What colour is Happy? - Caroline Ashwood

March 02, 2017

Is it the yellow of a sunflower? A vivid blue summer sky? A luscious green field? Or the homely red glow of a welcoming fireplace?

Colour plays a huge role in our perceptions of joy, pleasure, comfort and fun. Nature is full of colour, so rich that sometimes, we can be overwhelmed by the chromatic intensity of flowers or plumage.

As well as stimulating, colour can be symbolic.

Blue is the most common of favourite colours. The blue spectrum can take us from a joyous Mr Blue Skies to a soulful deep scale of indigo we often associate with a music form we call the blues.

blue artworks

Red can mean both danger and passion. In some cultures it also represents ‘good fortune’. It has warmth, energy and desire. It’s a fine wine and a bloody steak. Along with orange, it’s a heavenly sunrise or sunset. When we get angry, we see red, but we also enjoy a bit of red carpet treatment. Rednecks worry about reds under the bed. Red is jealous, but green is envious.

 
red paintings

Green is the colour of nature. It says, ‘GO’. It is also inexperienced, like a young plant shooting fresh from the Earth in the first light of spring. It’s the colour of money, moldy bread and the green, green grass of home.

Of the three primary colours, yellow is the least popular, along with secondary colours, orange and brown. According to a survey by a well-known major paint manufacturer, as we get older we favour orange less.

Despite being the colour of bravery and valour, purple is also low on the popularity scale. But still rates better than sunny yellow.

purple acrylic artworks

Regardless of what your favourite colour is, it’s clear that we invest a lot of emotion in the power of colour. And some people identify their personalities with a specific colour. In fact, research has been carried that suggests Red People are to the point, they are hard workers, dependable, decisive, assertive, and display strong leadership qualities. They like to be in the driver’s seat and readily assume control.

Green People are the imaginative, creative ones. They’re intuitive and trust their hunches over logic. They’re emotional, enthusiastic, passionate, fun loving and definitely march to their own drum beat. They are in a constant pursuit for change.

green art on canvas

Whilst yellow is least popular colour, Yellow People are some of our favourite people. They’re visionaries with strong leadership qualities. They are deep thinkers who always believe that they can make a difference. There’s never just one way of doing things for Yellow People. They pride themselves on their ingenuity and problem solving skills. They are competent and knowledgeable. When others shy away from a challenge, Yellow People grasp the nettle and go where angels fear to tread.

yellow paintings

 Lastly, Orange People are the very loving and loveable among us. The peacemakers. The carers and givers. They are the back bone of a harmonious community and at the heart of getting things done for the good of all. By believing in the power of ‘co-operation’ Sesame Street’s Big Bird should have been orange not yellow.

orange artworks
 

So, whatever your favourite colour is or what colour you perceive best represents your personality, all colours provide a channel to the greater enjoyment of life. Add some colour today.

 


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