Color Theory and Emotional Effects

1. Describe Color and it's effects on emotions. Use the appropriate vocabulary of color in your posting.

Color, as described in the video, is 'powerful, unpredictable, and difficult to control.' Scottish artist June Redfern, who loves to use striking color in her own work, travels to the Italian city of Venice for inspiration and to study the color of one of her favorite Venetian artist's (Titian) painting of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. She is especially drawn to Titian's dramatic use of red. As a young girl, I read many of the 'Nancy Drew' books, and Nancy is always described as being 'Titian haired'; I didn't understand what this meant, so I asked my parents and they said it meant she was red-haired. Titian's reds go through so many subtle shifts in tone, from a warm tomato-red, to brick-red, to maroon, the list goes on and on. Since Venice was the busiest port in Renaissance Italy, there were many different pigments available to artists. The red that Titian favored was Carmine red, made from crushed Turkish beetles. Titian's technique of layering color mimicked the reflective quality of the light found in the watery canals of Venice. What is also so unique about Titian's paintings is that the colors he used are reflected back into the flesh of the people, this was never done before. For instance, if one is wearing blue there is a slight blue reflected in the flesh tones; this was considered a radical use of color. Prior to Titian, the colors artists used were often dictated by the patron because some colors were more expensive than others. The video follows June Redfern's painting process; she throws turpentine soaked rags at her canvas, she wipes paint straight from the tube onto her fingers before smearing it on her work, her studio is chaotic; her struggle to recreate the light of Venice and of  'finding' the colors she seeks to represent is a true emotional battle, one that most artists can relate to on some level.

2. What is a theoretical aspect of color that most intrigues/fascinates you? Why?

I am most intrigued by the color blue. Not only has it always been my favorite hue, but it has a fascinating history. Lapis Lazuli, a semi-precious stone which was originally imported to Venice from Afghanistan, created the most intense blue found in nature. This particular blue, called Ultra Marine (meaning 'Beyond the Sea') is made by finely grinding Lapis Lazuli, binding it into a linen-wrapped ball, and kneading it for three weeks. Due to the precious nature of this pigment, and the time consuming process it took to create it, artists restricted it's use to, for example, the Virgin Mary's cloak. It is so interesting to me that the preciousness of this particular color dictated which figures were painted blue. Without even being able to read (or write) any member of society could easily pick out important religious figures in a painting, and therefore understand the Biblical story behind the painting.

3. In the Color video, what made the biggest impact on you in regards to color and it's effects on emotions?

The café that Van Gogh painted made the biggest impact on me; his use of bold, garish colors create such drama; it makes me 'feel' the unease of the room's interior, it's definitely not an 'inviting' space. While Van Gogh suffered from mental illness, he most often painted between bouts of depression. Here, Van Gogh is in essence warning the viewer that no good can come of visiting a café such as this, only bad things could happen if you were to enter. Van Gogh was able to make the most of this bold color palette due in part to the fact that, with the creation of less expensively manufactured pigments, and new chemically-enhanced vibrant hues, he was easily and affordably able to get his hands on the (metal) tubes of paints needed to paint his masterpieces.

4. In the Feelings video, what made the biggest impact on you in regards to color and it's effects on emotions? 

Goya's dark, disturbing images, particularly his paintings of monsters (Saturn Devouring His Son), the firing squad (Third of May 1808), and even the creepy-eyed portraits of Spanish royalty, are very unsettling. In his famous commissioned work, Third of May 1808, color is used to amazing effect; the man about to be shot is almost flood-lit and portrayed in bright white. He has his arms outstretched in a Christ-like crucifixion pose, there are dead bodies bathed in deep red blood, the firing squad is faceless and dark. Saturn Devouring His Son is painted in dark colors, which further emphasizes the crazed look in Saturn's light-colored eyes, as well as emphasizing the the white-fleshed, headless, bloody, son he is eating.