Colors Red and Purple: A History of Emotion

Have you recently had a conversation about how color invokes emotion? It’s no surprise if you have. Colors are a big deal to us!

Magazines are just one place we see how colors invoke emotion. With each turn of the page, strategic color schemes draw our eyes to title lines; fashion trends send bold signals that trigger thoughts of new clothes; photographs of paradise remind us to long for tranquility, even between the hours of 9 and 5.

How did color and emotion come to go hand in hand? Let’s take a closer look at the history of colors red and purple, to see if we can discover when color symbolism began.

Red

Do any emotional descriptions come to mind when you think of the color red? Love, anger and violent are all words descriptive of emotions and they are all words associated with the color red.

Historically, red was used by the Greeks as a symbol of heroism. Christians have used red as a symbolic color within the crucifixion. Over time, these symbolic uses of the color have formed current perception of red and how it has very specific emotional representations.

Interestingly, the color red focuses behind the retina. This makes the lenses of the eye convex, which makes us see red areas as if they are moving forward. These scientific aspects might also be a contributing factor to our concepts of red.

Purple

Purple is a color that is rarely found in nature. Historically, many people probably never saw a purple flower or a purple colored fish. Even those who could create purple dye found the process extensive and thus, purple colored garments were reserved for only the privileged. These historical factors have contributed to the color purple being associated with a supernatural feel.

Biologically, purples are the hardest colors for the eye to distinguish. It is now known that this color is the most visible wavelength of electromagnetic energy, which is another reason why shades of purple tend to be associated with the divine, the unearthly, and the cosmic and invoke otherworldly emotions.

Next time you find yourself examining a photo or a painting, take a moment to consider how color has been used. Do certain colors draw your eye? Can you detect some of the color symbolism discussed here? Do the color collections invoke emotion?

Image made available by Marian Kraus at www.mariankrausphotography.com. 

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Nicolas Poussin – French Classical Painter

Nicolas Poussin (1594 – 1665) was a French classical painter. His style consists of clarity, logic, and order, and favors line over color. He is considered the greatest French artist of the 17th century and one of the founders of European classicism which has its roots in antique and Renaissance heritage.

Many of his works show an authoritative interpretations of ancient history and Greek and Roman mythological figures as well as biblical scenes. Our collection patterns includes two self portraits, the set of his Four Seasons, paintings, and wide cross section of other pieces. These include Adoration of the Golden Calf, Nymph Syrinx Pursued by Pan, Ideal Landscape, Israelites Gathering Manna, The Judgement of Solomon, and A Dance to the Music of Time.

This set contains 30 paintable patterns.

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From Sand Castles to Sand Sculptures

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Many of us have fond memories of building sand castles at the beach when we were children; overturning buckets of sand to create towers, digging out moats, and sticking seashells into the damp castle walls. Even though we weren’t consciously aware of it at the time, building sandcastles was a fun, hands-on way to express our creativity and let our imaginations run wild.

Building sand castles is not just for kids anymore! In the 1970s, the art of “sand sculpting” was born on the beaches of California, pioneered by visionaries who took the concept of sand castles several steps further by creating elaborate, detailed, breathtaking monuments out of sand. Animals, architecture and pop culture icons are common subjects for sand sculpture art, although the sky’s the limit. Sand sculptors have depicted everything from African wildlife to Greek gods and goddesses to scaled versions of the Taj Mahal.

Creating complex sand sculptures requires both technical skill and knowledge. In order to stay in place properly, the sand must be a certain consistency and contain a certain degree of moisture. Once the foundation is ready, it takes talent, time and energy to sculpt 3-D images into the sand without the sand falling to pieces. It’s no wonder that the best sand sculptors are actually professionals who get paid to create these magnificent works of art using all-natural materials.

Sand sculptures are a popular attraction on some of the world’s best beaches, from Canada to Florida to Australia. Next time you’re at the beach, why not see what you can create out of sand!

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