LIGHT AND COLOR

The importance to understand the color, first is understanding the light.

Light is usually defined as that portion of the electromagnetic spectrum visible to the average human eye. It is commonly called “visible light” and subdivided into seven major colors—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Visible light lies on the electromagnetic spectrum in between infrared and ultraviolet light.

The objective components of color are: a source of radiant energy, a medium through which that energy travels, and an object. That absorbs and reflects different portions of the light spectrum.

The subjective components of color are:

The response to the reflected light- the cones and rods in the retina of the eye-and the brain that interprets the information received as color and generates sensations in response to that information. The optic nerve carries visual information from the cones and rods to the visual cortex of the brain, where the experience of color is made conscious and human emotions, associations, and memory are generated.

-Elena Gutierrez.

Adapted from the lecture “The Physics and Chemistry of Light and Color” by Daniel Barber. http://www.daniel-barber.com

PAINTING AND PICTURE MADE BY ELENA GUTIERREZ  (Elena G).