The Power of Symbolic Color.
Hi! It’s the Fourth of July! And, here in the United States, it’s red, white and blue day, mixed with stars and stripes.
Color and the American Flag.
As an aside, and while we are on the subject, I’ll describe the official version of the meaning of our flag. You see, our national flag has white stars on a blue field plus alternating red and white stripes. The stars refer to our five states and the alternating red and white stripes represent the 13 original colonies. White represents purity and innocence; red symbolizes valor and bravery; blue refers to justice, vigilance and perseverance.
KittyKitty Series
On Ampersand Clayboard
Background.
So, this is an art blog and why do I care?
Let me provide some context. Back around 2008 I did a series of paintings with a cat in repose as the model. My intention was to explore composition and color relationships using a simple, and favorite, subject – a cat. And, I titled the series “KittyKitty”, go figure. In any case, it was a fun and educational series.
Color Relationships.
There are lots of ways to study colors relationships, I suppose. And, for the most part, I studied different color combinations. That is to say, for example, color compliments (red/green; blue/orange; and purple/yellow); monochromatic color; polychromatic colors, and etc.
And, while exploring color, eventually symbolic color comes into play. As another example, I might think of colors for holidays: Red/green for Christmas; orange/red for Halloween; or yellow/purple for Easter. Well, these are the colors I learned as a child. As such, they become symbolic to me and perhaps many who were raised in a similar cultural tradition.
“Kitty Kitty”.
Back to my series of kitties. To test the power of color and symbolism, I did a painting of my cat using red, blue and gold (instead of white). Even without the white, the resulting painting still reminds me of our American national flag and the Fourth of July. Does it have the same effect on you?
So, to my fellow Americans, Happy Fourth of July! And, to my citizens of the world, how do you see color used in your part of this planet?
External Links:
Color Symbolism (one of many articles on the web): “Color Meanings and the Art of Using Color Symbolism”. 99Designs.com