Color. It has the power to affect you both psychologically and physiologically. It can cause you to feel at ease and peaceful or it can cause an unrest in your soul... perhaps to the extent of provoking anger. The color red can apparently, even make you hungrier than you might've been in a restaurant dressed in white. Certain combinations of color even have the ability to trick our eyes.
For a visual artist, color is a very important tool. Using it wisely can cause your audience to feel the emotion that you're attempting to achieve. Conversely, by choosing the wrong color for your piece, you run the risk of falling woefully short. The viewer may not be affected at all, or they might feel an opposite reaction. Color has the power to be the difference between a technically good drawing, photograph or painting and a masterpiece.
The majority of us have a favorite color, but do any of us really know why we love that color? Are we drawn to it because our lives are so busy, complex and hectic, that we find peace when we look at our favorite color, "blue"? Or perhaps you grew up in an area that was always frigid, so you are drawn to the warmer side of the color wheel, surrounding yourself with adornments of orange hues, symbolizing little rays of sun. It's an interesting train of thought.
Personally, I've always loved purple; not just the hue, but also the tint and the shade (both a step toward warm and a step toward cool). I can't say with complete accuracy that I know why, but I could guess. Maybe it's because I'm naturally a peace-keeper. Perhaps I'm unknowingly bridging the gap between the two sides of the color wheel.
What is your favorite color...and why do you think that is?