ArtPage on Brown

orown - Like: The color of Mother Earth is the hue that is associated with substance and stability. A preference for brown means you have a steady, reliable character with a keen sense of duty and responsibility. You are the down-to-earth person with a subtle sense of humor. Browns love simplicity, comfort, quality, harmony, hearth and home.

You are a loyal friend, understanding but firm. Brown people have strong views and may be intolerant of others who think, talk, or act too quickly. You strive to be good money managers (we won't say "cheap") and drive a good bargain.

You are the person who might find it difficult to be carefree and spontaneous but will often rebel internally against accepting things the way they are. You feel very uncomfortable about losing control, but will work hard to change a situation that seems unjust or unfair.

You'd make a good marriage partner and a good parent because you
have a strong need for security and a sense of belonging. Family
life is very important to you.

Dislike: You probably fantasize about a lot of things, perhaps traveling with a circus or racing cars. Novelty excites you and routine drives you crazy. You are witty, impetuous and generous. Living on a farm is not for you. Homespun people bore you. You do like people, but they must be bright and outgoing. A meaningful relationship with you could be risky business--it's hard to get you to sit still!

Beige

Like: Beige people have many of the same characteristics as brown, though they are probably less intense. Creamy beiges and honeyed tones take on a lot of yellow qualities, while rosy beiges take on pink characteristics. You are warm, appreciate quality, and are carefully neutral in most situations. You are usually well-adjusted and practical.

Dislike: You are less frenetic and impetuous than a disliker of brown, but have many of the same characteristics. Beige represents to you a beige existence--boring and tiresome. You hate routine.

Taupe

Like: This color also speaks of neutrality, but combines the character and dependability of grey with the warmth of beige. You like classic looks and are careful about allowing too much excitement into your life. You're practical, fair, well-balanced, and would make a good arbitrator.

Dislike: If taupe doesn't appeal to you, it may be because it is so balanced and classic. You'd rather make a more definite statement, whether with color or otherwise. You're probably not known for your subtlety.

Produced when light strikes an object and then reflects back to the eyes.

An element of art with three properties: (1) hue or tint, the color name, e.g., red, yellow, blue, etc.: (2) intensity, the purity and strength of a color, e.g., bright red or dull red; and (3) value, the lightness or darkness of a color.

When the spectrum is organized as a color wheel, the colors are divided into groups called primary, secondary and intermediate (or tertiary) colors; and also as warm and cool colors.

Colors can be objectively described as saturated, clear, cool, warm, subdued, grayed, tawny, mat, glossy, monochrome, multicolored, particolored, variegated, or polychromed.

Some words used to describe colors are more subjective (subject to personal opinion or taste), such as: exciting, sweet, saccharine, brash, garish, ugly, beautiful, cute, pretty, and sublime.

Sometimes people speak of colors when they are actually refering to pigments, what they are made of (various natural or synthetic substances), their relative permanence, etc.

Photographers measure color temperature in degrees kelvin (K).

"Blue is the male principle, stern and spiritual. Yellow the female principle, gentle, cheerful and sensual. Red is matter, brutal and heavy, and always the color which must be fought and vanquished by the other two."
Franz Marc (1880-1916), German painter of Der Blaue Reiter. In a letter to Auguste Macke.
"I make black and white prints because I want to go back to the beginning, and because in prints black and white are absolute: these two colors express the most delicate vibration, the most profound tranquillity, and unlimited profundity."
Shiko Munakata (1903-1975), Japanese.
"Artists can color the sky red because they know it's blue. Those of us who aren't artists must color things the way they really are or people might think we're stupid."
Jules Feiffer, contemporary American cartoonist and writer.
A riddle:
Q: What colors should you paint the sun and the wind?
A: The sun rose and the wind blue!
(Contributed by Reid Delahunt, 10 years old.)

"Chalkboard" on color theory, painting materials and techniques. With excellent text and graphics, several pages thoroughly explain various aspects of color, along with color mixing with pigments, light, and optics. Chalkboard comes from Ralph Larmann at the University of Evansville, IN.
"Pigments through the Ages" on browns.

Also see CMYK, local color, monochrome, palette, Pantone Matching System (PMS), pattern, pigment, RGB, saturation, spectrum, texture, and value.

Coming soon (available now only in early stages of construction): articles on individual colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, purple, brown, white, gray, and black.