January 19, 2006

More Color Musings

As a more knowledgeable friend of mine pointed out in her comment, all additive colors (like light) are made up of three colors - red, green & blue. All subtractive colors of light are also made up of three colors - magenta, yellow & cyan.* (Thanks, Amy. : ) I was in the middle of writing her a slightly sarcastic, witty response (how like me!) when another thought along those lines struck me.

Any color (red, yellow, blue or magenta, yellow & cyan) is made paler by adding white to it. -Remember that white is all of the colors in equal proportions, whether it's light or ink. On the other hand, any color is made dingy and eventually eliminated by adding black (lack of all colors). Add more and more of every color, and you'll wash out any variety; remove more and more of every color and you'll end up with no color.

In terms of tolerance: if you add more and more of every belief and every stance, any position you hold is gradually watered down until there isn't a position. If you remove more and more of other beliefs, you end up with greater and greater darkness.

Complete tolerance and complete intolerance are equally dangerous: no color, no variety at all, is left. Find that knife-edge between black and white that provides the greatest variety of color there is. Don't accept everything, but don't reject everything either.

The man who fears God will avoid all extremes.
- Ecclesiastes 7:18b


*Post altered to accurately reflect Amy's information, as per her comment. I'd hate to misrepresent you, chica... ; )

2 comments:

amy said...

Okay you're going to KILL me, but I have to correct you again.

Subractive color (ink or pigment on substrate) is made up of cyan, magenta, and yellow.

Additive color (light) is made up of red, blue, and green.

No reason really to correct, just that if any other graphic artist actually believed that I told you what you wrote, I'd be flogged.

:)

amy said...

Susan, Susan, Susan.
Additive colors—light— are red, GREEN, and blue.

Third time's a charm, right?

*wink*