Field Trips in Fiber - Adventures in quilting, hand dyed fabric and fiber art.

Color Theory 21 - Purple

In the last episode of Color and Meaning we explored the color Blue.  I had a poll at the end of that post asking about how you use blue in your fiber art or quilting. Here are the results:

 

Today marks the end of the color theory series. I hope you have enjoyed these posts this year. I thoroughly enjoyed the time writing about my favorite topic: color! I’ll wrap it up today talking about the last of the Munsell primary colors.

 Purple

“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.” 
― Alice Walker, The Color Purple

“Yeah, but they're PURPLE pants," Bobby said as if that made some kind of distinction. "Hence, I'm awesome.” 
― Amanda Hocking, Wisdom

“From a political angle, I’m trying to be apolitical if you will. I mean people say, ‘Are you a red state or a blue state?’, I say, ‘I’m purple.’ I think there are great ideas on both sides of the aisle and neither side has cornered the market.

Brad Thor

If you are a parent you will not be surprised to find out that purple is the favorite color of 75% of pre-adolescent children. Purple was the color of the first synthetic dye color made from coal tar. It is the color of royalty and conveys wealth and extravagance.

Lighter purple is romantic and nostalgic. Dark purples often evoke feelings of gloom.

 Purple is generally uplifting and calming. It can also be very spiritual and inspire creativity.

 Positive meanings

Wisdom

Dignity

Independence

Creativity

Mystery

Magic

Power

Nobility

 

Negative:

Gloom

Mystery (yes, both positive and negative)

Sadness

Frustration

 

In culture:

 The Purple Heart is an American military award of valor

Amethyst is sacred in Tibet

The Roman Emperor wore purple as a sign of his office, everyone else was forbidden from wearing the color

Christians associate purple with Advent and Lent

 

Purple phrases:

Purple prose

Purple heart

Purple haze

Purple people eater

Purple rain

 Although I am looking at some purple in a quilt on my design wall right now, I think I rarely use purple in quilts (except for scrap quilts). Of course I made a pink and purple quilt for my niece when she was about 8. Otherwise, I seem to avoid it. I don't hate it, it's just that I mostly make "blankets" and purple is not a common color in the decor of my friend's and family's homes. How about you, what do you think of purple and do you use it in your quilts?

 

 

 

 

Related articles

Color Theory 20 - Blue

Color Theory 19 - Green

Color Theory 18 - Yellow

Color Theory 20 - Blue

In the last episode of Color and Meaning we explored the color Green.  I had a poll at the end of that post asking about how you use red in your fiber art or quilting. Here are the results:

I see we have at least one green hater in blog land! Let’s see how we do with the most popular color:

 

Blue

“I need the shade of blue that rips your heart out. You don't see that type of blue around here.” 
― Cath Crowley, Graffiti Moon

 

The old cathedrals are good, but the great blue dome that hangs over everything is better. 
Thomas Carlyle 

 

Oh, 1994, April 27. There won't be a day like that ever again. I mean, the sky was blue, with a blueness that had never been there before. 
Desmond Tutu 

 

Blue is the most popular color and the color of the most popular article of clothing. Blue symbolizes trustworthiness and dependability, just like your favorite pair of jeans.

 Blue is a calming color and symbolizes stability, wisdom and faith. It’s the color of the sea and sky.

 There are lots of shades of blue from electric blues that are dramatic to cold blues to deep blues that are associated with expertise and stability.

 Blue is a popular color for advertising products such as computers, airlines, water purification products and cleaning products. It’s not popular for advertising food. Blue is the least represented color on our dinner plates and is considered an appetite suppressant.

 Blue ribbons symbolize the best and there has been a blue room in the White House since 1837.

 Blue has primarily positive meanings

Trust

Loyalty

Wisdom

Confidence

Intelligence

Heaven

Piety

Health

Tranquility

Power

Seriousness

 

Negative:

Sadness

Depression

 

In culture:

 In Mexico it’s the color of mourning

In China it’s associated with east and Spring

In Iran, blue-green symbolizes paradise

In India, the God Krishna has blue skin

In Catholicism, blue is associated with the Virgin Mary

 

Blue phrases:

Out of the blue

True blue

Blue ribbon

Blue blood

Blue laws

Once in a blue moon

Feeling blue

 

In quilting, my unscientific survey of fabric that I sell, blue is the most popular color for quilting. I guess that makes sense since we make half our quilts for men and most of them want everything in blue.

 How do you use blue? You can check all that apply.

 

How do you use blue in your quilts?
	Blue is my favorite color and I have a huge stash of blue fabric.
	Blue depresses me, I avoid using it.
	Blue isn't my favorite color but I do use a lot of it.
	Blue is the most requested color for quilts I make as gifts.
	I prefer deep, dark navy and indigo blues.
	I prefer bright electric blues.
	I prefer sky and true blues.
	I prefer pale, soft blues.
pollcode.com free polls

Color Theory 19 - Green

In the last episode of Color and Meaning we explored the color Yellow.  I had a poll at the end of that post asking about how you use yellow in your fiber art or quilting. Here are the results:

For this little series I am focusing on the primaries in the Munsell color system: red, yellow, green ,blue and purple. Next up is

Green

Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which it’s loveliness arises.

Pedro Calderon de la Barca 

If your knees aren't green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously re-examine your life.

Bill Watterson

 

If you refuse to be made straight when you are green, you will not be made straight when you are dry.

African proverb

Green no longer just a color. Green is also a verb. You can’t even look at a green object without imposing ecological meaning on the object. It is associated with nature in all cultures. Of course, in the US it’s also the color of money. In the light spectrum that is visible to the human eye, green occupies the most space and there are more shades of green than any other color. Greens range from chartreuse to kelly green to blue-greens. Aqua is a blend of blue and green.

Green is universally seen as a color of safety and the green light is the “all’s clear” signal in all cultures.

Green is the second most popular color, behind blue, but it was the favorite of our 1^st president, George Washington.

There are a wide variety of shades of greens and just about as many meanings. Some greens are soothing and relaxing while others convey sickness and negativity.

Positive meanings:

Safety

Nature

Tranquility

Healing

Peace

Luck

Fertility

Renewal

 

Negative meanings:

Sickness

Envy

Greed

 

The Irish consider green to be lucky

Jade, in China, represents virtue

In Scotland, green is worn as a mark of honor

In religion, green is the color of resurrection and regeneration

 

Green phrases:

Green light

Green thumb

Greener pastures

Green horn

Pea green with envy

Green around the gills

Go green

Greenbacks

In quilting, green is everywhere. There are bright greens, hunter greens, pea greens, aqua greens and everything in between. It seems that every masculine quilt has either blues or greens as the primary color and you can’t make a nature-inspired quilt without including green.

How do you use green? You can check all that apply.

 

How do you use green in your quilts?
	I have more green than any other color in my stash.
	I hate green and avoid it like the plague.
	It's not my favorite color but I do use a lot of it.
	I seem to include some green in all of my quilts.
	My favorite greens are bright, vibrant greens.
	My favorite greens are dark forest and pine greens.
	My favorite greens are the pea and olive greens.
	My favorite greens are soft, pastel greens.
	I love all of them!
pollcode.com free polls

Color Theory 17 - Red

In discussing color and meaning I can only present generalities. A color may have one generally understood meaning but that doesn’t mean that it has the same meaning for the recipient of your quilt.  Maybe you are going to design a quilt for a friend and using a color that generally means strength, or love or hope or whatever. You get it made and proudly present your gift only to discover that for your friend that color is associated with some horrible memory from childhood.  It’s more important to make quilts that you love in colors that you love. But that doesn’t need to stop us from having some fun with the colors for a few weeks!

Red

“I want to be different. If everyone is wearing black, I want to be wearing red.” Maria Sharapova 

"Red is the ultimate cure for sadness." Bill Blass

I have to start the investigation of colors with my favorite color to wear (aside from black): red. I have red glasses and I will always select a red sweater over a blue, green or purple one. Red makes me very happy.

Red, as with most colors, has positive and negative connotations.

Positive meanings:

heat

energy

passion

love

confidence

action

vitality

power

courage

willpower

 

Negative meanings:

anger

violence

wrath

hell

 

 

In Asian cultures it means good luck

In Indian cultures it means purity

In South Africa it is the color of mourning

 

Red phrases:

In the red – losing money

Paint the Town Red – celebrate

Seeing red – anger

Red eye – overnight flight

Red carpet treatment – being treated like a VIP

Red flag – warning sign

Red herring – deceit

Red light district – illicit sex

 

In almost all cultures red is used on stop signs and to signify prostitution.It is the predominate color used in national flags therefore, we often use it most heavily in patriotic quilts with the other colors of our national flag. With green, we use it for Christmas quilts. Vintage quilts in red and white were very popular and in recent decades black, white and red quilts have been popular. Currently, you do not often see quilts that are predominately red, unless it is a more muted shade of red like pink or burgundy. 

How do you use red? Let's have some fun with a little poll. Which phrase best describes how you use red?

 

How often do you use red in your quilts?
	Almost every quilt has some red in it
	Red is my favorite color for my quilts and I use it a lot
	I like red as an accent only
	I use red strictly in patriotic and Christmas quilts
	I use it only when the recipient wants it
	Red annoys me, I avoid it at all costs
	No bright red for me, but I like other shades of red
pollcode.com free polls

Color Theory 16 - Triadic Color Scheme

The last color scheme that we are going to discuss is the Triadic scheme. This scheme pulls 3 hues that are equidistance apart on the color wheel. The resulting palette will have a warm or cool dominance based on the colors selected.

Because the Munsell wheel has 10 steps (primaries and secondaries), I will need to find tertiary colors to complete the triad.

 

Let’s start with Blue-violet. To find the other 2 hues for the triad I need to pull a red-orange (between red and orange) and a green between green-yellow and green.

 

Here are the 3 colors of the triad. On the Pigment Color Wheel these would be red, yellow and blue. On the Process Color Wheel they would be cyan, magenta and yellow.

 

In this example I am starting with yellow. I need to find a hue between purple and red-purple and between blue and blue-green.

 

If this palette doesn’t remind you of the 1980’s then you are too simply too young to have any memory of that decade. I had lots of clothes in these colors.

I find the Triadic color scheme the most difficult to find and use and that must be true for most artists because my color theory books barely mention the triadic scheme.

When looking for fabric using a triadic color scheme I first think of bright children’s prints like this Dr. Seuss print.

 

But would color theorists call this a true triadic scheme? There’s that green added in that doesn’t seem to belong. At what point does a color scheme move from being triadic to simply being “multi-colored”?

 

This fabric is the best example if what I believe to be a true triadic color scheme. It’s very bright and vibrant using the primary colors from the pigment color wheel.  I think that these next two fabrics are also good examples of triadic color schemes.

 

Here are 2 more samples that I also think utilize a triadic color scheme. Do you agree?

 

How about this next one? The orange, green and purple are a triadic scheme for sure but is it still triadic when placed on a yellow ground or with the addition of brown (which is really an orange)?

 

Does it matter?

Not if you like what you are seeing!

I believe that color theory and color systems are simply tools, not rules. It’s good to know the basics because it can help you to make decisions about your own color palettes. If something doesn’t look “right” you can then look at value, intensity, color relationships and other traits to see what you can do to improve your palette and, ultimately, your project. But don’t let it stifle you into inaction. There’s never one right answer and in the end you only need to make yourself happy.

For now I am done with the science of color so next time we are going to move into looking at the meaning and symbolism of color. Now that’s a real gray area!