Do you believe in colours? What do colours represent for you?
Do you surround yourself with special colours because they make you feel good? Are you colour sensitive in clothes, painted walls, paintings or blossoms in your garden? Or, do you prefer subtle tones of beige and grey?
The other day I came across this leaf:
What a beauty on a grey pavement
I have a friend who calls me “woman in red” because I like to wear red clothes. Not always, it depends on my mood. And sometimes it is not even a conscious act. I pick a dress in the morning and when I look into the mirror I see a red clad woman.
Red is a colour I associate with courage, wearing red gives me an energy boost and I believe it has a subconscious influence on others. Therefore, when I have an important meeting I tend to wear something red, not necessarily to intimidate my counterpart but to make a statement to myself (“You can do it. Do not hide your light under a bushel.”)
Once I started looking around I saw red all over the place.
A red sculpture by Rudolf Tschudin who currently has an exhibition at my friend Lily’s gallery Galerie Lilian Andree in Riehen:
Red sculpture by Rudolf Tschudin
In western countries red is also a symbol for martyrs and sacrifice, particularly because of its association with blood. Think of the Pope and Cardinals who wore red to symbolize the blood of Christ.
Not my cup of tea, I mean the idea of equating red with sacrifice.
Red leaf on a green background
And high over the roof tops another red beauty:
A red salute from a roof top
Maybe you do not believe in the symbolism of colours but you cannot deny the fierceness of these red objects:
hot, hotter, hottest
Christian holidays such as Santa Claus, Christmas and Valentine’s Day are celebrated with red, signaling joy. And in other cultures red is the symbol for happiness, think of a Chinese wedding.
And red foods, but I am getting carried away and there will be a separate post on red foods.
Wishing us all more red in our everyday life and do not forget:
Red is the colour of love and happiness.
Comments 31
Love Dorothy’s red shoes in the Wizard of Oz, the red in our Canadian flag and Olympic teams, red maple leaves and my favourite red wellie boots. Cheers! Kaarina
Oooh! Wearing red gloves for courage – I love that ! I used to have a pair of red gloves, purchased in Italy <3 You make me want to buy another pair (and go back to Italy LOL)
Red is also the colour of the root chakra and grounding – therefore it is wonderful for courage! 🙂
Lori
Red is my fave colour these days. I’ve embraced it, have red dresses, red lipstick, and want red shoes. I love red couches, and was obsessed with them last time I was in Europe. Oh, I have a red car also 🙂
KDillabough So many cheerful things and symbols to be proud of, yeah to more RED in our lives! Have a peaceful weekend, Kaarina!
Lori Hi, Lori, you remind me that I have a pair of red gloves somewhere, what could be better to cheer up a grey day. I am not complaining today though: woke up to sunshine and went for a long walk with a friend and a Weimaraner.
Ah, Italy, so near and yet so far, how lovely it would be to sit outside somewhere, preferably at the beach in a café, sipping Campari with orange juice, watching the clouds go by and deeply breathing in the salty air.
JanineRipper Oh, Janine, I do remember you once had a post about what dress colour to wear ages ago. And I voted for RED. Great that you embraced it. I used to have a red car, too but the one I have now is grey which sets off my red clothes to perfection. Hehe!
Late_Bloomers Yes, that sounds lovely Barbara! Have a nice weekend!
I’m usually a ‘blues’ kind of guy, but there are days when only Ferrari red will do.
You might enjoy this post:
http://bluedollarbill.blogspot.com/2013/04/an-american-in-periwinkle.html#.Un5D95RAQQw
oneshoeshy Haha, Thom, I was thinking of Ferrari when Janine mentioned her red car! Can you visualize her racing around Perth in it? In my posher days I drove a red Porsche but I did not enjoy it that much, too much attention and testosterone driven shenanigans from the other drivers.
Have a peaceful weekend and why not some olives, bread and a lovely bottle of Amarone!
Lori Late_Bloomers And you! Are you doing anything special? Do you still have the spectacular fall colours, those brilliant hues of orange, yellow and red? Or has winter knocked on your door yet? I meant to go out in the afternoon and take pictures of the fun fair but got caught up with paper work and lots of social media …
Late_Bloomers No, the reds and oranges are all gone. The last gorgeous display we were treated to was the golden yellow of the hackmatack SO beautiful against the evergreen background!
I’m trying to catch up this weekend. Treating today (Saturday) as a workday to catch up because I was sick yesterday and Monday is a holiday. In any case, I am inspired and intend to get organized with all the things I’ve been learning.
I love how conversational your blog is Barbara – like having a conversation via Livefyre! Hope you take a break this weekend too. You don’t have “Remembrance Day” there, I assume?
Hi Lori, just coming back from having cooked dinner at my mom’s and putting up my feet now!
So you were sick, too, it has become a global thing! I hope you feel better and spoil yourself a little bit. Why do we always think we cannot be away from work for one day?
Yes, I love the conversational atmosphere as well, this is how it should be, no? We do not have Remembrance Day in Switzerland, we were and are a neutral country, never have fought in wars for some centuries now. The next holidays will be December 6 in honour of Santa Claus and then Christmas.
I will have to look up hackmatack, what a lovely sound this word makes.
What a great post Barbara…. Love how you weaved in the colors and different art
CarlyAlyssaThorne Hi, Carly, thanks so much for your lovely compliment! Is it not interesting that when we focus on one special item there is a whole new world opening up as if our blinkers had been removed! To a beautiful Sunday and a blinker free new week!
Love your passion and insights on RED. XX
Love you passion and insight on the color RED. XX
Met with a designer who wanted me to do my whole house in shades of beige. No thank you! Lots of color here.
CarmenMPerez Hi Carmen, red is the colour of passion, how appropriate and thank you, lovely friend! Happy new week!
Lynn OConnell And a lovely Monday morning to you, Lynn! I used to be a beige person but no more! Pimp your life with red, orange and purple! Happy new week!
I LOVE colors and what each of them represents for each one of us!
ourgreektv Hi Tereza, I can relate to your loving colours and I am thinking about the brilliant blue used in painting in your lovely country!
I love red in nature, red in food and red in clothes on other people. Just not on me. Makes me feel too self conscious for some reason.
Lucylastica2 Hi Lucy, I was once like you are now (do you remember this song?), would not dare to wear any red. Not any longer! But I am with you that you should feel comfortable and at ease with the colour you choose. Hey, you made a new friend, I have seen! Mark is a lovely and very positive person.
I love the reddish leaves of fall. It’s funny that I read this today when last night I had a dream about someone asking me what my favorite colors are. I said I love the muted color of sage green, perhaps because it calms me. I notice that as I age, I become more and more drawn to colors that calm me. But this is a good insight on Red though , Barbara. More than anything, thanks for the reminder to not take anything for granted, especially the beautiful, happy things in nature!
jpage.manuel Am I your dream walking guest, Joy? May I only bring you joy. What an amazing coincidence. I have worn calming colours, all shades of beige, camel and brown, for years because it suited my then rather glamourous red hair and need for not appearing too obvious (strange choice as my hair colour was somewhat enhanced by my hairstylist).
Hey, but you are wearing something red in your profile picture? Caught you! I always picture you in vivd colours, they seem to suit you.
Nice article, Barbara! For me, red is such an energetic color. I enjoy both wearing it and using it as an accent color.
How could we live without red???
robindavidman Hi Robin and you are wearing red in your profile picture! Lovely! Come to think of it: I use red as an accent color especially in winter when I tend to have red plaids on my sofa and chairs. Have a lovely Friday!
sharonoday Without strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes …. ? No way! Or Santa Claus in a different colour? Unthinkable! Thanks, Sharon, and talk to you soon!
I so agree that colours change our moods. I love that leaf photograph. I used to wear a lot of black and only started wearing colours a few years ago 🙂
tandysinclair Hi, Tandy, trust you had a great holiday in Sicily and keep up the aperitivo ritual of Prosecco.
I am still into beige and grey (it is so convenient) but will set it of with colourful scarves.