By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills
National Color Day celebrates how every person interprets the way light reflects or bounces off an object. The experience is more than what we see and enjoy or avoid. The various hues and shades impact us creatively, physically, and psychologically.
Color is one of my favorite literary tools to show emotion and encourage readers to join the story’s adventure. The technique reveals a character’s personality by exploring a different aspect of likes and dislikes. Color paints our stories with subtle meanings deeper than a visual and is often considered a symbol.
The following information about color may tell you much about yourself.
Red represents a warm hue causing strong emotions, from friendly and comforting to anger and hostility. Researchers have reported people overeat in rooms painted and decorated in red.
Think about these phrases: redneck, red-hot, red light, a red flag, red-handed, paint the town red, and seeing red. Are you a fan of red?
Blue carries a range of emotions from coolness to serenity. Many offices are painted this color because people are more productive in blue rooms. Many vacationers prefer the blue ocean or a cloudless sky at the top of a mountain. Blue can also mean sadness.
Do you enjoy the blues music? Consider a blue Monday, a blue-ribbon day, out-of-the-blue, blue-chip stocks, and work until you are blue in the face.
Green often symbolizes nature and growth. The color has a calming effect. Researchers have proven those who work in offices painted green have fewer stomach aches. The color also points to wealth, greed, and jealousy. In the 15th century, green represented fertility, and wedding dresses were green.
How do these phrases affect you—greenhorn, green thumb, green with envy, green around the gills, and to give the green light?
Yellow belongs in the spectrum of red and green. It’s described as cherry and warm. The color can also represent frustration, and if we consider red/passion and green/growth, the additional meaning makes sense. Along with red stimulating the appetite, yellow entices people to eat more. Yellow is termed a swing color because its hues and depths affect people’s moods differently.
Consider these expressions—mellow yellow, a coward, yellow traffic light, and yellow leaves on a plant indicate possible disease. How do you react to yellow?
Purple blends red and blue to create a vibrant color. The hue points to royalty, wealth, wisdom, and spirituality, but can symbolize arrogance.
What does purple prose, earned a purple heart, and born to the purple mean to you?
Brown is a natural color that produces a down-to-earth feeling. We think of rich soil to grow plants and the texture of brown dirt between our fingers. However, for a person who is isolated on a farm and feels imprisoned, brown can symbolize sadness and depression.
A few phrases of interest: chocolate brown, coffee brown, brown out, brown bag lunch, brown nosing, and brown-as-a-berry.
White signifies purity and innocence. The color also means spaciousness or a sterile environment. A bride often chooses a white wedding dress to symbolize her love and commitment to the groom. Hospital environments are often termed white. Settings of ice and snow can be referred to as desolate or pure and beautiful.
Consider these popular expressions: white lie, sterile white, white tie affair, white elephant, raise a white flag, and white-as-a-sheet.
Pink is a romance color—love, feminine, calming, and soothing. Many book covers for romance novels use pink. I’ve heard women described as pink, a mixture of red and white. If white represents purity, and red expresses passion, it explains why men can’t live with women and can’t live without them.
I don’t like pink. It reminds me of Pepto-Bismol. Did you experience one of my personal traits in the previous sentence?
Consider the phrases: in-the-pink, pink power, think pink, and tickled pink.
Orange is a blend of red and yellow to create a warm hue. The color attracts excitement and enthusiasm, as in fall and harvest. Orange reminds many of autumn, football season, carving pumpkins, and the entrance into winter.
Consider the phrases: time to orange-up, squeezing the orange, the autumn of his life, and comparing apples to oranges.
Black carries varied emotions. To some people, the color points to evil, power, death, and mourning. In the fashion world, black means sleek and sophisticated. How a character views black indicates a unique side of his/her personality.
Consider these phrases: Black Death, blackout, black cat, blacklist, black market, black tie, and black belt.
Gray blends black and white: death and life. This is a popular color for me to use in writing suspense, and I try hard not to overuse it. Gray is rich with symbolism and shows opinions and prejudices.
Look at the following phrases: shades of gray, a gray area, give one gray hair, a Dorian Gray person, nothing is black or white, and gray is the pallor of death.
“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.” Georgia O’Keeffe
How does color affect you?
Comments 17
Do Ann, what a Lovely write up. It was at the WtP Conference, a kind lady took me shopping and highly suggested a Lovely Lavender Shirt to buy. It became my favourite and have never had a similar one. So, surprised, Lavender was missed out, but purple close to the robe placed on Jesus in the Gospel. In fact, I read an article, where the Royal Family (yrs yrs ago), in England forbid anyone from wearing Purple which was only for the Royal or High Class Nobles of England. I oft enjoy God, the Master Artist, taking our His paintbrush and colouring the skies. All Heaven declares, the Gliry of the risen LORD.
Was intrigued by your wide
Do Ann…typo Sorry
Noel, what a beautiful insight to color. Yes, the Bible speaks of Lydia as a seller of purple cloth. Royalty. A daughter or son of the King. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and experience.
As my husband and I drive, my mouth drops open because of God’s autumn palette of vibrant colors. It’s a blessing to have eyesight. I am thankful to witness the colorful beauty of nature during each season. Not forgetting the different hues of the sky at dawn and during strong daylight. What a mighty God we serve!
Dawn, yes! What a mighty God we serve. This is my favorite time of the year – the colors of gold, rust, and orange steal my breath.
Pink is my favorite color, and the one I receive the most compliments on when I wear it. As a child, my favorite flowers growing wild were called “pinks” but were blue in color. Go figure!
Peggy, I’m laughing. In so many ways we are alike, except when it comes to pink. You just wear it well, and I’ll grab the greens and blues.
AFTER READING THE COLORS I UNDERSTAND WHY PURPLE AND BLUE ARE MY FAVORITE COLORS.
Jean, I’m so glad the post helped you understand your color preference. Tanks for taking the time to comment.
Color, color and more color.
Every color within every color equals beauty. Just look outside and see the different shade of green in the trees, or shades of blue in the sky by the season.
And look what Ansel Adams created with black and white and the shades in between.
Oh color make the fabric of Gods coat of many colors.
How can we not believe!
Thank you for your always amazing ways to see color from different perspectives. You’re awesome DiAnn!
Joyce, I treasure your words! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts.
I think YOU ARE AWESOME!
I think colors can soothe or annoy but I also think it depends on where we are emotionally at the time. My favorite color is hunter green though I like purple and teal as well. Like you, not a fan of pink.
Elizabeth, I agree that where we are emotionally affects our color preference. Like you, I’m not a pink fan. 🙂
Hi DiAnn! Colors do affect us, especially when we surround ourselves with them. My favorite is periwinkle blue (blue-violet), so I recently painted my office in a vivid shade of it–it’s calming and inspiring! What’s your favorite color??
Thank you, Nancy. What an inspiring color for your office! My favorite color is green. 🙂
Green looks very nice on you!
Aw, thanks.