About Colour: Green

November 2, 2015 By Donna Wilson Leave a Comment

About Colour: Green

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About Green

Green is the colour of the vegetable realm. It represents fruitfulness, prosperity, tranquility, vitality, youth, longevity, harmony, life, balance and the environment. It relates to going forward, and safety. This colour is linked to our traffic light system – “Go”. When green inclines towards yellow we think of Spring and early Summer bringing forth hope, joy and the buds of new growth. On the other side of the scale its negative meanings are envy, greed, jealousy, immaturity, inexperience, naïve, gullible, ignorance, juvenile, and illness.

Green in Different Cultures

In Western culture: Green means Spring, new birth, go, money, St. Patrick’s Day, Christmas combined with red. It also means luck as symbolized by a green shamrock, and eco friendliness. A plot of grassy land, the Green party
Ireland: Irish Catholic nationalists
Eastern: Eternity, fertility, family, health, prosperity, “clean, and contamination free” and peace
Egypt: Green is a sacred color representing hope and joy of Spring
China: Green hats imply a man’s wife has been unfaithful (infidelity). In the Ming Dynasty green was the colour of the heavens.
India: The colour of Islam, new beginnings, and harvest
Native Indians: Of Face paint – nature, harmony and healing and of War Paint – endurance. The Apache tribe considered green to represent one of the four sacred mountains.
Indonesia: a forbidden colour
North Africa: corruption
South America: death

The Theory of Green

Green is a secondary colour located midway between the primaries yellow and blue on the colour wheel. Yellow and blue mixed create green.
It’s character of expression changes depending on the ratio of these primaries in the mixture. This ratio will reflect its colour temperature.
More yellow makes green lighter and more blue makes green darker.
The range of different greens is wide. There are lime greens (yellow-greens), jade greens, aqua greens, turquoise greens, and emerald greens.
A little red and a large area of green will make the red energetic and lively.
A little red added to green will dull the green making it less intense descending into a gray-black. This will happen with any complementary pair.
A high percentage of men are genetically red/green colour-blind and have difficulty distinguishing some greens.

A Poem About Green

“What is Green?”

Green is the colour between blue and yellow.
Green is the grass that makes me mellow.
Green is a sign of buds in Summer.
Green is an emerald for a lover.

Green practices are environmentally beneficial.
Green with ivy is superficial.
Green is the colour of Kermit the Frog
Green is not the colour of a sheep dog.

Green is harmony, life and balance.
Green around the gills is a challenge.
Green is the smell of pine needles burning.
Green is a sign of Spring returning.

Author: Donna Wilson

Stay Connected: In future blogs I will discuss more on the topic of colours. Do check out my website at www.donnawilsonartist.com

Filed Under: Color, Colour, Creativity, Expressive, Psychology of Colour Tagged With: A Poem About Green, Colour Symbolism, Green Colour Theory, Green in Different Cultures, Meaning of Green, Significance of Colour, Significance of Green

Set Your Creative-Self Free

September 7, 2015 By Donna Wilson Leave a Comment

Set Your Creative-Self Free!

To set your creative-self free, start with an open mind and a fearless and courageous spirit.

You may want to begin with a cheap roll of bond paper. An expensive support may intimate you. You can even spread out a double sheet of newspapers. Artist Franz Kline painted on newspaper.

Work with large tools: small brushes and pencils will tighten you up as opposed to freeing your spirit. Use an egg timer for this project and if you don’t have one try the dollar store. If you are using brushes try some dark India ink or dark fluid acrylics. You can also try large pieces of black charcoal or pastels. You may want to protect your floor with plastic. You can purchase plastic from your local hardware store. You may want to use the plastic house painters use. It comes in a variety of weights.

Try setting the timer for one minute. When the timer rings you STOP, you put down your tools and you move on to the next one. Now set the timer for two minutes and when the timer rings STOP. You are ready to move on to the next sheet of paper. By setting short time frames you don’t have time to be self-critical. Since you are moving fast and working on a large scale your shoulder, elbow and wrist should be involved in this process. If you stand it is easier to be fully engaged.

Do the above exercises and remember to leave the self-doubter behind close doors! Have FUN setting your creative-self free!

You can find out my about Donna and her art at www.donnawilsonartist.com

Filed Under: Art, Create, Creativity

About Creativity

September 5, 2015 By Donna Wilson Leave a Comment

About Creativity

It is difficult to describe what creativity is. Creativity has been explained as not a talent but it is a talent. It is a talent we are all born with. Some of us have lost this ability. It is the ability to be in a state of playfulness, child-like if you will. It is the ability to temporarily set aside every day worries, stresses, anxieties and busyness to engage one’s playful and exploratory side. It is about being mindful, staying in the present moment. The talent I refer to here is the talent of being able to engage the child within. If you have lost this talent don’t fret as the lost can be found.

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Creative people can do just that. They can go back and forth from dealing with the everyday adult responsibilities and to separating themselves.

Creative people realize that they need to cut off the outside world and it’s problems temporarily in order to delve into their creative zone. This is easier done when we set ourselves time boundaries. We have a beginning and an end even if it is for a short time. We can always start again at a designated time.

When trying to get into the creative zone it is important not to get impatient or try to force it. We need to relax and let our minds full up with good positive self-talk. Creative people have learned to be patient and not to expect immediate gratification. They let ideas flow without judging.

Self-doubt and fear are creative killers. They will paralyze and cripple creativity. As an art teacher I have witnessed this over and over again – students who are afraid to mix colours and apply their mixture to their surfaces. They are so afraid of making a mistake. Their biggest mistake is not being playful, not experimenting as a child would. Have you ever watch children colour in their colouring books. They pick up crayons and go for it. They don’t worry if they colour their rabbit (the one in their colouring book) green and orange with a pink tail. They don’t care if they go outside the lines. What has happened to us? I figure as we age we experience so many negative voices that smother our creative beings so many negative voices such as don’t do that, don’t do this, and that is wrong or that doesn’t look good. In order to get into our creative zone we have to guard ourselves from our critical selves. Creative people feed their minds with positive self-talk. They tell themselves that they can work through the process. It is important here that I mention that creative people do experience self-doubt. They know that to get into their creative state they need to clear their minds and push the negative stuff away.

Does any of this seem familiar?

Check out Donna’s website at www.donnawilsonartist.com

Filed Under: Art, Contemporary, Creativity, Expressive, Painting