Curious about Color: Have You Ever Considered How Important Color Is In Our Lives?

Definition of Color: A property depending on the relations of light to the eye, by which individual and specific differences in the hues and tints of objects are apprehended in vision; as, gay colors; sad colors, etc.; The hue or color characteristic of good health and spirits. That which is used to give color; a paint; a pigment; as, oil colors or water colors. That which covers or hides the real character of anything; semblance; excuse; disguise; appearance. To change or alter the hue or tint of, by dyeing, staining, painting, etc.; to dye; to tinge; to paint; to stain.

“In nature, light creates the color. In the picture, color creates the light.” - Hans Hofmann, German artist

“Your attitude is like a box of crayons that color your world. Constantly color your picture gray, and your picture will always be bleak. Try adding some bright colors to the picture by including humor, and your picture begins to lighten up.” - Allen Klein, American businessman

I have had such a mesmerizing and exciting time with this week’s theme. It all started when I received an e-mail from one of my storytelling friends. He had taken a career test that focuses on color and – as he pointed out – is amazingly accurate. You will find it HERE. Of course, once I took it, I couldn’t get my mind off color.

And, once I started looking up the color quotations, I could barely make myself stop. Yes, there were many that dealt with skin color, such as Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous, “I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Then, there were many quotations by artists, writers, and all sorts of creatives. It was like reading a beautiful book of poetry.

Let me start sharing some:

• “How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days.” –
  George Burns, American comedian
• “We are like chameleons, we take our hue and the color of our moral character, from those who are around us.” - John Locke, English philosopher
• “I wanted to know the name of every stone and flower and insect and bird and beast. I wanted to know where it got its color, where it got its life - but there was no one to tell me.” - George Washington Carver, American scientist
• “Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.” - Rabindranath Tagore, Indian poet
• “The soul is dyed with the color of its leisure thoughts.” - Dean Inge, English author
• “Color is for me the purest form of expression, the purest abstract reality.” - Jim Hodges, American politician
• “Truth knows no color; it appeals to intelligence.” - James Hal Cone, American theologian
• “It is generally admitted that the most beautiful qualities of a color are in its transparent state, applied over a white ground with the light shining through the color.” - Maxfield Parrish, American artist

And, just three more:

• “First of all, I always see the sun! The way I want to identify myself and others is with halos here and there halos, movements of color. And that, I believe, is rhythm.” - Robert Delaunay, French artist
• “In March of 1933 we witnessed a revolution in manner, in mores, in the definition of government. What before had been black or white sprang alive with color.” - Emanuel Celler, American politician
• “What interested me was not news, but appraisal. What I sought was to grasp the flavor of a man, his texture, his impact, what he stood for, what he believed in, what made him what he was and what color he gave to the fabric of his time.” - John Gunther, American journalist

How important a part of your life revolves around color? Take the test – it’s short – and let me know what you think.