Fascinated with colours and how they rule

[Suzanne]

I am almost obsessed with colours and am very fastidious with colour matching.

I actually get upset if I can't find the correct colour shoes for the top I am wearing and when I get angry, my husband says: a bit late to go on ebay to buy a pair, since you need them for tonight lol

I find colours to be so interesting.

I rarely wear black because to be honest everyone wears black and I like to be different!

I am teased that right down to my hair combs, my colours match.

 

[apsie]

This metaphorically hits rather close to home.
My sister says something similar; She can't lay out her clothes for the next day, because tomorrow may not be in those colors.
I sometimes have strong impressions of something being the "wrong colors", but it doesn't translate to my clothing.

 

[pushpin]

I can also be pretty particular about the colors I wear. I tend to buy clothes of only certain colors. Even when I branch out and purchase something in a color outside of my norm, I rarely, if ever, wear it.

My colors: black, a variety of greys, ivory/off-white/beige/creams, white, very muted mauves that are closer to pink than purple, mustards, burgundies, browns, and dark/muted greens. There may be a splattering of light blue or something in a pattern, but other than these colors, no other colors will really be the main ones unless I have purchased something for fun and for sleep, like bright leggings with pics of cats on them. For special family events, I'm encouraged to wear bright colors, so I have a couple of brightly colored dresses for such occasions.

 

[DogwoodTree]

I'm obsessed with color, especially when I'm not deep in a depression (one way I can tell I'm depressed is when I don't notice colors as much and don't really care about them).

But I actually don't want colors to "match" exactly. I prefer contrasts, and lots of different colors mixed together. So you'll never see me wearing a red top with a red headband and red shoes and a red bag. I have to mix in aqua, and brown or gray, and maybe some purple or orange or green, depending on the shades. There might be one main color that repeats itself as a theme, and I always look at the "big picture" to see how the color palette blends. But to have everything the same color is way too monotone for me, even if it's a bright color.

Same thing happens in my house...every room is a different color, and most rooms that I've painted myself since we moved here have at least two different paint colors if not three. I also like blending muted, vintage colors with bright, happy colors, which works well in my Victorian-style house.

I tell you what...the "popular" colors for clothes right now are hideous. Puke peach, sappy sea mist, boring black (not a fun black), pompous purple-berry. Occasionally I'll find an olive or brighter green that works, or maybe an aqua or teal I can live with. But these disgusting winter colors, following the blinding neon colors from this past summer...clothes shopping has been a real challenge lately.

Give me a true, solid red, an Irish green, sky blue, happy black, maybe a little smoky purple (not necessarily together)...in fabrics that aren't see-through and won't fall apart or lose its shape within a month...that don't cost a small fortune.

 

[pushpin]

I'm obsessed with color, especially when I'm not deep in a depression (one way I can tell I'm depressed is when I don't notice colors as much and don't really care about them).

But I actually don't want colors to "match" exactly. I prefer contrasts, and lots of different colors mixed together. So you'll never see me wearing a red top with a red headband and red shoes and a red bag. I have to mix in aqua, and brown or gray, and maybe some purple or orange or green, depending on the shades. There might be one main color that repeats itself as a theme, and I always look at the "big picture" to see how the color palette blends. But to have everything the same color is way too monotone for me, even if it's a bright color.

Same thing happens in my house...every room is a different color, and most rooms that I've painted myself since we moved here have at least two different paint colors if not three. I also like blending muted, vintage colors with bright, happy colors, which works well in my Victorian-style house.

I tell you what...the "popular" colors for clothes right now are hideous. Puke peach, sappy sea mist, boring black (not a fun black), pompous purple-berry. Occasionally I'll find an olive or brighter green that works, or maybe an aqua or teal I can live with. But these disgusting winter colors, following the blinding neon colors from this past summer...clothes shopping has been a real challenge lately.

Give me a true, solid red, an Irish green, sky blue, happy black, maybe a little smoky purple (not necessarily together)...in fabrics that aren't see-through and won't fall apart or lose its shape within a month...that don't cost a small fortune.

You sound like you have a wonderful home! I love Victorian houses! (And the mix of different tones and shades in addition to different colors sounds wonderful. And lol, I think you described some of my preferred colors in the most amusingly negative way (pompous purple-berry, is this burgundy?)

I also like to mix colors. do agree that it's nice to mix colors. I do the same. Though, I do find myself mixing shades and tones of the same color, as long as that color is muted, like grey.

 

[DogwoodTree]

And lol, I think you described some of my preferred colors in the most amusingly negative way (pompous purple-berry, is this burgundy?)

LOL...maybe I should have specified: "...hideous ON ME!"

I'm fair-skinned, short, blonde, and not very regal-looking in my posture or facial expressions. So these colors look terrible on me (except maybe navy...that's in the same family, but not easy to find right now for some reason).

I think it's interesting how people tend to like colors that look good on them...I wonder how much skin tone affects our selection of our "favorite" colors.

 

[epath13]

I did a research in college for my graduation project (not sure how else to call it), it was about how colors and symbols affect a person's state of mind... something like that I couldn't find a lot of people to participate and the whole thing was closer to witch craft than science but everybody loved it and my professor advised me to continue working on the project and get my masters. Unfortunately I couldn't figure out how to make my project more... scientific. Eh well, maybe I can still use all the ideas somewhere else... somehow...

 

[DogwoodTree]

I did a research in college for my graduation project (not sure how else to call it), it was about how colors and symbols affect a person's state of mind... something like that

That sounds interesting. Did you find that it mattered what the person actually likes, rather than the effect being independent of a person's preferences?

For my senior project, I did a study on how different types of music affect a person's ability to learn/memorize information. I also factored in what types of music the person liked. So for example, if someone likes jazz...do they learn better while listening to jazz, or to any kind of music, or in silence?

I suspected that each person's test results on the information would be dependent on how well the music being played matched their musical preferences...or that they would perform best when the same music was being played as what they heard when they studied the information. I don't remember what the results were on that last part, but what I found about the first part was that it didn't matter. Listening to music, whether you liked the music or not, didn't significantly affect the person's ability to learn the information.

That said...it was just a senior college project, not extensive and not the best design in the world. I've thought of all kinds of variations I could do to give me more insightful information.

 

[epath13]

That sounds interesting. Did you find that it mattered what the person actually likes, rather than the effect being independent of a person's preferences?

For my senior project, I did a study on how different types of music affect a person's ability to learn/memorize information. I also factored in what types of music the person liked. So for example, if someone likes jazz...do they learn better while listening to jazz, or to any kind of music, or in silence?

I suspected that each person's test results on the information would be dependent on how well the music being played matched their musical preferences...or that they would perform best when the same music was being played as what they heard when they studied the information. I don't remember what the results were on that last part, but what I found about the first part was that it didn't matter. Listening to music, whether you liked the music or not, didn't significantly affect the person's ability to learn the information.

That said...it was just a senior college project, not extensive and not the best design in the world. I've thought of all kinds of variations I could do to give me more insightful information.

My research was a little out there I created a few images, asked people to chose which they liked the most, I also asked them to describe what they thought and felt when they looked at the images. It... somehow... helped me to determine what states of mind they currently were in and what their goals were. After that I made costumes. The color of fabric was the primary color in the picture they chose, I also embroidered the costumes with symbols associated with the image. I made them wear those costumes, they told me how they felt (don't remember what questions I asked), I also checked their blood pressure. One of my goals was to determine immediate effect. I also believed that after wearing the costumes their lives were going to change depending on the goals they had or associated with the pictures they chose. Surprisingly within a few years their lives did change accordingly maybe it's just a coincidence, or maybe the "witch craft" worked

Funny, when I typed "maybe" in my last sentence I actually ended up with "synergy" - " the interaction of elements that when combined produce a total effect that is greater than the sum of the individual elements, contributions" (I already fixed it) I'm telling you - magic

 

[Judge]

I just try not to mix warm and cold colors...from earth tones to blues and blacks.

 

[Saragrl]

I am not fascinated with colors of clothing. Colors in my art on the other hand. I spend an unhealthy amount of time looking for just the right hue for my work. Sometimes I will spend hours toiling over what looks better.

 

[AsheSkyler]

One of the reasons I am a graphite pencil artist is because color makes almost no sense to me. I have read color theory, I have closely observed my surroundings and studied fashion, but I still stick to greyscale. When I do dabble with color, more often than not it is wildly unrealistic, and the technical artistic term for my condition is "lives in a box of crayons".

I do not like having to shop for clothes in the least these days. What the heck is with the patterns!? Everything I see is a bold, chaotic mess. Take one shirt I found, it had a wonderful cut, but it had bold white, black, and red diamonds/trapezoids randomly juxtaposed all over each other and they were barely an inch wide each. It gave me a headache just looking at it. When I find a shirt of a more normal pattern or that's simple and plainly colored then it's an old lady shirt with shoulderpads. Frustrating!
So right back into the men's section I go. Cooler designs when they have them, better variety of plain shirts, and no shoulderpads or plunging v necklines. Some days I feel the fashion industry is determined I not dress like a woman, ever.

 

[epath13]

One of the reasons I am a graphite pencil artist is because color makes almost no sense to me. I have read color theory, I have closely observed my surroundings and studied fashion, but I still stick to greyscale. When I do dabble with color, more often than not it is wildly unrealistic, and the technical artistic term for my condition is "lives in a box of crayons". [emoji14]

My older son is like that. I always loved color, and when I was a kid my drawings could never be finished if I didn't add lots of it. He is very hesitant using color in his drawings, he says he likes it the way it is - black and white.

 

[Harrison]

I draw/sketch with graphite pencils, like Ashe, as I have an odd sense of colour. As a result I prefer black and white, just like my avatar pic.

 

[Flinty]

I know better than to think I have any idea which colours match. This is why I always wear black pants - so I can wear whatever colour on top.

 

[Maelstrom]

My research was a little out there I created a few images, asked people to chose which they liked the most, I also asked them to describe what they thought and felt when they looked at the images. It... somehow... helped me to determine what states of mind they currently were in and what their goals were.

I should match you up with my brother, (God help us all!), you two would never run out of hidden color meanings to discuss or bicker over, on second thought maybe not it might turn into WWIII. Ha ha! sorry was funny for me.

 

[Maelstrom]

[QUOTE="Suzanne, post: I find colours to be so interesting.[/QUOTE]

For me I have two different color systems of preference. In life I like the softer light colors as bright ones can chafe on my auti side. I can only take red for so long and it starts to make me cranky. But I am also very artistic and love contrast as well mixing things for maximum effect. I think some colors pair up better in fashion than others. And suzanne a all white room is matching but I would use natural lighting so it would not be so blinding. I hate lights most of them grate on me, sun light is best.

 

[Maelstrom]

[QUOTE="AsheSkyler, but I still stick to greyscale. [/QUOTE]

Hi Asheskyler not sure what you mean by color greyscale, but I thought Russian WWII poster art, 3 shades of color + black and white could be adapted well to your art style, you could take a peak and see what you think. I did some nice stuff by mixing black ink with colored pencil. Sorry about my tickling remark in the dating post awhile back hope I didn't step on a trigger, was really only referring to a playful nudge. Best wishes Mael

 

[Suzanne]

I'm obsessed with color, especially when I'm not deep in a depression (one way I can tell I'm depressed is when I don't notice colors as much and don't really care about them).

But I actually don't want colors to "match" exactly. I prefer contrasts, and lots of different colors mixed together. So you'll never see me wearing a red top with a red headband and red shoes and a red bag. I have to mix in aqua, and brown or gray, and maybe some purple or orange or green, depending on the shades. There might be one main color that repeats itself as a theme, and I always look at the "big picture" to see how the color palette blends. But to have everything the same color is way too monotone for me, even if it's a bright color.

Same thing happens in my house...every room is a different color, and most rooms that I've painted myself since we moved here have at least two different paint colors if not three. I also like blending muted, vintage colors with bright, happy colors, which works well in my Victorian-style house.

I tell you what...the "popular" colors for clothes right now are hideous. Puke peach, sappy sea mist, boring black (not a fun black), pompous purple-berry. Occasionally I'll find an olive or brighter green that works, or maybe an aqua or teal I can live with. But these disgusting winter colors, following the blinding neon colors from this past summer...clothes shopping has been a real challenge lately.

Give me a true, solid red, an Irish green, sky blue, happy black, maybe a little smoky purple (not necessarily together)...in fabrics that aren't see-through and won't fall apart or lose its shape within a month...that don't cost a small fortune.

Oh my, you sound JUST like me. If I have a red skirt on and blue top, my shoes have to be blue and my necklace red lol I love mixing similar colours, as you mention and it makes me physically sick ie hurts my eyes to see clashing colours

 

[Suzanne]

[QUOTE="Suzanne, post: I find colours to be so interesting.

For me I have two different color systems of preference. In life I like the softer light colors as bright ones can chafe on my auti side. I can only take red for so long and it starts to make me cranky. But I am also very artistic and love contrast as well mixing things for maximum effect. I think some colors pair up better in fashion than others. And suzanne a all white room is matching but I would use natural lighting so it would not be so blinding. I hate lights most of them grate on me, sun light is best.[/QUOTE]