Building intuition with color
ramblings on color and perception
I have a distinct memory from when I was a kid, probably like 5 or 6 years old, riding in the car in the ‘way back’ of my mom’s station wagon. I remember thinking to myself about perception of color and sitting with this question for quite awhile: “How do I know that the blue I see is the same as the person next to me?” I asked my mom and she told me she didn’t know. I remember holding that question for years to come and finding so much mystery in it- and there is something reassuring in the idea that I was struggling with this idea of perception and reality even back when I was a tiny human- especially as it relates to color.
Years and years later when I returned to college at San Francisco Art Institute (RIP) to study painting, I took a class on color from Pegan Brooke who is now a friend and a mentor. I just assumed it would be a classic intro to color class and I was expecting to learn some but maybe be reminded of a lot. What I didn’t expect was that the class would of course be about the practical uses of color and so much more about how color made us feel and the softer, less tangible parts that make color so impactful. We focused on a different color each week, Pegan put together art history presentations on that color, we sat in a room bathed in that color, we did free writes and had solo time with these colors as well as color mixing and swatching of course.
I had never had an experience like this- it was a full 16 weeks focused on color in a way that was so intuitive and informative- but the information wasn’t that this is the right color for this and this is the proper way to use purple etc- it was learning how this purple made YOU feel and honing in on our own personal perceptions of these colors while discussing larger implications of how these colors have been used in art history, pop culture etc.
Teaching and thinking about personal intuition about how color makes us feel is much more difficult than giving a lecture on the correct uses of color or approaching color as this solid factual thing. Teaching intuition fosters innovation and creativity and I left that class with a more solid understanding of my perceptions of color as valuable and connective with those around me. People don’t want to experience correctness when they look at art- they want to experience a feeling, a question, a mystery that sometimes feels familiar but often expands our understanding of what we know.
As artists this can feel hard to navigate- as humans we often want to know what the rules are when in the face of infinite possibility. During a time where we are exposed to trends minute by minute on the internet- in social media, on tv and constantly being exposed to advertisements and visual stimuli that influences us, staying anchored in my art and my colors has been challenging for me! It requires a lot of energy to stay honed in on what I like, what mood I want to create and playfulness with the colors I am using. So I think it has to be a bit of everything- noticing how color makes me feel on a walk, at dusk, in the rain, quietly in my kitchen as I wait for the coffee to finish percolating, in my garage as I go to change the laundry out, in my car after a long day on the road.
Color requires looking, noticing and being present. It also requires reading up on the effects that color can have- read some Itten or Albers and learn why when you put a hot red next to a sky blue it begins to vibrate, think about lightwaves and neutrals and the importance of color mixing. Being informed just helps us to see better- but overthinking gets in the way of our intuition, so this requires paying attention to how you consume information and when to let that information go.
Some helpful books on color:
The Interaction of Color, Josef Albers
The Elements of Color, Johannes Itten
A Field Guide to Color, Lisa Solomon
A Dictionary of Color Combinations
Color: A Natural History of the Palette, Victoria Finlay
In the same way, we can’t help but be influenced and surrounded by so much art, trends, adverts and imagery all the time- I love to save images on instagram and pinterest of art that I find exciting or strange. Color combos that I enjoy, shapes that seem exciting, textures that are inspiring- but I also know I can lean too heavily on looking at others if I am not careful or if I am feeling a bit lost and it can prevent me from being present in looking at myself and my ideas. One of the things I make my students do and I do myself is to do a similar image saving but removing contemporary artists- only look at artists starting from 20 years ago. Sometimes I will only look at vintage photographs, or another favorite is how color operates in movies, I try to create fun parameters that pull me away from just saving images of my peers. In the same spirit, I recently have been trying to set my phone aside during the day, I use a few methods:
the pomadoro method- I do 45 minutes on and 15 off
I recently saw someone stacking things ontop of their phone- adding a new thing each time they have the urge to reach for it
turning my phone off
charging my phone in another room
listening to audiobooks on my laptop using libby (the audiobooks sync with the app in my phone so when I go for a walk I don’t have to search for the place I was at)
I want to circle back to what I think is the most informative- being an active observer in our own lives. Observe how color is working around you and how it makes you feel is honestly the most informative and powerful tool. It requires paying attention not just with our eyes but with our mind and our bodies too- seeing is a physical thing, it invokes feelings and physical reactions. When we are really present in observing we begin to gather this information and carry it with us back to the studio. I used to try to take pictures of shapes or colors or landscapes, but I have found the photo operates as a crutch for me and never lives up to the experience of actually seeing. So now I will bring a small sketchbook and do a sketch or describe the colors and then when I get home I try to mark them down or remember. This is a hard and slow exercise but one that I think works best for me. You will find what works best for you- but don’t discount the importance of being present with what you see and how it makes you feel first. Honing in on that information is so powerful and will seep into everything you make, your intuition will be strong and over time you will have a gut instinct for color and how it operates.
There is information about color, and there is our perceptions of color and sometimes those venn diagrams overlap- but they don’t always have to or it doesn’t have to be such a straight line from data and information to making. The path of color is winding and soft and personal.
Let me know if you found this helpful, I would love to know what other questions you have about color- perhaps you would like more of a breakdown of how I use color for myself- I kind of wanted to talk about my philosophy on color first before throwing around cheesy tips and tricks. Either way, keep making and maybe you spend some time today observing color. It takes me a decent amount of time to put these writeups together, if you have the means, I would love it if you subscribed. If you don’t, I totally understand, maybe just recommend this to someone you think would like it! See you soon!
Not gonna lie, I read the whole email excitedly thinking it was a new class. Then eventually towards the end I was like wow, this is really in-depth for a class description 🤣🤣🤣. Only then did I realize it was a Substack post lol. Always enjoy hearing your thoughts and questions you are asking Lindsay!!