Colors

Red is hot and spicy, like standing too close to the fire. Orange is warm and smooth, a velvet curtain heated by the sun. Yellow is buttery and rich, like sunshine on your face. Green is earthy and comforting, the smell of fresh pine needles. Blue is cool and crisp, like dipping your foot in a lake in October. Purple is dark and rich, a baritone sax bellowing jazz. Brown is healing and ancient, the smell of earth on the forest floor.

Shades are mixtures of colors blended together. For example, indigo is blue with a little black added to it, which darkens it and makes it seem mysterious. A nice clear blue seems like it has nothing to hide, and is often associated with a quiet kind of cheerfulness, a mellow happiness. The sun gives off shades of yellow and orange and both yellow and orange have a more active dynamic feeling, though also associated with cheerfulness and happiness. Blue is a nice simple middle C. It is not sharp or flat. Indigo is moody and mysterious and a flat note somewhere in the octave below middle C. Purple is a triple color combination, it is mostly blue with a dash of black mixed in and just a lick of red. It is like a C chord. It can be majestic, it can be loud, but there is a stable mellowness to it. It also has a round feeling, like a well rounded wine, there is completeness and rich depth. Scarlet is red and orange blended. It looks very hot and somewhat shocking. It conveys a feeling of excitement and provocativeness and youth combined with power. Violet is purple with a hint of red and a bit of white blended in. It is the color of very soft, small flowers. It seems youthful but more in a baby-like or very young toddler way. It is also feminine, but innocent.