Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Bright and Battered

This last journal page is bright and battered. It was so aggressive, loose and crazy to me that I added the three squares for some order and rest. The writing will also calm it down a bit.

I've been thinking a lot about color and its symbolism in the western world. When I was in school I did a project on color psychology. This involved simple coloring tests with a class of grade one children. They had very similar reactions. Red was for anger, black was bad, orange was for happy, pink was delicate etc.

Part of the fun is to either use our cultural color language or to manipulate it. How can I make red feel happy? How can I express empowerment with pink? How can I make black feel pure? Color isn't the focal point in my work, but the art journal gives me a place to go wild with it.

12 comments:

Unknown said...

So bright and happy Shayla, beats our Chinese New Year colour anytime :D

Shayla said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Juggling Jason said...

Iintense! Good stuff!

Genie Sea said...

Red makes me happy! I love this piece! The colors say BAM! I also love the textures, the layering and the squares! :)

jo horswill said...

WOW Shayla...what a jolt of colour this is!!! What is going on with you, and can I have some too!!! Energy plus...I love it.

Jeane Myers said...

this is beautiful! I'm with Jo - I want whatever is going on with you too!

MiKa Art said...

This is a real sprit lifter! I was just staring into the picture for a while. Wonderful treat for the eyes and the soul. Thanks, Shayla!

Megan Coyle said...

I like how journals of any kind can be revealing like that--they allow you to get out of your comfort zone and explore other areas. I really like this entry--it's so colorful and the textures are lovely.

Shayla said...

M. Kate, I like red too, but you're right. You can make it brighter by pairing it with MORE colors. :D

Jace! Thank ya, glad you like.

Genie Sea, it is fun to say 'BAM', isn't it, be it in writing, visuals or vocals?

Jo, yes, I did have a burst. Have some one tell you "No." No that's the 'wrong' color, it's not serious art, you should make it more understandable etc, etc. Gets the artistic rebelliousness simmering, until POW! ummm, in the art that is, not in slapping said person ;)

Jeane, glad you like this page. I was still kind of scared of it when I posted it. I like it now.

Mika, you made my day *big smiles*

That's true, Megan. It is a revealing process.

Sweet-Lemmon said...

Very good!:)

Deborah Carr said...

Brilliant! You might be interested in the book, "The Perfect Red" by Amy Greenfield...it's about the quest for cochineal, the "brightest, strongest red the Old World had ever seen"..

Shayla said...

Thanks Deborah and Sweet-Lemmon

Oooooh! I WOULD like that book. Thanks for the recommendation, Deborah.