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Statement of Intent

With this project I’m currently visiting home so It’s much different scenery then Texas. These sets of photos to me represent a homey green feeling as seen in the pictures. It has a lot of green in the tree and peoples yards but also a variety of other colors such as oranges and greys coming off the cars. The intent with these photos is to give off a homey nature and modern day neighborhood feel.

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Color Walk

Color Walk 

Coming from New York City there wasn’t really much nature around unless you went to Manhattan but still it just wasn’t the same. Something about the recreation of nature just doesn't give you the same feeling. It's always just missing something to it but I could never tell. The first time I really ever got to see the true beauty of nature was the time I visited Seattle with one of my good friends. We went hiking on some mountain, it was my first time so I thought it would be lame but I was wrong because it was nothing less than breathtaking. One thing that stood out to me was the marvelous colors I saw on my journey that I now try and pay attention to every chance I get. Today I went on a walk before heading to the gym and I took some pictures and notes about my experience with the various colors of nature. 

My favorite color has always been green, never once has my opinion changed  I've always had my eyes set on the color green. When I first walked out of the Dark hallway of my apartment complex the bright sun was almost overwhelming. I feel blind for a couple of seconds. The first thing my eyes gravitate towards are these thick green bushes, the green color they give off when the sun shines on them I find truly amazing. I stared at them for about 2 minutes just looking at each individual leaf, somewhere lighter than others while most were a darker but not too dark green color. This was my favorite part of the walk because the first thing to catch my eye was so beautiful and my favorite color. 

As I continued my walk and got closer towards the gym I came to notice the green leaves on the trees seemed to change. The greens started to shift into reds on the leaves which I found quite interesting how the transition was so natural it seemed like someone intentionally did it. It was a subtle transition but noticeable if you really pay attention to your surroundings. The red leaves eventually lead to red flowers on some trees but this red was a different red then those on the leaves of the tree. The leaves have a darker red pigment to them while the flowers are a bright vibrant red with just a hint of yellow in the middle. The flowers looked sift and fresh as if they just bloomed as they glistened in the sunlight. It was almost like the flowers were dancing in the trees. 

On my way back from the gym I stumbled across this lone bush with yellow flowers all over it. This was the last thing I noticed on my walk, but was also one of the most interesting things. The little yellow flowers seemed to bounce right off the green leaves of the bush when the sun shone on it almost as if the yellow flowers were floating. It reminded me of this game me and my sister would play on the GameCube called Pikmin, it was about these little plant creatures somewhere yellow just like these flowers. 

In conclusion  Today I went on a walk before heading to the gym and I took some pictures and notes about my experience with the various colors of nature. I was not disappointed with my walk, I was actually surprised. I didn’t expect to see so many vibrant colors in my neighborhood but I never really was looking for them any other time I was out. When you really focus on your surroundings, especially in nature, you might even be surprised at what you might see. 

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The first collage I made I was going for the Warm/ cold theme with the middle dividing the two being a neutral grey. This represents emotion and the line between calm and anger and how delicate emotion can be. The second theme I was going for was Monochromatic colors and this represents happiness because I used the color theme of strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla ice cream from memory which was one of my favorite things growing up.

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Pigment Essay

Red 

Color is such an abstract concept once thought upon, the idea that light can make things appear different to the eye is so fascinating. There’s more to color than just how it looks to us. For example, color can make people feel some kind of way or be associated with certain things. Color is very important to many people and extremely important in the art world. Beyond that Color has cultural significance, Symbolic qualities, and even history behind it. Almost everyone I know has a favorite color, some prefer blue while other people may prefer orange. In this essay I’ll be going over a fan favorite that you can see almost anywhere you look the color Red. 

Through many religions and cultures you can find color almost anywhere you look, believe it or not. Churches, Books, Flags and even stories all involve color in all religions that are practiced. Red is no different but has many different meanings depending on what part of the world of culture you are looking into. In Western cultures, red also symbolizes excitement and passion, love and danger. Red is both powerful and sexy. Red isn’t seen the same  everywhere. For example In China, red represents happiness, good fortune, luck, and prosperity. Since it’s such an auspicious color, people traditionally wear it for big celebrations such as the New Year. Red can even have the opposite meaning in some countries. In East Asian stock markets, red signifies a rise in stock prices, whereas it signifies a fall in North American markets. 

Not only does color have a physical effect on people but many colors are associated with spiritual connections and significance. Colors can make people feel a certain way and affect people's moods. Red has a range of symbolic meanings, including life, health, vigor, war, courage, anger, love and religious fervor. The common thread is that all these require passion, and the "life force" that drives passion blood is red. Even beyond just the symbolic meanings the color red was carried into the physical world as well. Colors were so powerful in traditional cultures that red objects were believed to convey health through their color alone. For example, most red stones such as garnets and rubies were believed to have health-giving and disease-preventing properties. 

Speaking of all this cultural and spiritual association it makes you wonder how old the color red really is and it’s a lot older then you might think it is. Scientists have found evidence that over 40,000 years ago, Stone Age hunters and gatherers ground up red clay to make body paint. Another use was protection in the afterlife: in the Paleolithic period people buried their dead with red powder in order to ward off evil spirits. Even cavemen used the color red thousands of years ago so the color red isn’t really anything new to us Humans and even in the art world red is considered old news. Red also made waves on the prehistoric art scene. Caves across the world, from Africa to Asia to Europe, bear traces made during the Paleolithic era. Drawings of animals, vessels, and people were made from painting red ochre on the cave walls, like this painting of a thylacoleo (an extinct species of lion) from the Djulirri rock art site in Northern Australia. 

In conclusion Color is very important to many people and extremely important in the art world. Beyond that Color has cultural significance, Symbolic qualities, and even history behind it. Taking a closer look at the pigment red you can see how colors fit into all these categories that not only have an affect on the art world but us as people. Even beyond our humanity color affect our world from a simple flower that blooms in your garden to a flag held on the land of an invaded country color believe it or not makes the world go round.

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