Color+Vocabulary

Having __money__ - In the Black The market not controlled by the government - The Black Market Something that is not true but causes no harm - A White Lie Specia__l__ Honours for a special or important person The Red Carpet Jealous of someone else´s good fortune - Green with Envy Very clear and easy to understand - In White and Black Owing __money__, __in debt__ - Be in the red To feel sad To feel blue By surprise, unexpectedly --- Out of the blue Complicated official procedures and forms - Red Tape The OK to __start__ something - The Green Light

Definitions

Color: effect produced on the eye and its associated nerves by light waves of different wavelength or frequency. Light transmitted from an object to the eye stimulates the different color cones of the retina, thus making possible perception of various colors in the object. Red, yellow and blue are the primary colors.

Color Wheel: It has a circle shape, and it shows the primary, secondary and terciary colors. It also shows the relationship between the complementary colors across from each other on the color wheel such as blue and orange; and analogous (similar or related) colors next to each other on the color wheel such as yellow, green and blue. Black and white may be thought of as colors but, in fact, they are not. White light is the presence of all color - black is the absence of reflected light and therefore the absence of color. On a color wheel, each secondary color is between the primary colors that are used to make it. Orange is between red and yellow because orange is made by mixing red with yellow. What goes between secondary colors and primary colors? Intermediate, or tertiary, colors are made by mixing a primary color with a secondary color that is next to it. Red-orange, yellow-orange and yellow-green are some intermediate colors.

The artist's color wheel. This color wheel uses red, yellow, and blue as primary colors. This is used for mixing paints. The subtractive color wheel. This color wheel uses the printing inks cyan, magenta, and yellow as primary colors. Note: Because cyan, magenta, and yellow inks do not combine to make black, the printing process adds black as a fourth ink. Additive Color. This color wheel displays the additive colors used for projected light. When mixed together the additive primaries form white. The primaries are red, green and blue. These colors are extremely bright because light that is projected can be far more intense than printed color.

Value, Tints and Shades: Value refers to the lightness or darkness of a color. Colors mixed with white are called tints. Pink is a tint of red. Colors mixed with black are called shades. Burgundy is a shade of red. Paintings that use only one color and the tints and shades of that color are called monochromatic (one=mono; color=chromatic).

Analogous Colors: Analogous colors sit next to each other on the color wheel. They tend to look pleasant together because they are closely related.Orange, yellow-orange, and yellow are an example of analogous colors. They are blended nicely in Sunflowers, a painting by Vincent Van Gogh. How do you know that these colors are closely related? They share a color—each of them contains some yellow.

Mood: Colors are often associated with moods. For example, we say "green with envy," "a blue mood." Certain colors also look cool, such as blue, green and violet; and others look warm, like red, orange and yellow. Warm and intense colors appear to advance toward the viewer, while cool or dull colors recede. Sometimes the same color will appear to be two slightly different colors when placed against different backgrounds

Natural Color: Artists use colors to create a variety of desired effects. When an artist paints a scene or objects realistically, colors are used in imitation of the things being painted.

Color Effects: When small dots of pure color are applied close together, the viewer's eyes mix the colors. Notice that each dot of pure color the artist has used looks bright, but when your eye mixes them they are subdued, almost neutral.

When small dots of pure hue are applied close together, the viewer's eyes mix these hues. Some artists use color in an arbitrary way. Instead of imitating the natural colors of objects, they used colors for symbolic or expressive purposes.

Black and White: Are black and white colors?

Color Theory 1 - Color as Light

The question: Are black and white colors when generated as light?

1. Black is the absence of color (and is therefore not a color) ; because when there is no light, everything is black. Test this out by going into a photographic dark room. There are no photons of light. In other words, there are no photons of colors. 2. White is the blending of all colors and is a color. because light appears colorless or white. Sunlight is white light that is composed of all the colors of the spectrum. A rainbow is proof. You can't see the colors of sunlight except when atmospheric conditions bend the light rays and create a rainbow. You can also use a prism to demonstrate this. Fact: The sum of all the colors of light add up to white. This is additive color theory.

Color Theory 2 - Color as Pigment or Molecular Coloring Agents

The question: Are black and white colors when they exist as pigments or as molecular coloring agents?

1. Black is a color. (Chemists will confirm this!). Here's a simple way to show how black is made: Combine all three primary colors (red yellow and blue) using a liquid paint or you even food coloring. You won't get a jet black, but the point will be clear. The history of black pigments includes charcoal, iron metals, and other chemicals as the source of black paints. Therefore, if someone argues that black is the absence of color, you can reply, “What is in a tube of black paint?” However, you must add the fact that black is a color when you are referring to the color of pigments and the coloring agents of tangible objects.

2. White is not a color... but ... in some cases you could say that white is a color.

The grey area: Technically, pure white is the absence of color. In other words, you can't mix colors to create white. Therefore, white is the absence of color in the strictest sense of the definition. However, when you examine the pigment chemistry of white, ground-up substances (such as chalk and bone) or chemicals (such as titanium and zinc) are used to create the many nuances of white in paint, chalk, crayons - and even products such as Noxema. It's worth noting that white paper is made by bleaching tree bark (paper pulp). Therefore, you could say that white is a color in the context of pigment chemistry.

Vision and Reflection

The final answer to whether black and white are colors takes other factors into consideration.

We have to consider the fact that there are three parts to the process of the perception of color. 1. The medium - The color as it exists as a pigment/colorant (such as the color of a tangible object) or as light (such as the color of an image on a television screen). 2. The sender - How the color is transmitted. 3. The receiver - How humans see color. In other words, how we receive information about color. (If a tree falls in the forest and there is nobody around does it make a sound? Does a color exist if there is no one to see it?)

Are black and white colors?

1. Black is not a color; a black object absorbs all the colors of the visible spectrum and reflects none of them to the eyes. The grey area about black: 2. White is a color. White reflects all the colors of the visible light spectrum to the eyes.
 * A black object may look black, but, technically, it may still be reflecting some light. For example, a black pigment results from a combination of several pigments that collectively absorb most colors. If appropriate proportions of three primary pigments are mixed, the result reflects so little light as to be called "black." In reality, what appears to be black may be reflecting some light.
 * In physics, a black body is a perfect absorber of light.

Color and Feng Shui: on color wheel there are two types of color in feng shui. Yellow, orange, red are yan colors and blue, purple and green are yin. The yan is the most powerful force. Red is the hottest color, cool colors have yin energy and black is the most yin color.

Also there are meanings for every element. Wood element colors represent hope and revive, fire element reoresent love and reputation, metal element color represent the meaning of creativity and clarity, water element is represented by the meanings of purity and finally there are the earth element colors.