AdditiveColor

Whether you know it or not, you are an artist painting a self-portrait. Rather than using brushstrokes, you add one simple dot to your canvas each day. The color of each dot is determined by your actions and how you are perceived by others that day. Think of this as a form of Pointillism.  “Pointillism is a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form an image. Georges Seurat and Paul Signac developed the technique in 1886, branching from Impressionism.”1

 

To better understand Pointillism, learn about the artist/work of art most associated with it in this “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte – 1884” by Georges Seurat.

 

In its simplest form, Pointillism uses only three colors: red, blue, and green. These colors are known as primary colors. Like life, Pointillism uses an additive process. “Additive color is a result of the way the eye detects color, and is not a property of light.”2  Adding these primary colors together creates additional colors. For instance, “adding red to green yields yellow; adding all three primary colors together yields white.”3  However, in pointillism, the colors are not mixed. Instead, the colors of the rainbow are achieved by placing these primary colors closer together or further apart so that the eye perceives them as one color when, in fact, two or more colors are present.

 

Getting back to your self-portrait, “color is a non-verbal communication.” 4 It represents your demeanor.

 

Painting is self-discovery. Every good artist paints what he is. Jackson Pollock5

 

Let’s look at the meanings associated with each of the primary colors.

 

 

Meaning of Colors

Red

“Red is energizing. It excites the emotions and motivates us to take action. It signifies a pioneering spirit and leadership qualities, promoting ambition and determination.” 6

“[T]oo much of the color red can cause us to become irritated, agitated and ultimately angry. Too little and we become cautious, manipulative and fearful.”7

 

 

Green

“This is the color of balance and harmony.”8  “Green is an emotionally positive color, giving us the ability to love and nurture ourselves and others unconditionally.” “It loves to observe, and therefore relates to the counselor, the good listener, the social worker. It loves to contribute to society. It is the charity worker, the good parent and the helpful neighbor.”9

“On the negative, the color green can be possessive and materialistic, with a need to own people and things.”10

 

 

Blue

“Blue is reliable and responsible. This color exhibits an inner security and confidence. You can rely on it to take control and do the right thing in difficult times. It has a need for order and direction in its life, including its living and work spaces.”11

“Change is difficult for blue. It is inflexible and when faced with a new or different idea, it considers it, analyzes it, thinks it over slowly and then tries to make it fit its own acceptable version of reality. Blue is nostalgic. It is a color that lives in the past, relating everything in the present and the future to experiences in the past.”12

 

The goal is to stay as close to the absolute primary colors as possible. When we do so, we approach the color white.

 

 

White

“White is color at its most complete and pure, the color of perfection.”13 “White contains an equal balance of all the colors of the spectrum, representing both the positive and negative aspects of all colors. Its basic feature is equality, implying fairness and impartiality, neutrality and independence.”14

“While there are very few negative connotations to white, particularly in western culture, too much white can be cold, isolating and empty.”15

 

 

In the worst case, we approach black.

 

 

 

Black

“Black is the absorption of all color and the absence of light.”16 “The color black relates to the hidden, the secretive and the unknown, and as a result it creates an air of mystery. It keeps things bottled up inside, hidden from the world. In color psychology this color gives protection from external emotional stress. It creates a barrier between itself and the outside world, providing comfort while protecting its emotions and feelings, and hiding its vulnerabilities, insecurities and lack of self confidence.”17

 

In between these two extremes, we get colors such as:

 

Yellow

When red and green mix, they form yellow. “The color yellow can be anxiety producing as it is fast moving and can cause us to feel agitated. Yellow has a tendency to make you more mentally analytical and critical – this includes being self-critical as well as critical of others.”18

 

Magenta

When red and blue mix, they form magenta. “Magenta can promote depression and despair in some, and prevent others from dealing with challenges… Being surrounded by too much magenta energy can generate arrogance and bossiness making us feel overwhelmed, irritated, anxious and intolerant.”19

 

Cyan

When green and blue mix, they form cyan. “It is cold, analytical, and direct to the point, without any distractions”20

 

 

Your Masterpiece

Now that you’ve learned about the colors are their meanings, what does your self-portrait reveal? I have an idea that it will be darker than you would intend. You see, according to Gallup’s State of the American Workplace Survey21, 70% of all employees are either “Not Engaged” or “Actively Disengaged;” only 30% are “Engaged.”  Disengaged employees tend to be associated with the negative aspects in each primary color. That means there are a lot of dark self-portraits being painted.

However, there is no need to despair. You can still create a masterpiece. If your self-portrait is dark, begin to consciously paint each day so that you can apply a color as close to white as possible. No one will ever reach absolute white or absolute black, so start coloring your world to reflect the best self-portrait you can paint.

 

 

What is the most frequent color in your self-portrait? What can you do to move that color closer to one of the primary colors?

 

 

 

1 “Pointillism.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
2 “Additive Color.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
3 Ibid.
4 “Meaning of Colors in Color Psychology.” Empowered By Color. Empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com, n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2016.
5 “Painting Quotes.” BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
6 “The Color Red.” Empowered By Color. Empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
7 Ibid.
8 “The Color Green.” Empowered By Color. Empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
9 Ibid.
10 Ibid.
11 “The Color Blue.” Empowered By Color. Empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
12 Ibid.
13 “The Color White.” Empowered By Color. Empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
14 Ibid.
15 Ibid.
16 “The Color Black.” Empowered By Color. Empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
17 Ibid.
18 “The Color Yellow.” Empowered By Color. Empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com, n.d. Web. 15vSept. 2016.
19 “The Color Magenta.” Empowered By Color. Empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
20 Rollins, Wade. “Article TemplateEncyclopedia of Educational Technology.” Article TemplateEncyclopedia of Educational Technology. San Diego State University, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
21 “State of the American Workplace.” Gallup.com. Gallup, Inc., 2013. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.

 

 

 

 

Let’s Engage!

I’m Agent in Engagement Simpson…Gregory F Simpson.

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