Symbolism of Color - Colors and Their Meanings - By: Annette Labedzki

The colors that are used by the artist are very subjective with many different emotions attached to them. The viewer may see entirely new hues and shades within the same color, and find other meanings and feelings than what the artist had intended to express. The artist may have used red to express love and passion however the viewer may mistake the red to mean anger or aggression. Colors are a beautiful mystery because they are elusive and subjective; yet scientific as well.

Symbolisms of colors vary from culture to culture. Color is one of the most powerful tools an artist has. Without color art would be dull and boring. People respond differently to colors. Many times these responses take place on an emotional and subconscious level. In our western culture the color black is associated with death and white is associated with life and purity. In other countries white is the traditional color for mourning.

Colors are used for a non-verbal communication. When you create a work of art it is important to keep in mind how the eye and the mind perceive certain colors and the meanings we associate with each color. Not only should you understand color meanings but also know the relationship of adjacent, complementary, and clashing colors.

One reason it is so difficult to legislate about color is that there is an enormous range within a single hue. For the regular man, red is the color of the stoplight at the intersection, and he lets the matter rest there. However, the trained eye of an artist can distinguish about seventy different shades of red. Add to this the variations in tone, meaning light to dark, and within the red color range alone you have perhaps six hundred color variations. The number of color variations can be overwhelming but one's painting medium affects the color as well. A transparent oil color is entirely different from an opaque oil color; both are different from a pastel color; pastel is unlike a watercolor and so on.

Consciously or unconsciously we are aware that some colors are warm, such as red, yellow, and orange, while certain others are cold; like blue and green. A single hue may vary in temperature; a purplish blue is warmer than a greenish blue, and a purplish red is cooler than an orangey red.
Let us not forget that men like certain colors and women prefer colors that the men wouldn't like. Men usually prefer, blue, green and black. Women love pink, purple, and lavender.

Color is very powerful in all of our societies. The beauty and power of color is that we can all attach our own thoughts, feelings and beliefs to any color we see. There really are no rules or strict laws when it comes to the symbolism and meaning of colors.

The colors that are used by the artist are very subjective with many different emotions attached to them. The viewer may see entirely new hues and shades within the same color, and find other meanings and feelings than what the artist had intended to express. The artist may have used red to express love and passion however the viewer may mistake the red to mean anger or aggression. Colors are a beautiful mystery because they are elusive and subjective; yet scientific as well.

Annette Labedzki received her BFA at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver, Canada. She has more than 25 years experience and is the founder-developer of an online art gallery featuring original art. It is a great site for art collectors to buy original art. Is is also a venue for artists to display and sell their art. Artists join for free and their image upload is unlimited. Please visit the website at www.labedzki-art.com