Yellow: The Happy Glowing Hue That Makes Warmth, and Inspiration

Yellow

Throughout my blog I want to talk to about colour, today I’m thinking Yellow….

One of the three Primary Colours, it is one of the warm colours on the colour spectrum. It can help create or change many different colours for instance its addition to red creates orange while to blue it becomes green. Yellow often works best as a companion to other colours. Using bright yellow in place of red or orange to create excitement when they may be too bright or strong for what you wanted. Consider using yellow in your artwork as a base coat or under painting, it will add warmth to an artwork even if none of the top coat includes yellow, it will literally glow through in places.

Why not try using yellow to perk up a more subdued palette of blues or grey or try mixing yellow with a neutral grey and some black for an industrial type look. A lemon yellow with orange will create a citrus theme reminiscent of summer days while a very pale yellow can work as a neutral if used alongside rich browns, blacks or other dark shades. Being opposites on the colour wheel, yellow is considered a complimentary colour to blue so it makes it a high contrast and obvious choice if you want things to really stand out.

You can get an earthy palette by using yellow with rustic greens, and most browns, while yellow used with bright or light green can be part of a natural, fruity colour palette ideal for tropical type scenes or contemporary décor work.

Bright sunshine yellow is the easiest colour for people to see. People who are considered ‘colour blind’ to other colours can often see yellow. So therefore its high visibility means it is often used for hazard signs and some emergency vehicles like our Fire engines which used to be red the colour we used to consider the most visible.

Yellow symbolizes wisdom which I imagine is why it is favoured by people of high intellect. It is considered to be full of creative and intellectual energy and stands for joy and happiness. Here is an online quiz about yellow http://www.123facts.com/play-quiz/All-Things-Yellow-1436.html

So if you want clarity for decision making or protection from depression or lethargy, yellow is the colour to choose whether decorating or wearing it. Try a bunch of daffodils or yellow roses in your studio or better yet just use it often in your artwork!