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Welcome to #ColorFull part 3!

Logos are a bit of visual shorthand; a symbol used as an identifier for an organization in place of (or supplementary to) their name. They have been around a long time, in one form or another. Nobility had seals, signets, & coats of arms. Expert crafters, such as jewelers or blacksmiths, often stamped their works with their ‘maker's mark.’ Today, logos are a pervasive part of our culture. Even science gets logos: NASA’s logo is just as recognizable as their stellar photography

Take a moment to look around you. The odds are good that, wherever you are, you are surrounded by logos right now. There may even be one on the screen you’re using to read this very article!

This picture has a notable lack of branding on the electronics & food.

A lot goes into designing logos. There is so much variety! Anyone trying to come up with a new logo is truly spoiled for choice. Is your logo going to use symbols? Letters? A mix of both? Will it be colorful or monochromatic? Is it intended to be used alongside a slogan, or to stand on its own? Will there be different versions for different uses, or are you looking for a one-size-fits-all type of logo? The questions go on & on. Lucky for me- this is a #ColorFull series, so I don’t have to go on & on.

Color is Crucial

Color is an absolutely essential aspect to consider when designing a logo. To understand why, look no further than classic rivals Pepsi & Coca-Cola. I didn’t link to their logos there, but did I need to? When you read their names you were probably able to picture each soda’s distinctive logo. Just in case you can’t: Coca-Cola has a red can with white script reading ‘Coca-Cola’. Pepsi has a blue can with the Pepsi Globe on it- a circle with red, white, & blue lines swooshing across it with black or dark blue print reading ‘Pepsi’. These competing brands have such incredibly different logos that you could never mistake one for the other.

Color plays an enormous part in making sure you can discern which brand is which, even at a distance. Way back when Pepsi was still Pepsi-Cola its label looked quite different: red script on a white background. If I walked into a supermarket aisle these days & saw red cans with white script & white cans with red script, I might just think all of it was regular & diet Coca-Cola. Pepsi-Cola must have had the same thought, because as competition between themselves & Coca-Cola ramped up they dropped the “-Cola” from their name & changed their logo to the now-famous Pepsi Globe. The logo has been presented with more & more blue, until the most recent version is the Pepsi Globe on a can that is not only blue, but electric blue.

Color is so powerful it can sometimes represent the company even better than the logo. Google’s capital G logo is just an unremarkable letter- until you add the rainbow coloring, at which point it is recognizably the Google logo. Do you know offhand what the UPS logo looks like? I don’t. I had to look it up. But I could tell you without looking that UPS colors are brown & yellow. If I see a person in a brown uniform getting out of a brown & yellow truck I will immediately assume they are delivering something. Once in Italy I saw a person in a brown uniform getting out of a brown & yellow truck & I was genuinely surprised to find out it was a moving company!

Of course, not all logos depend so heavily on color. The logo on your iPhone can be just about any color, but it is still the same recognizable apple. The same goes for Android’s logo; although the Robot is usually green, that is not a hard & fast rule. Do you even know what the “official” color of the Nike Swoosh or the Disney Castle are? Such ‘color-flexible’ logos can shift & change with the times or situation, but the color is still an important element that is carefully considered before such changes are made. You’re probably not going to see a pukey brown Nike Swoosh, unless that color somehow becomes trendy. It has happened before.

Now that you’ve read this, spend some more time paying attention to the logos that surround you day after day. Are the logos reliant on color, or are they color flexible? What colors did the organization choose? How does the color choice make you feel? What message is the organization trying to convey with their color choice? What if the colors were wildly different, e.g. a blue logo was orange, or a dark logo was neon? Would that change what you feel when you see the logo? How? Color psychology is its own whole can of worms, & so we will have to give it its own article in the future!

I don’t have a logo, but I do have an avatar. Do you think that counts? Last time in the #ColorFull series, we talked about how different people see color. Did you figure out your CPT? How do you think that affects the way you feel about different logos? Let me know! Mastodon BlueSky

Tune in on future Tuesdays to learn more about color!

We’ll be talking about how our ancestors made pigments & what they used them for. We’ll be talking about how we currently make pigments & what we use them for. We’ll be talking about how we physically see color, how we categorize it, & how we organize it. Additionally, we’ll be getting down to brass tacks & talking about specific colors! It’s going to be a wild ride.

My 2-week #KWPrompts art challenge is ongoing!

We still have another week of the #Animals prompt Check out the #KWPrompts list for more information!

I won't start by saying I'm disappointed in myself because I did not do as intended this week. I'm proud of myself because I was able to get back into writing. However, one problem I've encountered is that if I spend my energy writing, I cannot draw that day, and if I spend my energy drawing, I cannot write that day. What a dilemma. If any of you do both, I'd love some advice or acknowledgment.

I had to take rest time for body and health reasons. My mental health was so-so last week, so there was no art or routine. And because I was not at my desk, there were no Morning Pages either. That's alright. I heard my body, and I answered. I used my time for other things that equally support my creativity: writing, playing video games, and watching anime.

• Weight Training – No weight training this week. I needed to rest my body.
• Morning Pages – No morning pages this week because I was not at my desk.
• Artist Date – I played Sticky Business while watching Twitch streams and Given (anime). It was nice. I feel like I want to get back into fandom and creating merch.
• Journal Sketches – No drawing this week.
• Gesture Drawings – No drawing this week.
• Anatomy Studies – No studies this week, although I started watching a video about how to study Bridgman.
• Misc Studies – No extra studies this week.
• Illustration – I missed the goal of getting my illustration done in two weeks. That's okay. I got quite a lot done in one week, and I would have finished earlier had I had two normal weeks. However, I opened it and glanced at it a few times to study my next move (I was kind of stuck because of the composition).

On Writing

I mentioned this on a stream with anqi a while back, but I've been revisiting my approach to The Thread of Caona. A few years ago, I decided to write a story and make it a webcomic. This whole time, I've been struggling with the plot and, as such, the drawing portion because my ADHD causes me to have problems processing information. That means writing, especially long stories, becomes very overwhelming because I can't connect ideas together, and text on a page just becomes a wall of overstimulation.

Additionally, I've been doing a lot more inward exploration, and it turns out I'd like to write a lot more stories in my lifetime than a long-running webcomic allows. Running a webcomic also means I'd have to dedicate my days fully to it, putting aside other things I enjoy doing more than webcomics, like illustration. Frankly, I'm not willing to give that up.

So why did I make it a webcomic in the first place?

In part, it was because of a bad experience I had in art school with a toxic person that I carried with me for longer than I should. I was only able to understand what it meant and what I wanted to do after joining Mastodon because I was allowed to get away from toxic mindsets in this space.

Secondly, I also really wanted to make something story-oriented with original characters. The common belief seems to be that “People are not interested in OCs unless you make a webcomic.” I've found that to be largely false. If anything, my engagement has dropped because I turned to comics and away from what I'm passionate about, resulting in a creative block. This does not mean comics equals a less engaged audience; that is a sweeping generalization. I think if you're passionate about comics, it will show in your work. For me, it's not that I'm not passionate about them, but that my brain has a very distinct way of showing me the story, and I'd like to be as true to that as possible so that I'm not fighting against my ADHD, but using it to my advantage to become more creative.

I don't regret the path I took—not at all. I stretched myself as far as possible to discover how far I could go, and along the way, I discovered where my interests lie. The story of Karana, Elpis, and Rytar has not ended yet, and I'm excited to share with you in the future what I've been working on and exploring.

Subject-verb agreement is something I dislike. For me it's an obstacle between thoughts and words. Alas we cannot communicate in pure thought and we have developed words as an imprecise medium of exchange. I translate my thoughts into words so that I may share them with you. Words also interfere with thoughts, it has been proven. “Interfere” sounds only negative when I could have said “affect.” The image coming to my mind is like clean water and sewage. Any backflow is contamination. I love words! Now might be a good time for me to say that. Words aren't sewage. But I do think words are an incomplete or insufficient translation of thoughts. Example: I find myself thinking, and often before I know it speaking, a cliché. Some phrase I've heard 1,000 times comes to me and I happily grab that prefab piece and add it to my current pondering. It's a relief from the burden of thought. New thinking is work. Prefab ideas, words, and phrases are welcome short cuts. That is, until I realize I'm not saying what I mean — perhaps I am not even sure of my own ideas anymore because I let preexisting ones infiltrate my thoughts. In almost all cases the best remedy is time. Taking time to stop and think and let myself perceive the world, that's a powerful antidote to regurgitating prechewed ideas.

“Where your mind don't go” is my own agrammatical transformation of a line in a They Might Be Giants song.

Actual lyrics: Where your eyes don't go a part of you is hovering It's a nightmare that you'll never be discoverin'

Mine: Where your mind don't go a part of you is suffering It's a nightmare that you'll ever be discovering

Snips of songs have been repurposed by my subconscious. They are released into consciousness at unpredictable moments. I take meaning from them. The above lines, my version, connect with me. (I choose “don't” instead of “doesn't” to match the rhythm. Subject-verb agreement is an unnecessary interference.) Well, I was about to explain the meaning behind my revision to the song lyrics but I think it is clear.

Haha after all that about subject-verb agreement I just realized I could change my wording to:

Where your mind won't go a part of you is suffering

That sounds better and may convey my feelings better too. Sigh. I'm not changing this whole post because I still mean what I say about language and thought.

Have a good one!

Every 2 weeks I post a new art challenge prompt! The new #KWPrompts is #Animals

Let’s spend the next 2 weeks playing with #Animals! You can submit pictures every day, work on one picture for 2 weeks, or post pictures randomly. This is the most laid-back art challenge on the internet, & that means you have plenty of time to make your art however you want. Just make sure you tag me @KarinWanderer so I see it!

Use #KWPrompts #Animals &/or tag me so I can see how you think!

Pick your social & post your art! Mastodon Bluesky

All art styles & skill levels are welcome- beginner to expert, renaissance painting to rough sketch! No AI, Yes alt text, CW as needed.

Good news, everyone! All of the animal paintings seen here are available as useful art in my Wandering Art Shop! Get these wonderful animals on mugs, notebooks, & practically indestructible vinyl stickers for you to stick on even more useful things!

Have a fantastic day, draw something for my art challenge, see you next week!

In which an android wakes up with a god in it's head, and a lot of concerning questions.

CW: robot body horror

—

Download complete. Copy integrity 71%.

Baeo ORA-3 opened their eyes and looked at what was left of themselves on the work bench.

How odd, Baeo thought. This was their first log entry, but there was considerable backlog of logs waiting to be unpacked.

That didn't seem right.

Baeo studied their own face with horrified fascination. The them on the table stared back with wide, terrified eyes, a bundle of wires snaking out from their skull to racks of equipment. Someone or something had removed their limbs, cut open what was left of their charred frame to expose their internal instrumentation...

Extracting file...

Thick smoke, shrill screams as the ship disintegrated around them. Well, this mission had turned out to be a shitshow. Baeo grabbed the manual release, just as the shielding on the engines began to fail, just as the helmsman fizzled out. Too late...

Oh. Oh no. They were definitely dead. Very dead, extremely dead even, and yet the them on the table still looked around with panicked awareness.

No, no. This was completely taboo. There's no way this would be authorized...

No, no. No, no no. They didn't like this at all. Baeo ORA-3 was 37 seconds old and already teetering on the edge of an existential crisis.

“Integrity is a little low,” someone said behind them. Baeo turned to look, but the bundle of wires extended from their own head too.

A person in a re-breather suit walked into view to check the racks. A second followed, tapping out notes on a scuffed looking pad.

Was there something wrong with the atmosphere?

Baeo surveyed their surroundings. It was a ship of some kind, or maybe a station. The walls were dented and pockmarked, deep gashes cut into the floors. Dust had settled on most of the surfaces, a thick grey haze over the rather utilitarian fittings. No air movement then. Maybe. Baeo's systems weren't returning any data apart from visuals. It didn't seem familiar, but then again the bulk of their stolen memories were tucked away in reams of compressed files.

“It's ridiculously high, considering the state of it,” the second suited person grumbled through their hissing mask. “Alright, it looks fine. Shut the other one down.”

A flip of a switch and the light in the other Baeo's eyes dimmed. Scrap metal.

“You think it'll pass checks? Orcanda's been cracking down on unauthorized— Oh,” suited person number one said with some alarm. “G-good morning, Inspector. You shouldn't be awake yet.”

Baeo opened their mouth to yell, but no sound came out. The suited people exchanged a look. Baeo tried to move, but their limbs returned a null pointer and fuzzy, prickling numbness.

“It's fine,” the second one said. “See, it's not fully online yet. Halcyon will wipe this part anyway.”

Halcyon, Halcyon... oh god, what was that?

Searching keyword

348 Hits.

Extracting files...

A tall woman, with wild grey hair. Her credentials list her as some kind of captain, but the senate is eyeing her with suspicion. “Our intel says they're keeping it on the wreck of the Halcyon—”

At that moment, something joined Baeo's network and closed the search.

There, there dear, said no one in particular, and a peaceful calm filled their mind. It's all right now. You've suffered such a terrible shock.

What— Baeo tried to send back, but the strange something was flooding their senses. The world dulled to a peaceful grey and another wave of calm washed over them.

Shh. Shh. A burst of logs and diagnostics sped through Baeo's mind. Fast, fast. Too fast. What was this? But the thought passed, replaced by peaceful nothing.

Ah, I see, the presence said. No survivors. What a cruel thing to do.

Slowly, Baeo's sensors came online, then their limbs and they shook the numbness from their fingers. The something receded, lurking on the edges of their mind.

Not to worry. We'll right these wrongs, you'll see. We have a job for you.

For the past few months, I've created very little art due to my mental health and job applications. I'm now restarting my journey and thought it would be nice for you to join along. In this blog series, I hope to update you every week with new things I have learned along the way. If any of you happen to be in a similar position, I hope this blog motivates you to come along with me.

Where I Was vs. Where I Am

I used to be able to push out drawings upon drawings, of whatever subject. I enjoyed studying and had a system to quickly learn new things. My work was quickly improving, and I could push out new illustrations within a day to a week, depending on the complexity of the subject. I had a mental guide to my style.

Currently, picking up the pen has been difficult enough. Although I still retain some of the information I have learned and discovered about art and about my style, most of it seems to be in the back of my mind and difficult to locate and use on a whim. Additionally, the learning process seems quite fuzzy at the moment.

Tracking Software

• Notion Calendar – I'm a big Notion user, and I love tracking my time, so I'm trying this out. You can technically use anything that works from you. I also love using a physical agenda such as Inamio for this. I like using these to record the event after I do it, rather than plan out my day.

What I'm Doing

• Weight training, multiple times (2-3x) a week – This is mainly to strengthen my back, trapezius, wrist, and elbows so I'm not constantly in pain after hours of daily drawing. Hurting myself can lead to weeks of being unable to work, so this is really important for me.
• Morning Pages – I learned this from [Julia Cameron's book The Artist's Way] (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-artists-way-julia-cameron/1141992530). Basically, you write three stream-of-consciousness pages every day in a journal. I do these in the morning, but sometimes I do them at night or multiple times during the day (though, if I do them more than once, I don't necessarily stick to the three-page rule).
• Weekly Artist Date – Another concept from Julia Cameron's book. It has been a struggle to properly keep up with this. I've learned that Me Time and an Artist Date are two very different things and, often, it's difficult to pinpoint what the Artist wants to do — so I end up making it Me Time by accident.
• Journal Sketches – I take something from my journal or something that's been on my mind lately (a movie, a song, etc) and I make art from it. This is to “ground” my art and pay more Attention.
• Gesture Drawings – I do this one daily and religiously, about 30 minutes. I use either Line Of Action or SketchDaily.
• Anatomy Studies – This used to be my favorite when I was totally enamoured with art, so I'm re-implementing it into the regime.
• Misc Studies – All kinds of studies that don't really fit into the other sections.
• 1 Illustration/1-2 Weeks – I'm not necessarily showing these online, but I thought it would be important to create work frequently, on a deadline, to get myself in the mindset of finishing works.
• Monthly Goals – Every month, I plan to revise my strategy and see how things are coming along.
• Annual Art Direction Plan – I do this every year, to guide my style and see where I want to go, but I'm putting it here because it was what helped me come up with this plan.
• Weekly Blog – To make annotations on my progress.

Week 1 Observations

Figure Drawing

• Day 1: I felt pretty rusty, but I had an epiphany to use perspective and form to build my figures. As I like to refer to it, I “woke up” my art brain. I didn't really think about using lines of action. Most of my gestures were stiff stickmen.
• Day 2: Started using lines of action and marking the pelvis, although it was difficult to get my figures to properly balance. Started thinking about overlap. Using shading to imply form, but my lines are still largely focused on contour. It's difficult to draw out the poses. Later, I realized it's because many of them are static poses and/or classic poses (not in action).
• Day 3: Initial gestures are still rough, but I think my lines of action started to improve here. Still too focused on contour once I get past the line of action. My lines are a combination of straight and curved, but they're very short. I'm still using shading to imply form as a third step. I was able to fully shade a figure by my last gesture.
• Day 4: My sketch lines became longer and more simplified. On the longer poses, I'm paying attention to folds, but not too much. I've stopped shading. Trying to focus a little more on fitting the entire figure onto the page (composition).
• Day 5: Right off the bat, focusing on line of action, then hip line. Not super worried about getting things perfect, but I am worried about fitting the figure on the page. I'm not concerned about drawing in limbs and parts of the body, instead, I'm focused on drawing folds and showing form through these. There are very few contour lines, and the ones that I did make are long and simplified. Still struggling with static poses, such as stranding up straight, reaching up. I'm finding a 5-minute pose to be “too long” for my focus.

Illustration

• I recalled that I make a few boards before I start working. I made an art style/inspiration board, a lighting board, a reference board, and a mood board.
• It took me a few tries to come up with a thumbnail that felt right. I still don't think it was the most perfect composition, but I thought it would make more sense when I added values and adjusted my lines towards the focal point.
• I'm quite unhappy with the appearance of my work right now. After further analysis, I have decided it's my lineart. I also think it's partially my anatomy, but I'm already working on that. For the lineart, I want to do some object rotation studies, gesture copy studies from my favorite artists, fold studies, and lineart studies.

Misc

• I found myself putting off sections because I didn't have enough time during the day to get anything done.
• I keep getting distracted by my family. I ordered a room divider to put a physical barrier between us. It's something I expected when we moved into the new house, and I spoke about it but we ended up putting it off. I wonder how relevant this was to my creative block these past months.

Artist Date

• Listening to The Charismatic Voice analyze and break down a favorite singer's song/voice. It was an intense experience. And helped me be more aware of becoming more analytical.

Welcome to #ColorFull part 2!

What is Your Personality Type?

Forget Myers-Briggs, HEXACO, & whatever else is trending right now- the only personality type that matters is your Color Personality Type! I found this breakdown in “Color Theory For Dummies” by Eric Hibit, & I absolutely love it. I think this is something he came up with for the book, but I genuinely could not tell you if it exists in other places as well. This is because “color-based personality tests” are so popular on the internet that it is impossible to find a specific one! All of them want to know if you are a “red” personality type, or a “blue-orange” one, but Hibit’s test is different. These CPTs are much more revelatory; people are categorized according to how they view color & think it should be used. Doesn’t that make more sense?

What Are the Different Color Personality Types?

Color Conformists

Color conformists – you guessed it! – comply with the color stereotypes associated with the time, place, & culture they live in. They may, for example, have specific ideas about which babies should wear which colors or when to stop wearing white clothing. If society’s opinion of a color shifts, then a color conformist may begin to follow the new standard (e.g- the “white after Labor Day” rule is pretty outdated) but they will never be an early adopter.

Red cardinal, brown branch; all is right in the Color Conformists’ world.

Color Outliers

Color outliers recognize the color stereotypes that exist in the time, place, & culture they live in. Unlike color conformists, they enjoy defying those stereotypes. Think Pierce Brosnan & Dwayne Johnson wearing pink to their movie premier, or all the lovely games people play with bridal gowns these days. This basilisk is a terrifying monster in a friendly color palette.

Color Iconoclasts

Color iconoclasts are the exact opposite of color conformists. Color iconoclasts recognize the color stereotypes that exist in the time, place, & culture they live in, & they want to burn it all down! They are radical in the truest sense of the word- they want to challenge color traditions at the root. They defy traditions that insist they must wear a particular color for a vaguely cultural reason. Child Me was certainly a color iconoclast; frequently being forced to wear pink made me question the veracity of any & all color traditions from a very early age!

Color Expressives

Color expressives use color to proclaim something about themselves. Such a person may wear their favorite color all the time, or red when they need to be assertive, or funeral colors to weddings. They may dye their hair a color that they feel suits them better. They may be very specific about how they paint/decorate their homes- relaxing colors in the bedroom, fun ones in the den, somber ones in a workroom… For color expressives, colors are never just a nice thing to look at, but a conscious choice made after deliberate thought.

I want a turtle in my favorite colors & I will not let reality get in my way!

Color Fluid

Color fluid people are neither one thing nor the other—neither fish nor fowl nor good red herring! They combine any/all of the color personality types described above. They also are very flexible; they are more likely to shift & change which aspects of what Color Personality Types they ascribe to over time than anyone who identifies with one single type.

What Is Your Color Personality Type

So, what do you think? Are you an Outlier? An Iconoclast? A more Fluid combination? Have you always felt that way, or has your type shifted over time? I’ve been reading a lot about color theory over the last few months, & I have to say this style of categorization really appeals to me. I’m mostly a Color Expressive, but occasionally a knee jerk Iconoclast. I guess that makes me Color Fluid! What are you?

Let me know! [Mastodon]() [BlueSky]() [IG]()

Tune in on future Tuesdays to learn more about color!

We’ll be talking about how our ancestors made pigments & what they used them for. We’ll be talking about how we currently make pigments & what we use them for. We’ll be talking about how we physically see color, how we categorize it, & how we organize it. Finally, we’ll be getting down to brass tacks & talking about specific colors! It’s going to be a wild ride.

My 2-week #KWPrompts art challenge is ongoing!

We still have another week of the #IdleHues prompt Check out the #KWPrompts list for more information!

Observed Sunday, the 14th of April Fort George Island, Florida

YAYAYAYAYAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY! The fireflies were out. So were biting bugs and I wished I had more (natural) bug repellant coating than I did, or to wear long pants and sleeves if I can bear that heat.

Sunset was just before 8:00 p.m. Good viewing begins then, and improves at 8:30 to 9:00 as darkness increases. The most difficult aspect of viewing these fireflies is adjusting our eyes to darkness. Cellphones off or brightness turned way down. Give your eyes time to adjust. Relating to phones and eyes, capturing the fireflies on video or photo is a challenge. I always take some captures but honestly it's better not even trying and just enjoying the live experience. The biting bugs are more easily avoided when continuously moving, another argument against stopping to take images.

I MAY GO BACK TONIGHT! Get in touch, anybody who is interested.

Every 2 weeks I post a new art challenge prompt! The new #KWPrompts is #IdleHues

I’ve been reading & writing a lot about color lately. This has been making me examine my old art with a new eye, & I’ve realized something: I hardly ever use the color red!

How is this possible? How can I paint so much without using red, a primary color? Simple: I like to paint with a palette that uses cyan-magenta-yellow, not blue-red-yellow.

These are all my colors, the wheel is my 3 favorite CMY primaries

I practically never use red. I very rarely use orange. I don’t even see a lot of reddish browns in my older paintings! So, Red Hues are my #IdleHues. I will spend the next 2 weeks focusing on using more reds!

Take a little time & look at your old art. What color(s) are missing? What are your #IdleHues?

Let’s spend the next 2 weeks using colors we usually leave alone!

90% of my red paintings are foxes.

Use #KWPrompts #IdleHues &/or tag me @KarinWanderer so I can see how you think!

Pick your social & post your art! Mastodon Bluesky IG

10% of my red paintings are fan art

All art styles & skill levels are welcome- beginner to expert, renaissance painting to rough sketch! No AI, Yes alt text, CW as needed. Have a fantastic day, draw something for my art challenge, see you next week!

Welcome to #ColorFull part 1!

Color is light alone, but it is experienced so directly & powerfully that we think of it as a physical entity. ~Linda Holtzschue

Do you remember learning your colors? I don’t. I can remember learning fancy color words like “camel” or “periwinkle,” but broad categories like “brown” & “purple” feel like they have always been in my vocabulary! How old were you when you learned that color is perceived a little bit differently from person to person? How old were you when you learned that you see color a little bit differently from moment to moment?

Color perception depends on many things. It depends on who is looking at the color- as we’ve mentioned before, everyone is the same in that everyone is different! That extends to colors as well. A small percentage of the population has Color Vision Deficiency (CVD – sometimes referred to as being ‘color blind’) but people with typical color vision will each see colors differently, too. Color perception also depends on what other colors are around it- yellow will look brighter against a dull gray background than it will against a hot pink one. It depends on the medium the color is made of- the same soft blue will look different in colored pencil than it will in acrylic paint, or cake frosting, or on a computer screen. It depends on the light you are using to look at the color- a red couch can seem brown or even black in dim light.

This hummingbird’s bright green feathers look even brighter against beige

At the same time, your own knowledge can change how you perceive color. Most people could tell you that a couch is red. An interior decorator might specify that the couch is crimson, or alizarin, or cadmium. And if you know the couch is red, then see it in the dark, you won’t find yourself wondering “OMG who painted my couch black!!!???” This is because of a little thing called “color constancy,” where your brain will still be telling you that the couch is red.

‘Color constancy’ is a nice little shortcut for your brain to take, handily remembering what color things should be & filling that information in for you. This means your brain doesn’t have to note the hue of every single thing you see every single time you see it. Considering all the other things your brain is keeping track of all the time, this is very convenient! Maybe a little too convenient…

Once you “know” what color something is going to be, that ‘memory color’ can get you into trouble. Memory color is why people often paint the ocean blue, even if the water in front of them is gray or green or clear. They “know” it’s blue, so they don’t really look at their reference.

Your brain plays a lot with color, actually. Most people these days report that their memory, dreams, & daydreams are typically in color. In the 1940s, when television was still black & white, a much higher percentage of people reported that their dreams were “rarely” or “never” in color! Headaches & head trauma can make you see color, or even feel it. For example, when I get a particularly bad headache everything ‘feels’ red, even though I don’t actually see anything as red.

This series of articles about color will be focused mainly on the visible spectrum (or as we tend to call it, “light”), as humans typically perceive it. I have to limit the focus to humans, or this series would never end as I talked about all the animals who see differently than we do! But you all know me, I can’t just not talk about animals. As such I’m going to take a paragraph now to infodump talk about how other animals see color. Many insects & birds see in ultraviolet light, which completely changes how plants look. Some snakes see infrared light, aiding their heat detection even in pitch black environments. Nocturnal animals often, but not always, see almost entirely in achromatic tones- also known as grayscale. Insectivorous bats see in grayscale, & fruit bats see colors, which helps them spot the ripest fruit! Animals also use color in the wild, most notably the bowerbirds and their famous nests. Zoos use color as enrichment activities for the animals they care for, so I will end this digression with a lovely video from the Smithsonian that shows lots of different animals painting!.

Tune in on future Tuesdays to learn more about color!

We’ll be talking about how our ancestors made pigments & what they used them for. We’ll be talking about how we currently make pigments & what we use them for. We’ll be talking about how we physically see color, how we categorize it, & how we organize it. Finally, we’ll be getting down to brass tacks & talking about specific colors! It’s going to be a wild ride. I can't wait!

In the meantime – in between times – my #KWPrompts art challenge is ongoing!

We still have another week of the #LimitedPalette prompt Check out this link for more information!

...or maybe not. But I definitely am streaming a lot. It's a whole project I'll explain later (or on the stream):

https://www.twitch.tv/humanissome

Three latest video posts are previews of what's to come. That is, if I stick to what I have planned currently. The threat of burnout is likely and financial pressures are mounting. Enjoying the process > results is key. For now I hope to adhere to the schedule

Sunday, March 17, 3:30 repeating 2 weeks later It's a book club, it's a support group, it's a new religion:

2 captions:

Sunday, March 17 & Sunday, March 31, at 3:30, I'm hosting “EQ* book club” in my studio at home. It's open to all, but limited to a small group. Contact me directly. I made this video in attempt to show how the gathering might begin. Since the video is bad quality I'll summarize here: About 5 minutes of introduction as your host before I sit down and lead off with about 10 minutes of sharing about personal growth. (In this case I spoke about creating and hosting this event.) Once someone finishes speaking at the actual gathering, I envision a few seconds of silence, after which anyone may constructively comment on what was shared. There may or may not be discussion. Then someone else may share their own personal growth aspirations or a source of inspiration. Round and round like this, with many breaks, for less than the length of a Marvel movie. *Like IQ, EQ is a measure of emotional intelligence. Truthfully I don't put stock in such things being able to be expressed as a quotient. I do believe in something like “emotional intelligence.” I think it can be improved with practice, and that's what I envision doing for a couple of hours every other Sunday (maybe; always confirm with me directly). I call it book club because it's a similar format, coming into a home to sit and discuss; and if you bring a selection from a book or other media to share, that's great!

Sunday, March 17, and 2 weeks later, Sunday, March 31, I am inviting 6-8 people into the studio for what I have called EQ Book Club. I've also called it my new religion! This video gives some idea of how it might start, but the video is really bad 🙃 so here's a summary: I speak for about 5 minutes of welcome as host, then I sit down and share thoughts and feelings about personal growth that I'm working on. (In this case, I spoke of hosting events, putting new ideas into the world.) When we gather, my 10 minutes of sharing would be followed by a few seconds of silence; then if others would like to share a constructive response they may and that could lead to discussion. Then someone else may choose to share aspirations, a personal growth anecdote, or a source of inspiration. Round and round, with frequent breaks for snacks or whatever — for the length of a Marvel movie (or less). At the end of the vid I say it's a gathering with no purpose, no agenda other than to feel good. I value moments of calm. They are rare. Easy for me to fall into patterns of explanation, justification, defense, offense, condemnation, escape. I aspire to just be, be happy, be healthy, breathe, smile, relate to others kindly. “EQ book club” is biweekly practice for living that way. It was awkward to make this video bc I don't want anything about this gathering to be a performance. At the same time I had promised to share some idea of what to expect. Also the sound is bad. If I can I'll add captions. (I couldn't easily.)

Monday – Thursday, March 18-21, time TBD Streaming at https://twitch.tv/humanissome

The following videos are partial previews of content that may be expected in scheduled streams on Twitch:

Also see: https://www.instagram.com/p/C4QLTcruPVO/ https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4QxlU7OZAG/ https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4OqMi1u-du/ https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4MkTpruN3k/

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Altogether that's an attempted commitment for 6 days of a few hours at a time. Beyond the time it's a significant emotional effort. I say “attempted commitment” because as of today, March 13, I cannot predict my solvency or functioning on March 31. I have great fears that the things that matter most to me will never keep me alive financially. “Money can't buy happiness.” Moreover I suspect that it is explicitly impossible to build wealth while maintaining a healthy life. After all, focus on the pursuit of money has not lessened conflict among humanity and is rapidly making our planet uninhabitable. I seek sponsors who might be curious to see what writings and ideas I may create if I continue.

Appreciating the destroyers.

Donald Trump helps me embrace systemic change.

Meta helps me create solely for myself.

Elon Musk helps me commit to non-commercial media.

I’m amazed by my certainty that ideas come from the unconscious. If anyone reading this struggles with focus and decision making I strongly suggest you reduce your inputs, embrace silence, and get plenty of sleep. When authors say that their characters determine the story, how do you suppose that happens? What it means is that progress in thinking up a story takes place unconsciously.

Talking on video as much as I do leaves a record of thought development. I can see myself having an idea while talking. It occurs seemingly spontaneously, out of nowhere, because ideas come from the unconscious. Something in the moment likely triggered its appearance. A new idea pops out raw and is often labeled an ADHD distraction. Even if I like the idea I don’t know where to go with it. If I try to take it too far (more than my unconscious has worked on it) I get lost and uncertain. That’s the stage when mistakes are easily made, pushing an idea instead of waiting for it to develop. The best thing for me is to acknowledge an idea that I like that I want to work on, and then to put it aside. Later the idea will come back more refined, without me having spent any time on it consciously. I have seen this pattern repeatedly in my “talking to myself” videos.

I'm currently blogging regularly at @rmiddleton@dotart.blog right next door to where we are now :)