I never met a color I didn’t like.
Dale Chihuly
Why do fluorescent colors arrest my attention? I think it is because they are flamboyant, bodacious, conspicuous, vibrant and brilliant. “Look at me, look at me!” they beckon and I do. Yet I use them sparingly in my paintings – just a hint at times for brightness, surprise and emotional impact.
The fluorescent-affect, depends on the amount of light available, that is the quantity of light that the fluorescent pigments absorb. Daylight has a good deal of ultraviolet energy and so you will observe the intensity of the fluorescent colors, but you will observe little when those wavelengths are less present.
Phosphorescence also results from the emitted light that glows, but phosphorescence lasts longer than fluorescence because the molecules are structurally different. Phosphorescence will glow in the dark.
Think of the creatures you have seen in the dark and the reason they are visible to you is because of their own bio-luminescence. Think of the breath-taking underwater life, corals that glow with such intensity. I think of the hundreds of glow-worms I saw in the grottos in limestone caves in Te Anau, South Island, New Zealand. They were dazzling in the darkness. Think of fireflies. And think of your fluorescent highlighter markers. I have yellow, pink, green, blue and oranges markers and love the fact that that they glow in a dark room with an ultraviolet light.
I have fun experimenting with the range of fluorescent and phosphorescent paints commercially available: Fluorescent Chartreuse, Fluorescent Magenta and Phosphorescent Green are examples. They are brighter than standard pigments and because of their high chroma, I use them for emphasis and contrast. However, I use them sparingly.
I do love color – all colors – though some I prefer to others. I enjoy bright colors because of their intensity and vibrancy, and because, as Edvard Munch says: “The colors live a remarkable life of their own after they have been applied to the canvas.”
I too love color….they have a cheering effect. Perhaps if one surrounded ones self with color, those who suffer from depression, would find benefit. There must be studies done measuring the effect of color on emotions. Ellen, you have opened pathways for discussion on art, color and so much more.
it is amazing of how many hues, hints, different flavours of colours you come up with – it is like snow. The Eskimos know the fine differences of snow, for us it is just snow. Thank you for sharing your insights.
And how about Ellen’s cover of our ‘A Fantasist & A Scientist In Conversation’–vibrating with colour. And filtering through the pages, the vibration of colour continues. Ellen: a Fantasist draped in colour, like that rainbow draped around our colourful world!
As I read this Ellen, I thought – this is a reflection not only of the type of colors you describe…but it’s a description of you! Through your thoughts and words, you bring so much colorful enLIGHTenment to everyone who is fortunate to read what you have to say.
You shine with bio-luminescense…you “glow with the flow” (in the dark I presume)…you sparkle like fireflies ..and all in all, you bring positive energy, cool information and happiness. I always learn something new which fills my mind full of fluorescent sparks.
Ellen, how much more can one elaborate on the magnificence of colors and their hues. I am always inspired by your thought process and ability to share your visual deliberations about color, it’s variations, and the spark that color brings to life be it on a work of art, and of course found in our natural world. I cannot live without color.
Jill, Jennifer and John (the Three “Js”) and Dede and Traude – I love all your thoughtful observations and thank you for them. They are wonderful!