I thought my blog post today would be about the car caravan that I organized in appreciation of our neighborhood healthcare workers. 

Instead, I’m going to talk about why color fascinates me.  Color has always been an integral part of my life.  It still is.  Some of us love wearing black, some love white, and some just stick to blue. But I believe most of us are rather colorful beings.  Color says something about our culture, our thought process, and a bit about where we come from.  Not everyone can pull off a canary yellow or a chartreuse green.  When I had something to do with men’s wardrobes - AKA becoming my husband's personal stylist - I decided he needed a bit more color in his otherwise drab wardrobe.  Initially there was some resistance, but lately he’s bolder than I am! 

It turns out that I am not the only one who is fascinated by color! 

Unbeknownst to me, way back in 2000 when I was finding pieces to furnish our very first home, I kept going back to a carpet design which had the image of Wassily Kandinsky’s Composition VIII made in 1923.  I did not know at the time that he was the father of abstract art and a great painter of Russian heritage. I only knew he had a Wikipedia page!  Now, I am making an effort to study art on a deeper level. I'm trying to understand why is it I paint the way I do, and why am I drawn to abstracts and would spend my money on an abstract painting over a realistic painting any day.  Please don’t get me wrong, I admire realism of the old masters, and will gaze upon “The Stone Breakers” by Gustave Courbet for long periods of time wondering, "how did he paint that?"  I would frequent Thomas Kinkade galleries just to look and stare at the way he handled light. But I never bought a piece. I paint in both styles, I labor over realism and I ponder over abstraction; however, the result of either is colorful!

Consider this:  Kandinsky said “Color hides a power still unknown but real, which acts on every part of the human body.”  I do not know the exact date or time he said this, but it holds true to this day.  Perhaps we have not taken the time to study the effect of color in-depth.  But that’s not true either!  If you look up color and health, over 3 billion results pop up on google. On PubMed, however, the exact same terms result in less than 18,000 articles.  What this tells me is that, just as alternative medicine is not as popular in the allopathic world we live in, the effect of color on health is not sexy enough to be funded as a serious subject.

Anecdotal evidence claiming that colors cause positive/negative effects on people abounds.  But in the advanced world we live in, where are the quantitative research studies demonstrating these relationships?

On a not so cold, dreary Saturday afternoon, a few brave souls ventured out in a small car caravan in appreciation of the health care workers in our neighborhood.  It was a show of bipartisan support for the brave souls not just in Centerville, OH, but in hard hit cities around the world.  The dedication of scientists, physicians, nurses, therapists, venepuncturists and every other essential healthcare worker need our salute. 

We needed a little bit of Italy and New York in Dayton Ohio!  So here’s our tribute.

Because I am a volunteer for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, I wanted to give a shout out to the leadership of Dr. Lois DeGennaro & Dr. Gwen Nichols of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). 

Special mention goes out to Cris Peterson for leading fundraising for LLS in Dayton through the pandemic. Cris and I are devising up unique ways to fund raise in light of current events.  So, in honor of the scientists, doctors and cancer patients, 100% of the profits from the sale of any of our products are pledged to LLS.

You can buy original art here. 

A variety of products are made using my art as a backdrop here.  And yes, art also lives not only on walls, but also clothing and the latest addition – reusable face masks!

Again, 100% of the profits from any of the above products will go towards LLS.

As always, be curious and create!

Hyacinth

https://www.hyacinthpaulart.com/