The color wheel as we know it began in 1706 when Sir Isaac Newton took the rainbow color scheme and turned it on itself to form a circle. He was the first to suggest that color was entirely made of light, and that light contained all colors.
Many other scientists and artists manipulated the color wheel to find ways to represent how the colors are connected. There are some amazing books created by scientists prior to photography so there would be worldwide continuity in color illustrations of plants and insects.
The study of color hasn't been restricted to artists, botanists, and entomologists. People have been curious about color for a very long time, and many people like myself have wanted to understand how color affects us. Some people have even devoted their lives to studying the psychology of color. Although some are skeptical of the research, evidence exists that colors directly affect the behavior and mindset of humans. Reds, oranges, and yellows are considered warm colors. Blues, greens, and lavenders are considered cool colors. Color theory suggests that warm colors create sensations of urgency, anger, heat or warmth, and energy. Color theory suggests that cool colors create sensations of calm, peace, healing, coolness, and even sadness.
I believe in color theory because I've experienced first hand how color affects my psychological state. Red makes me feel like the walls are closing in. I get hot, anxious, and irritated. Brown makes me feel snuggly and warm. I always yawn and want to take a nap at my mother-in-law's house because she decorates with chocolate brown. Yellow makes me feel alert and aware. Orange feels dirty to me. It's not quite red, but not quite yellow, so it seems confused and disoriented. The warm colors are not good colors for my environment because, for the most part, they give me anxiety and a sense of urgency that something needs to change or I need to go somewhere.
Notice how these warm colors appear to be moving? I can't relax with red!
Doesn't this one appear to blink? How could anyone sit still in a red or yellow room?
The red is IN YOUR FACE!!! It's like it's trying to take over your mind!
Back off red! I'm trying to relax!
Does it look like the red is bent toward you? Red, why can't you lie down like blue?
Yellow is all up in my business too!
Warm colors, you stay over there and I'll stay over here. It's best that way.
For many years I lived a chaotic life, and that was not a feeling I enjoyed. Now that I know it's an option, I prefer stability. I prefer peace. For me, I must have calm, soothing colors in my home and office so that I can relax and feel safe. I enjoy any shade of blue or green, but the marriage of the two is my soul mate: turquoise. Turquoise erases my anxiety. It calms my nerves. It feels like a cool breeze caressing my skin. When I'm inundated with any negative emotion, I seek out turquoise to turn my weariness into peacefulness. I literally sigh and exhale away the stress when my eyes find that tranquil color.
Turquoise is a way of life for me. It affects me only in positive ways, and my goal is to live a positive life and to choose happiness. Peace. Love. Happiness. Those are the effects of turquoise.
I leave you with this thought: what will you do to find a little turquoise in every day? You and I are not the same, so it is to be expected that we may not possess the same love for turquoise. Perhaps your turquoise isn't actually a color. Maybe you find peace, love, and happiness through something else entirely. Whatever it is, color or not, I challenge you to seek out peace, love, and happiness, even in the most difficult of situations. Life will not always be easy. It will not always go your way. However, you can always find a little turquoise in every day.
This was insightful (Finally I know why you love turquoise!), fun to read (How do you find all those great pics??), and reflective (What are your good and bad triggers?). I loved it. Like you, I seek peace and calm in my life. Maybe as teachers, it is especially hard to find sometimes. Your color lesson, though, makes me think about what makes me relax and "chill." I especially like that you can find the color turquoise and be calm anywhere...I need something like that. My bubble baths don't work everywhere! :) Thank you for joining us, Mrs. Booher. I hope you'll join us for our celebration in April. Details later!
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