Here Comes The Sun

Sun And Sea -Lenore Varaksa Corey

March 2, 2022
Wednesday
7:48 p.m.

“There are painters who transform the sun into a yellow spot, but there are others who, thanks to their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun."
~Pablo Picasso

Let Me Count The Ways

As for me, when I think of yellow, I see the sun, my favorite summer top, my morning egg, butter, lemons, daffodils, sunflowers, police tape (I watch a lot of mysteries), the yellow brick road, the soft warm light of sunset, and my front door.

What Does It All Mean?

The color yellow is associated with sunlight. In a painting it can mean hope, happiness, wisdom, a feeling of optimism, of well-being, a feeling of being 'okay' in the world.

Around the world, yellow is used to represent a variety of things. In Japan, yellow represents courage, whereas, in some countries it represents cowardice or death...Yellow Fever comes to mind.

The Great Epic "Paintbox" Adventure

Victoria Finlay wrote this book, titled, "Color: A Natural History of the Palette." A sort of travelogue. A palette of stories. Absolutely fascinating read!

Finlay travels to very specific and remote locations to investigate the origins of each color of the spectrum. This is the finest example of a travelogue I have ever read. It reminded me a little of a PBS show called Globe Trekker. It's engaging with details, history, locations, culture, people, folklore and so much more. And, it's a fairly current exploration, which keeps it relatable... in real time.

My favorite color stories and color discoveries are Orange, Yellow, Blue, and Violet. White has a most interesting history because of its uses- its history of lead content and how it has evolved into what we can safely use today.

The color Red reveals an interesting fact that I will never forget… it involves an ingredient labeled Natural Red 4.

All of the "color finds" are engaging!

But today, I focus on yellow. The search for yellow takes Finlay on a trek to India, Hong Kong, Iran, Spain, and to Saffron Walden, England.
In India, it seems the discovery of yellow has something to do with cows being fed mango leaves. I'll just leave that one there.

In Hong Kong, we read that the color yellow has something to do with the mangosteen trees.
In Spain, Iran and in Saffron Walden, England- the crocus/saffron fields.

Also included in this book are the histories of ochre, black, brown and white. These chapters come at the beginning of the book. The Ochre, Black/Brown chapters are interesting, but when I reached the chapter on white, that is where I felt compelled to know everything!

Yellow is the light in NATURE…

Your Turn- What favorite images does the color yellow bring up for you? Is there a cultural meaning for you? How does the color yellow make you when you see it in a painting?

Feel free to share in the comments.

PEACE-Lenore

PHOTO credit-Lenore Varaksa Corey