NEW WORK-- SPRING 2006
Color Theory as a Metaphor for Life

Although images with bright colors have traditionally captured the buying public's interest, the ethereal quality of a screened back grayscale image continues to delight and inspire me. Look at the group of five images to the left. Each one of the grayed out images is wonderful in its own right. Looking at them, you are struck by the forms. They are calm, orderly, elegant. You may have never noticed the shapes in just this way. The reality of the image recedes in place of other thoughts.

But then, what else is here? A full color image. This does not fit with the others.

Your attention takes a new tack because this image is different. Your mind was focused on gray, and here is a image in full color. You become absorbed with it. The patterns are interesting, the colors are beautiful and they compliment each other. Just a moment ago, you were thinking how beautiful are the gray images, but once noticed, the color image commands all the attention.

And so, two ideas emerge: One, take the color out of an image and you to see different things like the lovely lines of the grayed images. And two, a quiet image like patterned bark of a Jeffrey Pine with its muted grays and oranges, ordinarily hardly noticeable, becomes dynamic here among the gray images.

Both of these points lead to a similar idea. That idea is, that less can be more. Another way to say it might be: Take the color out, see new things, and as in the case of the Jeffrey Pine, when surrounded by low value images, one notices a lot more. Or, colors are perceived differently depending on which color is adjacent. And, that it is possible to highlight simple beauty that might otherwise be overshadowed by limiting the palate.

In this demonstration of color theory, the most striking realization that I hope to convey is that this concept can be applied to life itself. That experiences of life can be enhanced by limiting the palate, so to speak.

Click on a thumbnail to demonstrate the concept. The New Work link will bring you back to this page.