Hidden in Plain Sight
Tourquoise, Cyan, Jade, Cerulean.
These are names for a color of the rainbow that is badly misunderstood!
Remember ROYGBIV? Red, Orange,Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.
As a little kid I always wondered what indigo was. The source of confusing around this blue/indigo confusion lies in the way language changes over time. Isaac Newton, who famously showed that sunlight can be split into 7 spectral colors (ROYGBIV) called them red, orange, yellow, bleu, indigo, violet. With time language morphs and what Isaac Newton called bleu, we call cyan today, and what he called indigo, we call blue.
Isaac Newton’s color wheel - Notice Bleu and Indigo at the base?
I made this rainbow by passing sunlight through a prism. And look - you can clearly see cyan!
We probably should update our rainbow to say ROYGCBV (red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, violet). It doesn’t roll of the tongue like ROYGBIV, but we’d get used to it and it would make a lot more sense!
Do you want to learn science-based color theory?
Join me for
COLOR: Practical Science For Artists
Webinar via Zoom
Feb 19 (recording available for those who can’t attend live).
50 minute slide talk where you’ll learn tons of fun stuff about color.
For artists and people who love art.
Free!