Colours 色。

This post will be all about my favourite colours, which are: black, red and green.

1. Black
Black is seen to be a secretive, mysterious, suspicious and powerful colour. By powerful, I do mean it. Look at the villains in most shows or animations, those dark characters tend to be able to bring down the main characters first before suddenly being defeated after the main characters received a shot of hope and energy. For example, Maleficient in the game Kingdom Hearts (also seen in Disney's Sleeping Beauty) assisted Riku, whom she managed to convince to join her side, all the way to the end where she almost gained full power over the worlds before realizing that a key item is missing. Was that black attire or the black scales when she turned into a dragon a coincidence? Maybe not, as her heart is as dark and powerful as her very own attire/scales.

In psychology, black is said to symbolize protection from emotional stress from the inside. It helps in keeping everyone and everything away from oneself, thus providing comfort and alone time to the individual (Scott-Kemmis, 2009). It's like the moments when you just feel so stressed out and want to be away from people, and you lock yourself in an empty egg (or cupboard lol) and all you see is black, black, black.

"Trapped" by bluecafe3

The picture above illustrates the point on building barriers to enclose self from the surroundings. Physically it may seem very torturing as you can't see anything in the dark, and is squeezed tied in the small, dark space. However, you can feel a sense of comfort when you take a break from the ever-too-colourful world by retreating into the black and dark world for a moment.

"Concept: The Black Stag" by Panimated

Black symbolizes mysteriousness as well as coolness and in some cases, clarity. In the picture above, it is indeed clear that it is a stag facing us as its silhouette shows clarity in determining its true form (revealing the shape precisely; therefore enabling us to figure out its structure). Black is also a cold colour, as it is the disappearance of all light sources, and a stag (or just deer in general) is a calm creature. That symbolizes the coolness this shade of colour has. This painting also has the element of mysteriousness as we are able to see the silhouette at the front, but little do we know if it is a lion cub, or panther, or lemur. The feeling of confusion the dark silhouette leaves us with gives out this aura of mysteriousness.

2. Red
Red is a colour of passion, love, seduction, hate and anger. Red is also a colour which can build appetite, such as in the colour of apples. The colour red also symbolizes boldness and strength within a subject.

In my eyes, red symbolizes blood, hate and revenge. Red objects such as lips, roses, or even red flags, are seen in my eyes as related to actions and feelings of hate and revenge, and are bathed in blood. Seeing red makes me feel agitated and aroused, which allows large amounts of energy to be built up inside me, enabling me to do work at a faster pace.

"Rose Red" by stuntkid

In the painting depicted above, I see a bold and strong Rose Red (who is the sister of Snow White btw). However, I see her with a twist in it. In my eyes, I see Rose Red as a strong lady, but is highly envious of shy and demure Snow White who is loved by the public. Due to her high levels of envy, she finally murders Snow White, and her hair and rose-covered dress, which are already red, are stained with a brighter shade of red from her sister's blood. Hence, it symbolizes strength, boldness, hate, anger, revenge and also a burst of strong energy (it takes a lot of willpower and strength to actually kill off a close relative).

"Background 18" by ElenaDudina

In the photo by Elena above, it beautifully symbolizes boldness and strength of the colour red. The colour red on the ceilings, floors and pillars are very glaring, which gives a vibe on boldness. Strength can be seen in the pillars which stand strong, in addition to the colour.

3. Green
Green brings upon the meaning of life, energy, rejuvenation, and nature. It is often associated with harmony, growth, freshness, fertility and safety. Beside, it is also linked to envy, greed, money, and ambition (Bourn, 2011).

Green is a very harmonious and peaceful colour, and it feels really great to the eye. I feel very calm and cleansed inside out when I look at the colour green. It really takes my breath away. Below is a photo I snapped when I was in King's Park, Perth back in 2010:

When I looked at the grass there, it literally took my breath away, and the only thing on my mind was to lie down on the grass, roll around and relax (ahh enjoyment).

Besides, green can also symbolize hope, adventure and renewal.

"Stairway in the green" by gokate1

In the photograph above, it pretty much says that green gives us hope and leads us to newer and better lives. The surrounding green forest in the photo also shows tranquillity, where as the lady goes up the stairs towards a better life, she feels the sense of achieving nirvana.

In addition, green can symbolize greed, envy and shame, in contrast to it symbolizing freedom at the same time.

"I never meant to cause you trouble." by saratheresee

Implying what I have said earlier, this photo shows the shame of a girl who had caused a commotion with a closed one. The commotion may be caused by envy or greed, as the shade of green in the background is duller than other shades of green, and has this pressure on them which makes one feel like they had committed something wrong when they look at this shade. The photo also has an element of freedom, as the girl heads towards the greener parts of the forest; and the broken tape tied to her ankles symbolizes the breaking away from shame and guilt.



That is all I can explain for my three most favourite colours. Thanks for viewing, and have a nice day.

References:
Bourn, J. (2011). Color meaning: Meaning of the color green. Retrieved from http://www.bourncreative.com/meaning-of-the-color-green
Scott-Kemmis, J. (2009). Understanding the meaning of colors in color psychology. Retrieved from http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/meaning-of-colors.html