THINK, SEE, REACT TO RED
by Susan Feller
Below are definitions, and historical tidbits to consider when designing, choosing materials and techniques for your SEEING RED mat. For visual examples see www.ARTWOOLS.com click on the recent entry: Seeing Red
Each COLOR or HUE evokes an emotion. RED – anger, excitement, love, action….. The artist uses color and its reactions to express an idea either realistic or abstract.
Aristotle assigned colors to the four elements: Fire (RED), Air (Blue), Water (Green), Earth (Yellow).
Isaac Newton in 1666 created the first color wheel. RED is the longest light wave. He also identified 7 colors (adding indigo between blue and violet) and assigned them to the 7 notes in music. C for RED, D orange, E yellow, F green, G Blue, A Indigo and B violet.
Textured fabrics increase contrast, incorporate built-in value changes and can be used to emphasize an element (line, shape or form), create depth (with equal valued solid or textural fabrics the textured one will be perceived farther away) or show motion.
Mixing materials the same value of color such as silk thread, wool yarn and wool fabric strips, the artist can create a different effect because of how light reacts to the fibers.
Thin lines of a color next to another will blend the two together. Larger blocks of color will read clearer.
GREEN is the complement of RED using the two colors in a piece can affect the intensity of the brighter RED.
In dyeing there are cool REDS (bluer) and warm REDS (more yellow). The eye perceives warm colors better than cool ones.
More to come… see website for updates.