Color Value Part 9

161. It is dangerous, however, in matters of dress to strictly apply this rule, because color has a temperamental influence apart from the purely visual. Some women are positively depressed by certain colors; such colors are to be avoided, no matter what the deductions of theory.

(See -- 94.)

162. The black dress will make a woman look pale, for the reason that the black absorbs whatever color there may be in her face. A dark color has also absorbent characteristics. The lighter the color, the less absorbent. Hence light greens are preferable to bring out the color in the face than dark greens, a.s.suming that we are to consider only this point, which is all that is necessary to consider in house decoration.

Therefore light greens as a background to theater boxes or as a wall background are always desirable.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Lighting by wires. See -- 153.]

-COLOR TERMS-

BROKEN COLOR. Color changed by the addition of black, white or gray.

CHROMA. Color.

COLD COLORS are colors containing very little, if any, red or yellow.

CONTRAST a.n.a.lOGIES. Apparent contrasts of secondary and tertiary colors which have const.i.tuent parts that are related. Thus compositions of citrine and plum are apparent contrasts, citrine being one of the three tertiary colors, russet, slate and citrine, and plum being composed of russet and slate, but in both citrine and plum there is red, yellow and blue; hence related. There can be no true contrasts excepting between primaries and secondaries.

GRAY. Normal gray is black and white mixed, but quaternary colors are also called grays, or colors of the dull or neutral scale.

HARMONY OF a.n.a.lOGY is produced by using related colors.

HARMONY OF CONTRAST. The juxtaposition of a primary color, for example, with a secondary made of the other two primaries. Thus of the primaries red, yellow and blue, the contrasts would be red and green. Of the two colors thus forming contrast the one is said to be the COMPLEMENTARY of the other.

HUE. Applied to the predominating color in a composition.

INTENSE OR SATURATED COLORS. Colors that are pure, having no tint or shade.

NEUTRAL COLORS. Applied to black, gray and quaternary colors.

NORMAL. Intense colors of the prism. Colors of the natural scale.

PRISMATIC COLORS are the colors viewed through a prism.

QUATERNARY COLORS. Made by combining two tertiary colors.

Quaternary colors are plum, sage and buff.

SCALE. Relates to colors of the same degree of tone.

SECONDARY COLORS. Orange, green and violet, each a combination of two primaries.

SHADE. Produced by the addition of black to a normal color.

SOMBRE COLORS. Blue, violet and the subdued tones of luminous colors.

SPECTRUM. The illusion of color produced by means of the prism.

TERTIARY COLORS. Made by combining two secondary colors; tertiary colors are slate, russet and citrine.

TINT. Produced by the addition of white to a normal color.

TONES are the gradations of color by adding either black or white.

WARM COLORS or luminous colors are those having normal yellow or red in the preponderance.

ADVANCING COLORS. Reds and bright yellow arouse the nerve sense more quickly than blue or tones of color predominating in blue. Hence they are called advancing colors.

RECEDING COLORS. Blue colors or colors in which blue predominate or the exciting influences of yellow or red are subjugated, are cold or receding colors.