Pitch Black

Color theory defines black as the presence of all color. Most of us
learn about the primary, secondary and even the tertiary colors.
Complementary colors are opposite on the color wheel. Analogous colors
are related by a common hue. They are the yellow family, the red family
and the blue family. Split complementary is a color system where a
color is paired with the colors adjacent to it opposite.

Here's even more color theory. Value distinguishes between the
lightness and darkness of a color. A color plus white is a tint. A
color plus gray is a tone. A color plus black is a shade. Each color's
spectrum intensity is that colors normal value, the amount of light it
reflects at its purist form. You understand that we can alter these
colors by changing tint, tone, and shade; however, each color at its
normal value has its own unique position on a gradation scale. On a
gray scale you can place yellow in a specific position with the light
grays, blue has a position with the darker grays. I have more.

In design class we learned the qualities in the perception of color.
They are hue, value and chroma. (Spell check does not recognize this
word; it is spelled correctly.) Hue is the attribute that permits
colors to be classified as violet, blue, green, yellow, orange, red or
their intermediates. Value is the lightness or darkness of a color or
surface; the amount of light a surface reflects. Chroma refers to the
purity, saturation and intensity of a color. We can change chroma by
mixing a color with a tint, tone, shade or the opposite of that color.
Mixing a color with its opposite creates chromatic grays. (Spell check
recognizes the word chromatic.)

I can go further and discuss color relationships/contrasts, the
dynamics of color and the uses of color. Everything that we perceive
comes from the visible spectrum. If we take the time and "learn to see"
what is actually there, we can see the awe in creation. An artist has
to learn to see before he can represent it. The phrase "learning to
see" was used by all of my art professors.

Black is also defined as the absence of all light. Visible light is
only a small portion of the electromagnetic field. If this field
measured only one inch, the visible spectrum would measure between the
four hundredth and seven hundredth part. (That was directly from my
notes.) If all the hues of light are combined we obtain white light. If
one hue is missing (blue), the others will combine to form its opposite
(orange). This defines additive color. Subtractive color has to do with
the pigment of an object (tomato). When light is exposed to an object
it reflects the color of that object (red) and absorbs the others. (Who
said that art and science are opposite fields of study? It was my
chemistry teacher! I wonder if he ever took an art class?) I'll save
the discussion on the physical properties of light.

All of this information sounds very complicated for something that we
can bid on and hang on a wall, even if we're just trying to match the
furniture. When all of these color considerations are executed with
precision, people of high standing will pay a high price for the
privilege of possessing artwork. I'll never forget visiting the home of
one of my husband's former bosses. He asked me how I could tell if the
painting he recently purchased was any good. I started to evaluate the
rendering and color usage in the stoic portrait. He stopped me and
chimed " It's the eyes! They follow you when you walk by!" I wonder how
he thought they got that way? Owning expensive artwork and employing
designers to use their knowledge in the home, garden and office are a
major status symbol. It feels great to have even if someone doesn't
understand the dynamics. The do-it-yourself businesses thrive on
peoples desire to surround themselves with this beauty. I smiled at his
boss and told him that he was right. He was.

The world is truly black and white. What you see between the color and
light is literally influenced by your point of view and your ability to
see the whole picture. The challenge for anyone is to appreciate the
varieties and textures of people and things that lay before you without
preconceptions. Knowledge, talent, ethics, heritage, nature, music,
beauty? These positive things and more are not limited to any single
group. Learn to see. We are all connected like the visible spectrum,
and the electromagnetic field.