Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1921-10-06
The influence of Colors

i One OF the great lnHl snces upon
our lives is the color OF our sur
roundings.
Certain colors please us. They are
good coIors with which to surround
ourselves. Others neither please
nor displease; they are not so good.
Some colors are actively displeasing:
we should avoid them if possible.
The reason for our feelings about
/ certain coIore III found in nature.
Green, the color of all foliage and
herbage, is naturally the most rest
| full to all.
Blue. the color Of the sky and Of
the sea, III conducive to serious
mood, and often gives the impress
sion of coldne6s.
Yellow is the color of sunlight and
of almost all fires. From these as
sociations it takes on cheerful as
pect. It gives the impression of
warmth.
Red, the color of blood, is excit-
| ing and stimulating. To be sur
hasty and excitable.
Black is the color of night and
mourning. 1t is always depress-
| ing color. 1t makes us feel gloomy.
Purple gives something of the i'm
pr ession of black, but at times con-
veys the idea of elegance. This is
probably due to it's long association
with royalty.
A dweller in the city seldom sees
enough green.
Usually he is surrounded by
browns and grays. We would all be
better off if we would get into the
woods and fields more, not only for
the exercise and fresh air, but for
the influence of green of the trees
and grass.
Most of us who live in the cities
have poor eyes. This is due in part
to the amount of close work we do in
artificial and poor light, but the lack
of green in the surroundings certain
ly has lot to do with it. We have
feeling of rest when we look at
green, for the reason that green is
good for the eyes. Oculists prescribe
green tinted glasses in many cases
of eye weakness or sensitiveness.
The writer knows of a church
which is decorated in dark green. 1t
| is a pleasure to go to that church, it
is so restful.
Yellow is a good color to surround
ourselves with in cold climate. 1t
gives the impression of warmth and
cheer. The writer once went to work
in an office that was finished all in
yellow.
Shortly after he came it was re-
| finished in slate blue Right away
the stenograrhers began to kick
about being cold 1t was found that
| the office had to be kept three TO five
degrees warmer or nobody felt com
Portable
Offices finished in yellow always
have CHEEKY and business-like look.
You rarely ever see interiors fin
ished in red This is because we be
come tired of red quicker than any
other color. Red makes us nervous
and even irritable,
The effect colors have upon US has
been studied by manv scientists. A
| French scientist studied the muscu-
lar effect.
He found that blue light was the
least stimulating, and red the most.
Green was moderately stimulating,
and yellow somewhat more SO.
/ orange was almost as stimulating
as red. This is undoubtedly the
reason that red is exciting. 1t stiTnu-
Iates muscular activity.
Effect of color on the feelings has
! a large place in literature and
drama.
On the stage, blue always is used
for moonlight, and conveys such ar
impression to the spectator Red
and orange give the impression OF
warm, ruddy dawn.
In literature, probably the most
striking use Of color is in Poe'E
'Masque of the Red Death. TYPE
Metal Magazine.