A is Red and so is Sunday in Thailand

This will sound odd, but what else is new, coming from me? As long as I can remember, in my mind, I see letters in specific colors. Yes, I know I should have sought help earlier. (I'll add that to my list of things to do.)

In my mind, A is red, B is blue, C is purple, D is blue, E is a dull yellow, F is brown, G is orange, H is yellow, I is white and on it goes. OK, some folks are blessed with certain innate talents. Unfortunately, mine is mental - and not mental in the way of Einstein. But, I digress.

Speaking of assigned colors, I came upon an interesting article on Thailand. Among the unique customs of this ancient country is an interesting one of colors - one for each day of the week. On each given day of the week, Thai citizens traditionally wear the color of day. Also, everyone sees the color of the day of the week they were born on as their lucky color. There is also a Buddha assigned to each day, although I did not read anything about the Buddhas being coordinated with a color.

Assigned colors are:
Sunday –         red
Monday –        yellow/cream
Tuesday –        pink
Wednesday –   green at daytime, grey at night
Thursday –      orange/brown
Friday –           light blue
Saturday –       purple/black

And, another interesting fact is that each day also has an "unlucky" color.

 
Sunday -          blue
Monday-          red
Tuesday -         yellow & white
Wednesday       (Daytime) pink
Wednesday       (Nighttime) orange & red
Thursday          purple
Friday               blue black & dark blue
Saturday           purple & green 

Just like our days of the week are named for planets and ancient gods, the Thai culture also has a planet for each day of the week as well as a Hindu deity that protects each day are:

Sunday             Sun  - Surya
Monday            Moon - Chandra
Tuesday            Mars - Mangala
Wednesday       Daytime - Mercury Budh
Wednesday       Nighttime - Mercury Rahu
Thursday          Jupiter - Brihaspati
Friday               Venus - Shukra
Saturday           Saturn - Shani

Who knew? It is all I can do to select a color of sweater to wear each day, perhaps I should coordinate with the traditional Thai colors. Of course, I would need to change clothes twice on Wednesday. And, add some orange and brown to my wardrobe since I was born on Thursday. And, learn to avoid purple.

What, No Tan!

Continuing my education in pigments and tone, tints and tones I read through the color recipe book. Rather than a cup of this and a pinch of that, it was so many parts and a speck. After trying to measure parts and specks I was totally frustrated. How large is a part? How small a speck? Then Geronimo! At the very back of the book was a clear plastic "Color Mixing Grid".

Now that that issue has been solved, onto the other issue - the basic colors I need to create any of these 390 unique "colors". "Permanent Blue"? Is that the "True Blue" I have. "Burnt Umber" - check, "Naples Yellow" - check. "Alizarin Crimson", not so much.

Out of the 30 base colors one needs, I have 12. Now comes the quandary, do I take the 40 or so colors I do have and try to see which color comes closest to the any given true base color. This may take some time. Will "Hooker Green" do for "Permanent Green"? Perhaps the pieces of my work will just be a tint, tone, or hue off. 

Of course I haven't even thought about venturing into the Neon tones or Metallic colors. All of this makes me think - how elementary would my work be if I only used ROYGBIV plus black, brown, and white. Thinking more about it, my work requires a lot of Gray (which of the 7 different "grays" should I choose?). And Tan, there are only . . . Wait, there is no Tan in the book.  12 "Browns" but no Tawny or Tan.

Neon Carrot or Medium Cadmium Orange

 Back in "Miss" Nancy's Kindergarten, I was only allowed the 16 Crayola Crayon Box. My parents did not buy my pitch for the box of 24 or, God Forbid, the Holy Grail - the box of 120 Crayons (with the sharpner). Of course, all we really needed was the basic 8,  ROYGBIV (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet). Well included in there was Black and in lieu of Indigo, there was Brown.

With my new hobby of painting, I find myself constantly trying to get the right color, with the right tint and hue. What I mixed for the light edge of that peach colored rose petal, just had too much orange. And, I learned the hard way gray is not just gray. There is "green" gray, "brown" gray,  "light" gray, and "dark" gray just to name a few. So I decided to hedge my bets and invest in a coloring guide entitled "Color Mixing Recipes". 

Reading the first chapter on tone and shades, harmony and psychology, chroma and compliments, I realized I was way over my head. All I wanted was to mix a perfect peach. Looking at the 390 different colors, my mind was blown. Maybe that box of 120 Crayons was more serious than I thought. (And I just wanted it for bragging rights over my friend Frances, who had the box of 64.)

A prime example is "Ochre Red" #314. The recipe of which is 2 parts Naples Yellow, 1 part Burnt Sienna, and 1 speck of Cadmium Blue. A page or 2 earlier I found "Moth" #294 which is 6 parts White, 4 parts Yellow Ochre, and 1 part Ultramarine Blue. And, then there is #135, "Lapis" which is concocted from mixing 3 parts Permanent Blue, 1 part White, and 1 speck of Alizarin Crimson. No wonder I couldn't get the color peach correct, I had no idea it may have been "1 speck"  of Crimson (or whatever) that made the difference. BTW what is a "speck"? And while we're at it, how big is a cubic? But I digress.

Looking through the index, I found there are 5 different "Pansy" colors, 2 "Pelicans", 4 different "Seafoams" (including 1 sub color), and 15 "Oranges." Hearing that Dorothy awoke to find the witch was dead and everything was in color, now has a whole new meaning. (15 Oranges - seriously?)

So my work is cut out for me. Now in trying to come up with a perfect peach, I am bogged down in 3 different Peach recipes (Blossom Pink Peach, Cream Peach, and Pink Peach). Deciding on "Pink Peach" I need to mix 10 parts White and 1 part Cadmium Orange. After a quick Google search I learned Cadmium is a silvery white color, so I assume Cadmium Orange is a silvery white orange?

Perhaps, I should leave the acrylics for the grown ups and invest in that box of 120 Crayons. After all, if I cannot recreate the image I have in my mind on canvas in 120 colors then I seriously need help. However, looking over the chart of the 120 colors included in that box, I notice "Granny Smith Green". If I remember correctly in the 1964 box, that was simply "Light Olive". And "Piggy Pink"? I'll stick with "Cadmium Yellow", "Cerulean Blue" and "Phthalo Red". I may not know what I am talking about, but at least I will sound serious. "Macaroni and Cheese" light orange? Seriously?