White homes will absorb more heat from the sun than black houses would. In the hot summer months, a white or light-colored home will reflect more sunlight, keeping internal temperatures lower. Above: White (and other bright hues) will reflect the sun's rays rather than absorb them. Below: Black is a very efficient absorber of heat. This is why houses and buildings are often painted black or dark gray. They match any sky color nicely, and they keep the interior of the house cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The color black has many different definitions depending on who you talk to. Some say it's all colors mixed together, some say it's only shades of black, while others limit it to just true blacks, grays, and whites. We'll use these three categories here since they're the most common ones used by painters. Black is an extremely useful color to have in your painting palette. You can use it to make clouds, shadows, and even people's faces look much cooler in hot weather. Of course, you can also use it to make things look warmer in the winter time if that's what you want. The color black also has a number of other names including death black, devil's paint, and eternal blackness. This list doesn't include other names used for black in specific cultures around the world.