Saturday, February 21, 2009

Cyan Blue Too

There is a difference between mixing pigment and mixing light. I have this discussion with my hubby sometimes, as he was in theater and knows about mixing light.

When I talk about how I'm mixing pigment to get colors, tints and shades, he and I talk about the difference between mixing light and mixing opaque or translucent pigments. Cyan is a blue color, halfway between blue and green on the color wheel. Along with yellow and another mixed color, magenta, it's one of the three main colors of ink in injet printers. In the printing industry there are color tone numbers that identify colors specifically, Pantone colors.


Cyan is a secondary color of light. The primary colors of light are blue, red and green, and cyan is made by mixing green light and blue light. Cyan resembles the color of water in a swimming pools, and is a restful and relaxing color. It's close to turquoise and aquamarine. Blue shades are thought of as restful and relaxing, like the color of water in tropical lagoons, that shimmery light blue-green color.


Many things in nature are that blue-green color, like bird's eggs, a twilight shade in the sky, certain butterflies. That may be the reason why that light blue-green is one of the seven most popular colors for painting and decorating rooms in homes and restaurants.


Sometimes I wonder if we are so attracted to certain colors because they spark our creative imagination, provoking ideas about things that are that color. If I make a bead or pendant with lots of light blue glass beads, does that create an image of the sky, flowers, bird's eggs and butterfly wings in nature?

5 comments:

SummersStudio said...

I like black. Ummm I wonder what that says. In my work, I seem to be seasonal with colour. I just unloaded a kiln full of happy spring colours. A friend of mine teaches a class on image and memory. The theory suggests that image and colour go together to evoke universal reactions, feelings. So yes I think you probably are spot on with particular colours evoke certain images. Sure does for me. Especially particular colours of blue.

My, my but LeAnn is a wordy girl today. Have a great day, Lynn

LLYYNN - Lynn Davis said...

LeAnn, I've been thinking too about how the things that seem to be attracting me right now are ones that are becoming rare. Like the butterflies, they are becoming scarce. And songbirds, the imagery of bird's eggs and nests. Clear water, the color of bluebonnet flowers. Natural things. Longing for them, at the same time they are becoming harder to find.

Pretty Things said...

Good food for thought!

SummersStudio said...

Oh Lynn, you are a true Texan to bring up the bluebonnets. I'm a transplant Texan but the bluebonnet season is just about on us and it has become my new sign of renewal. That is a colour of blue that is just splendid. And with the light here the colour is just the best!

LLYYNN - Lynn Davis said...

Yes, you can take the girl out of Texas, but you can't take the Texas out of the girl - I miss seeing the huge fields of bluebonnet wildflowers in the spring, so that the sky and the hills are almost the same shade of blue!