Most people can distinguish between colors, but very few have the vocabulary to describe the colors that they see. There is Red-Orange and Orange-Red…what is the difference? When you see a color in isolation, can you characterize it enough to describe it to another person?
I am studying color this summer in a new way. I’ve taken many color classes and last year my weaving study group spent the whole year on color. So this is what I’ve learned. Color is the overarching idea. When talking about Blue or Green or even Blue-Green, you need to use the word Hue. In fact in the Munsell system of color, he doesn’t called it the “Color Wheel”, no, he calls it the “Hue Wheel”. Within the Hue family, there are tints (white added) and shades (gray/black added) in varying degrees.
Try this experiment: Take a flower from your garden or a beautiful cherries at the farmer’s market and describe its hue. And try to use language that does not include the name of the object, so you can’t use the phrase rose red or cherry red. Add a comment below and share your experience.
