Seeing Color in The World

This semester, in my CORE II art class, we have been learning about color a lot. We've done several exercises as a class to strengthen our knowledge of Color Theory and to just connect with color around us. One of those exercises was a "Color Walk". An interactive walk with the colors we could see around us. I'd love to share this experience with you. It was peaceful, meditative, and so enjoyable.

My Color Walk

The day I took my color walk it was a particularly cloudy day. It was extremely bright, but it was that grayish brightness through storm clouds with the sun occasionally peeking through wherever the layer was thin enough. As I exited my apartment building, which is obviously how all my walks begin, I was pretty overwhelmed with the color red. Not a bright, vibrant red; but a rusty, dull, tarnished red. From my dingy apartment door, to the old brick walls, to the rusty metal stair railings. All the same brick/rusty red. Which looked so much more dim in contrast to the grass in front of the buildings. The bright light coming from behind the clouds made the grass look extremely vibrant and saturated. It was the only color standing out. The gray pavement was being made darker in areas by the few spots of rain falling on it, deepening the already boring urban hue. I left my apartment complex heading in the direction of Downtown San Marcos. The small square surrounded by different colors. The neon signs on the bars screaming their pink, blue, and red at me. The monochromatic The Coffee Bar sign on the corner of the street I was on, next to the Café which was alternating yellow and red. Though it was a cloudy day, all these colors seemed to pop out and become even more vibrant when reflecting the sun coming through the clouds. More accurately, I believe the Café colors are gold and maroon. The TXST University colors. Which, of course, makes sense in our little college town. Everything here is related to maroon and gold. I like the combination of these colors. Maroon has always been a personally comforting color to me. As I returned home, the rain started picking up a bit. As the world around me got a little wetter, and I was surrounded by this curtain of rain which I was looking through, I got a bit of a new perspective. Things that once seemed dim, now looked even darker, bright things looked a bit more saturated (like the grass). It was interesting, how rain could change the entire look of colors.

Here are some pictures to illustrate my walk a bit better.

A dingy door

A rusted staircase.

An old brick building.

The beautiful bushes in front of my apartment.

I enjoyed this experience, it helped me reflect on how much we rely on seeing in color. It also made me think about how all of us don't necessarily see colors the same way. What I'm describing as a dingy, rusty, red might look brighter to someone else. Or they might dislike the colors maroon and gold. Every person would've had their own experience with this "Color Walk". I just wanted to share my own.

Thanks for sharing this experience with me,

See you next time!

-Gabe <3