic elements of art. If you ever took an art class, I’m sure you remember the classic color wheel assignment, where you’d mix the different primary colors to form secondary and tertiary colors, learning and playing with how various colors change when you combine them. Color has many counterparts like tint, shade, value, saturation, intensity. All of these elements serve their purpose, assisting us in developing skills and artistic style. There is a notable feature of color that lies beyond the hue itself and these color theory elements.
Color psychology is the study of how color influences human behavior, like how it affects moods, perceptions, and evokes certain emotions. In this post, I want to peel back another layer to this color and emotion aspect. The angle to inspiration is in how color itself affects and reveals things to you. Color exists in itself and because of that, it has its own story. It catches your eye. It's a reminder or a memory. The certain saturation of nostalgia, the appeal (or not) of its contrast or its complement. The way that color shifts and changes to show well loved use, age or a new humanity to inanimate objects. A brown dirt path cutting through the greenery, despite the gray sidewalk nearby. A faded t-shirt you’ve had for years but still like to wear. Paint that chipped off the wall to reveal a completely different color from decades ago that you never knew was there. These are parts of a history, where some things are known and others are not. These little details and questions, though, are what can be inspiring and lead you to finding a new idea.
I challenge you to be more aware of the colors and the color palettes present in your daily life and the things you experience– on your commute, during a walk, waiting in line. Maybe pick a single color and seek it out, like a scavenger hunt each day. How does it make you feel? What do you notice about it? Is there something being said in its context where you found it?
Maybe, there’s a little bit of inspiration blended into the hues. If nothing else, this exercise offers a simple chance to refocus on the present moment in our daily lives. To explore and reflect on the colors around us, and how all of them make their own unique mark on our collective and individual senses.
Keep creating.