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The Psychology of the Colour Pink: Meaning, Symbolism and Wellbeing

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Pink Sky Reflection, The Norfolk Broads, Art Photograph, Hugo Richardson

Pink is a colour with a surprisingly deep and varied history. From ancient literature to global cultures, from religious symbolism to modern marketing, pink has carried meanings of love, innocence, power, luxury and even rebellion. This post explores the fascinating story of pink and the emotional impact it continues to have today.

Pink in Early Literature

In the 8th century BC, Homer’s Odyssey references pink as the rosy colour of dawn, “Then, when the child of morning, rosy-fingered dawn appeared…”

Wild Rose with Rain Drops, Art Photograph, Hugo Richardson

Suffolk Pink: A Colour With History

Suffolk Pink, seen on many historic buildings in the region, dates back to the 14th century. The colour was traditionally created by adding elderberries to limewash, though sloe berries, blackthorn and even ox blood were also used. These additions were believed to strengthen the protective qualities of the limewash.

The ‘Suffolk Pink’ colour is highly protected and regulated by local councils and English Heritage.  Marco Pierre White once painted The Angel in Lavenham a shade of ‘blancmange’ in 2013 that offended the locals and the council.  He was forced to repaint, only after the right shade of pink was agreed with English Heritage.

Pink in Religion and Symbolism

Biblically, pink is associated with being in right relationship with God. It symbolises the “Love of God,” combining the red of Christ’s blood with the purity of white. In some artworks, Jesus is shown wearing pink to evoke innocence and the womb.

Pink symbolises friendship, beauty, faithfulness, compassion, romance, love and sensitivity. Pink roses, for example, represent admiration, happiness and familial love.

How Pink Pigments Were Made

Light red eventually evolved into the colour term “pink.” Historically, pink pigments were produced by mixing alum and chrome mordant with brazilwood dye or with madder roots plant Rubia tinctorum.

Mixed with white, pink can also be made using red from the cochineal insect. Cochineal was cultivated commercially in Poland, Prussia, Saxony, Lithuania and the Ukraine in the 18th century.

The cochineal harvest started on the fifth hour (between eleven o’clock and noon) of St John the Baptist’s feast day on the 24th June, accompanied by religious ceremonies.  Some stories are hidden deep in language, in words we use daily, but the origins of which have been long forgotten.

Polish cochineal is also known as Polish lac and the cochineal insect is known in Polish as Czerw.  The female of the cochineal, in the late larva state, was collected and boiled in water with vinegar. They were then dried in the sun, or in ovens and ground with bread acid to produce a dye.

But as many as 155 thousand insects were required for 1kg of dye, pushing red textile prices through the roof.  Polish noblemen, monarchs and high clergy were the only people that could afford cloth dyed with cochineal, also known as Saint John’s blood.

The first flags and banners of the Kingdom of Poland show a white-crowned eagle on a red background, and the white and red flag represents Poland to this day.

From the 16th Century, Polish cochineal was predominantly replaced by cochineals from the New World.

Pink symbolises friendship, beauty, faithfulness, compassion, romance, love and sensitivity.

Pink roses, for example, symbolise love between family members, admiration and happiness.

Pink Roses, Art Photograph, Hugo Richardson

Pink in Global Cultures

Pink carries different meanings around the world:

In Japan, the colour pink has a masculine association. The Sakura pink cherry trees that blossom in spring represent young warriors (Samurai) who fell in battle in the prime of their life.

Pink is a sign of trust in Korea.

In Latin America, it’s symbolic to architecture.

In India, Jaipur City is a tourist attraction.  It has forts, palaces, temples and bazaars which are predominantly pink.  The geography is often called ‘The Pink City’.

Pink in the Sky and Natural Light

Clouds often appear pink at certain times of day. This happens because sunlight scattered by clouds is also scattered by air molecules. Shorter?wavelength colours such as green and blue are scattered out of our direct line of sight more than red. The atmosphere preferentially scatters blue light toward us — a phenomenon known as airlight.

Airlight is responsible for the blue sky and contributes to the blue appearance of distant mountains, such as the Blue Mountains in Australia.  Because airlight is polarised, its intensity changes depending on the setting of a camera’s polarising filter. When reddened sunlight and scattered blue light combine, the result is the soft pink glow we often see in clouds.

It is responsible for the blue sky and partly for the blue colour of distant mountains  Airlight is polarised and so the intensity depends on the setting of the camera polarising filter.  The reddened light and blue light together produce the pink.

Pink Clouds, Art Photograph, Hugo Richardson

Pink in Maps and Empire

Traditionally, territories of the British Empire were coloured pink on maps. This was a practical compromise: red was the colour associated with the Empire, but printing colonies in red made place names difficult to read on globes and atlases. Pink provided a clearer, more legible alternative.

Pink as a Symbol of Luxury

In the West, Pink first became fashionable when European aristocrats, both men and women, wore a faint pink powdery variance as a symbol of luxury and class.

Pink in the Natural World

In the natural world, one of the most dramatic colours of pink can be found on the flamingo.  Their colour is as a result of the food that they eat which is mainly algae and brine shrimp.  The body of the flamingo metabolises the pigments which turn its feathers pink.

Flamingo, Art Image, Hugo Richardson

Pink in Psychology and Behaviour

In 1979 in the US, penitentiaries were painted pink as an experiment to reduce violence.  This type of pink is called ‘Baker-Miller’. The reason being that the experiment on the first correctional institution was directed by Baker and Miller.

The early research was found to be flawed.  While pink’s calming effect has been demonstrated, researchers of colour psychology have found the effect only occurs during the initial exposure to the colour.  When used in prison, the inmates often become even more agitated once they become accustomed to the colour.

Pink, Gender and Marketing

In the Western world today, pink is widely seen as feminine — .  Barbie pink for girls, blue for boys. But historically, this was not the case. Until the early 20th century, pink was considered a masculine colour, while blue was associated with femininity and the Virgin Mary.

This shifted in the 1940s when retailers realised they could increase sales by marketing colours to specific genders. By the 1950s, everything from toys to toothbrushes was colour?coded, cementing pink as “for girls” in popular culture.

The Rise of Rosé Wine

A very interesting marketing phenomenon has been the massive increase in the consumption of rose wine.  There are a number of reasons for this, some of which include the colour.

The ‘salmon’ shade of Rosé wine is generally the leader globally.  However, an apricot shade of rose wine is preferred by consumers in the Bordeaux region.

Global consumption of rose wine has increased by 30% in 15 years. In 2013 alone, the United States consumed 279.4 million litres (nearly 74 million gallons) of pink wine.

The increase of rose consumption appears to be based upon the attractively of its colour. Rosé is very popular with the millennial generation.  The pink is perfect for Instagram posts and influencers like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, who own the award-winning producing Chateau Miraval has also helped.

Here are all the reasons, following some research on the web:

  • Rosé production quality has increased
  • Rosé has a lower propensity for producing a hangover compared to other wines
  • More and more women are looking for lightness and freshness
  • Rosé is being promoted by celebrities
  • It looks good on social media
  • There is a wide range of sweet to dry options

Flamingos, Art Image, Hugo Richardson

Please feel free to communicate with me about the ‘blogs’ we publish.

Email: hugo.richardson@image-memory.com

Tel.:     07476 343 777

The Psychology of Colour – Red / Vermilion

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Summer

Red exudes warmth and, like no other colour, radiates a strong and powerful energy that motivates us to take action.  It is used effectively as a warning colour on road signs and as the ‘stop’ light for traffic lights. Red lights also show car users when the driver in front is braking.

In medieval times, artists would use a mixture of sulphur and mercury, heated to very high temperatures, to produce red pigment.  Known as vermilion, red was also produced from cinnabar.

Cinnabar ore contains mercury.  The ore is toxic. Many miners lost their lives whilst mining the mineral as, when it is ingested, inhaled or comes in contact with the skin, it can lead to mercury poisoning.  This toxicity can lead to neurological damage, kidney problems and respiratory issues.

From the end of the 19th century a less harmful alternative to cinnabar was found, cadmium.  Today vermillion is made from modern, harmless and stable pigments.

Love

Associations with the colour red include physical energy, passion, attention, stimulation and excitement.

In the UK, pillar boxes are painted red and the original telephone booths were coloured red.

Red is also the colour of blood and has historical connotations with sacrifice, danger and courage.

In Roman times, on the battlefield, Roman soldiers wore a red tunic under their armour to represent blood and strength.  The compact line of the Roman infantry, dressed in red, had a psychological impact on the enemy, which perceived it as strong and valiant.

It is also the colour of war, Mars.  Roman soldiers and gladiators were both adorned in red.

In some accounts, Caesar’s face was painted red.  This was perhaps as an imitation of Rome’s highest and most powerful god, Jupiter.

China also has a love of the colour red.  Throughout the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) red was used as a signal of strength and power. The dynasty was founded in the south and the ruling family’s name, Zhu, means vermillion.

Red is the luckiest colour in Chinese culture.  It symbolises joy, vitality, celebration, success and good fortune.  It is used for weddings and for the Chinese New Year.

The colour red also has a capacity for arousal.  Red stimulates the physical and adrenalin.  It raises blood pressure, the heart and respiration.  The colour also evokes strong emotions and is considered intense and even angry.

Red is believed to sensitise the taste buds and sense of smell, thereby increasing appetite.  All this occurs because the heart rate instinctively quickens, which causes the release of adrenalin in the blood stream raising blood pressure and stimulating the nerves.

The colour red, in Hindu scriptures, activates the circulation system and benefits the five senses.   It is used to treat colds, paralysis, anaemia, ailments of the blood stream and lungs.

Goldstein asserts “under the influence of red light, time is likely to be overestimated”.

From a ‘brand’ perspective, it is easy to recall when red is used.

The adverts that depict father Christmas delivering CocaCola are memorable, as are the Virgin Atlantic reels encouraging individuality.

Next week in the Psychology of Colour series – YELLOW

 

The Psychology of Colour – Blue

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BLUE

Blue light exposure can positively affect cognitive performance…

Bluebell Wood, Suffolk – Hugo Richardson

The Source of Blue

The origin of blue for use in art colouring came from the Ancient Egyptians, who created the first blue pigment as far back as 2,200BC.  Sand, ground limestone and copper-containing minerals, like malachite or azurite, were heated to high temperatures for blue in art.

However, alternative thoughts believe that the richest blue on earth is called ultra-marine, which means ‘over-seas’.  In Britain’s case, this means the Mediterranean Sea, literally the sea at the ‘middle of the earth’.

Ultramarine blue can be made from lapis lazuli. Lapis lazuli is normally a mixture of three minerals including lazurite (very complex blue mineral), calcite (calcium carbonate, which is white) and pyrite (an iron sulphide that is white gold in colour).

The finest lapis lazuli comes from Badakhshan.  The mines, on the precipitous walls of the upper Kokeha Valley, in North Eastern Afghanistan, have been worked for more than 6,000 years.

Lapis lazuli was not just used in paint, but four and a half thousand years ago, a pair of lapis-and-gold goats were placed in the royal cemetery of Ur in Mesopotamia. It was used on the Afghan Buddhas of Bamiyan, dated to the 6th century AD.

Around three-and-a-half thousand years ago, lapis was used to adorn the golden funeral masks and jewellery of the pharaohs.

Blue in a Business Context

Blue sky thinking is the thought process of limitless creation beyond conventional thought, limitless like the blue sky.  This type of thought requires a group of people that need to think outside the box in a ‘brainstorming way’.  The activity should not be constrained by the limits of practicality.

Exposure to blue light can positively affect cognitive performance, alertness and reaction time.  The colour blue is often used to decorate offices, because research has shown that people are more productive in blue rooms.

Blue calls to mind feelings of calmness and serenity.  It is described as peaceful and tranquil, secure and orderly.

Blue very well may improve sports that are reliant upon team work and decision-making.

Colour-chakra theory from Hindu scriptures adds: blue raises metabolism; is used to stabilise the heart, muscles and bloodstream; used to treat burns (methylene blue), skin diseases, glaucoma, measles and chicken pox and throat problems.

However, blue light, by raising metabolism, can decrease sleep quality and duration.

The River Stour, Early Saturday Morning – Hugo Richardson

Blue is calming, relaxing and healing but not as sedentary as indigo.

Jeanne Kopacz is an interior design professional and author of  ‘Colour in Three Dimensional Design’.  Kopacz suggests “the sight of the colour blue causes the body to release hormones when it is surveyed, particularly a strong blue sky.  Many believe blue can lower blood pressure, slow the pulse rate and decrease body temperature”.

Positive Associations (source, Envato Pty. Ltd.):

Trust, Loyalty, Dependability, Logic, Serenity, Security

Negative Associations:

Coldness, Aloofness, Emotionless, Unfriendliness, Uncaring, Unappetising

NEXT WEEK,  The Psychology of Colour: RED

Calm Morning Mist, Image Captured During Covid – Hugo Richardson

J M W Turner and the Elements – Fire

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Prometheus gave humanity fire

A Lime Kiln by Moonlight, J M W Turner, 1799

I am delighted to present the third of the ‘blogs’ relating to JMW Turner and my attempts to follow his methodology with my photographic work. Turner’s approach to art involved drama, action and bright light.

For example, we already know that his marine paintings included stormy events, ports defying the sea and ships capsizing.

The English Romantic painter, was lucky in a number of ways.  Britain was enjoying the developments associated with British invention.  Also, we had success in remaining independent from invasion attempts, following our success at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

We were also making significant strides with science.  For example, Humphry Davy, born in Cornwall, invented the Davy Lamp. This ‘arc lamp’ was one of the first electric lights. Bessemer was patenting a process for smelting steel. George and his son Robert’s company, Robert Stephenson and Company, manufactured and released the Locomotion No. 1, which was the first steam locomotive to carry passengers on a public rail line in 1825.

Light Bulb, photo taken by Hugo Richardson

Abstract Light Art, photograph by Hugo Richardson

Fire was being used industrially for manufacturing and for generating steam. One of Turner’s most famous paintings, depicting the move from sail to steam with marine transportation, shows how innovation was having an impact:

The Fighting Temerair, J M W Turner, 1838

The Eruption of the Souffrier Mountains, JMW Turner 1815

Turner was also interested in Geology, which led to a great demand for paintings of volcanoes.

At the start of the 1770s, an international group of artists gathered around the volcanologist William Hamilton (1731-1803), who resided as the British ambassador at the court of Naples at the foot of Mount Vesuvius.

Please see my ‘fireworks’ image below, inspired by Turner’s work:

Fireworks, Reading, Berkshire – photo taken by Hugo Richardson

The painters in his circle strove for realistic depictions of nature; they were interested in scientific inquiry and participated in the debate between the Plutonists and the Neptunists.

‘Neptunists’ believed that all rocks, including granite and basalt were formed by crystallization of material from the early earth’s oceans.

‘Plutonists’ believed that the rocks of the earth were formed through volcanic and magnetic action.

Crimson Sunset, J M W Turner, 1825

Moreover, the aesthetic qualities of fiery sunsets were always worthy visual material.

Sunset over Wiltshire Landscape, photo by Hugo Richardson

Turner arrived at a concept of landscape painting in which fire was not only used to create decorative affects, like those in the works of his contemporaries, but also became an integral part of his understanding of nature.

Firelight and lamplight were often subjects that Turner chose for his art.  This next piece of art focuses upon a fireplace in a bedroom.

A Bedroom with a Fire Burning, and a Bed with Yellow Curtains, JMW Turner 1827

Please see an interior photograph that focuses upon a living room stove, after Turner’s work of art above.

Stove Fireplace with a Round Candelabra for diffuse Light, photograph by Hugo Richardson

Glow of Bonfire, Art Photograph by Hugo Richardson

Next week Turner and The Elements – Earth

Local scenes of Reading, now on sale at Reading Museum

JWM Turner – The Elements – Air

/ Hugo Richardson / 4 Comments

‘The Service of the Clouds’

   

Entrance of the Meuse, JWM Turner, Orange Merchant Ship on the bar, 1819

The approach that English painters had for landscape painting, at the beginning of Turner’s career, included the ‘aerial perspective’ (used predominantly by Dutch artists in the 15th Century)

This system was a formula for producing atmospheric effect.  The process was used for ensuring uniformity in a painting.

Distant objects were depicted as paler and bluer; those in the middle distance were green and objects in the foreground were brown.

The farther away the object the less detailed it became.

However, in the second half of the eighteenth century, English painters felt that aerial perspective’s inflexible colour scheme was imperfect.

They realised that the appearance of objects in the landscape depended on light, the movement of clouds and weather conditions.

Artists like Turner, John R Cozens, Thomas Girtin and Francis Towne changed their styles to allow for this.

Their choice of colours and brushstrokes captured the impression of a fleeting, transient moment.

This changeability in nature focused on the style that John Ruskin (1819-1900) called “service of the clouds.”

Turner was particularly adept at painting the sky, light and vapour – air.

The element of air played the most important role in Ruskin’s assessment of the innovations Turner contributed to painting.

According to Ruskin, Turner’s depictions of space were based on atmospheric transparency.

This achieved a more truthful representation of nature and was a part of the scientific foundation of art promoted not only by Ruskin, but also Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832).

Turner’s work had vibrance to it, more closely showing the action of seeing through the sky rather than looking at it.

This is the effect that I am also trying to achieve with my photography.   The camera never lies, but using light, cloud, water vapour and reflection can add a depth to two-dimensions.

Watchers of the skies, through observing what is happening above us, can also have other meanings…

Clearly, from a biblical perspective, the heavens, the skies above, are also important for contemplative moods.  It is said that sitting on a beach for a few days a year, during a vacation is an important act for renewal.

The New Moon; or “I’ve lost My Boat, You shan’t have Your Hoop.” Turner 1840

Where the sea meets the sky is the furthest point that we can ever see, distance wise, with the eyes.  Most work is close up, much of it nowadays screen-based. So having the opportunity to rest the eyes, mind and soul by quietly watching the sun retreat over the horizon, whilst listening to the breathing of the sea waves, can be cathartic.

Perhaps I like Turner’s work because of the reminiscences it invokes of past holidays.

Either way, the sky is never the same from one day to the next, so it always delivers a new perspective.

In 1819, Turner visited Italy.  He was impressed by the intensity of light there.  In Rome, Turner encountered the method of painting in oils directly from nature, which derived from Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes (1750-1819) and his international academy of plein-air painting from the 1770s and 1780s.

During extensive rambles through the Roman Campagna, open-air painters became aware of how important the sky was to achieving a uniform effect in painting.

Clearly, being in the open air, outdoors is also a weekend pursuit many of us look forward to at the weekends.

Sources of research: Turner and the Elements, Bucerus Kunst Forum

JMW Turner – The Elements – Water

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Emulation of Turner’s work with Abstract Art Photography

Joseph Turner, Britain’s famous artist, gave around 30,000 pieces of art to the Nation for us to appreciate his artistic capabilities.

He was a complete genius at painting the elements.  His work has inspired me to take a series of photographs that depict light on water in its many guises, to try and emulate his unique style.

A recent visit to Tate Britain allowed me to look more closely at his phenomenal skill at capturing the force of sea waves.  For example, please see this stunning piece of art called “Fishermen At Sea Off The Needles” first exhibited in 1796 (he was only 21 when he painted this). The sense of movement in the water is breath taking:

Turner used a mixture of art materials for the effects he wanted. His use of colour and gouache (a type of paint made from pigments bound in water-soluble gum, like watercolour, but with the addition of white pigment in order to make it opaque) allowed him to explore dramatic scenes like this painting.

‘Stormy Sea’ Painting JWM Turner 1830 above.

‘Rushing Water’  abstract art photograph inspired by Turner’s style:

Mastering the movement of water, through painting and sketching, meant research. Turner took this to the limits.  He requested to be tied to the mast of a ship, in order to prevent himself from being thrown overboard during a sea storm in 1842. Ultimately it was so he could experience the torrent of a storm from a ship, thereby obtaining insights into the movement of water.

‘Water in Turmoil’ – Abstract Art Photograph

Turner always lived close to the river Thames, probably because he loved experiencing the movement and reflective quality that water gives us. 

Following on from the admiration of his work, I have recently taken some photographs that show both the power and light that water has.

‘White Water Swell’ another abstract art photograph

Please note waves turning in the mid left

NEXT WEEK – Turner and the Elements – AIR

Birds of Burghfield – Part One

/ Hugo Richardson / 1 Comment

When we first moved to Burghfield we were amazed at the wide variety of bird life, particularly aquatic, that live around the Kennet and Avon Canal and local stretches of water.

One of the most amazing species of bird that we have observed is the heron.  It is a very tall bird, with strange strands of feathers at the front, that make it look somewhat unkempt.

Fiona and I continually discuss the extraordinary features that this sizeable bird has. Their quirks include a bendy neck that it retracts when flying.  This is unlike other birds, like swans and geese, that straighten out their necks in front of them when in flight. The heron has 20 to 21 cervical vertebrae in its neck, which makes this possible.

They look like cloaked school masters in profile. Or the poem ‘Haegri’ (Shetlandic for Heron, please click on ‘Haegri’ for the full poem) by Roseanne Watt aptly describes her heron as ‘curled like a question mark’. They are one of the few species of birds that are prehistoric. I must admit they don’t look like a bird from this epoch when they fly, watching them makes me feel I have been transported millions of years back in time.

The heron is reluctant to take off because they weigh up to 2 kilograms and are up to 98cm in height, with feathers that provide some resistance to flight.  Consequently, a big wingspan is required and this measures up to a full 1.95 metres.

An adult heron needs around half a kilogram of food per day and they will continue on the hunt till this target is reached.  They eat fish, voles, frogs, eels, insects and young birds, like ducklings for example.  Mind blowingly we have seen a grown heron fly towards a mink in a distinctly aggressive way.

I am also convinced that the heron was the model for the birds in the Avatar films (please click on Avatar video clip for the plumes).  If you look closely at the photograph above, you can see a long dark plume of feathers trailing behind its head.  Their plume is like the reins that the avatars used to ride on the backs of magnificent birds depicted in the movies.

Please see photo below that shows the heron with neck fully retracted in flight.

Herons are also very solitary by nature.  I have only ever seen them on their own. Of course, they must find a partner in Spring, or the numbers would deplete quickly! The female will lay up to 10 pale blue eggs and both parents incubate the eggs for 25 days.

Sources of information include:

https://community.rspb.org.uk/ https://www.everyheron.com/

https://www.heronconservation.org/herons-of-the-world/heron-taxonomy-and-evolution/
 

hugo.richardson@image-memory.com 

Photographs by Hugo Richardson

Tel. 07476 343 777