"Dice"

I had to take "Color Concept" in college.  This was a mandatory, multi-year course on color theory designed by the college president.  It was incomprehensible.  To this day I have no idea what I was supposed to be learning other than humility since my roommate got consistent As in the course and even went back to the college to teach it.  I also learned Color-Aid sheets of color were persnickety sources of obscenities since they chipped easily when I cut them into 1" squares and they were permanently marred by rubber cement.  At least I didn't set myself on fire doing Color Concept homework like one of my classmates when her propane heater set her messy hands alight.  She survived, but I bet her pain made her hate the course even more than I did.  At least she got out of doing Color Concept homework while her injured paws healed after a midnight trip to the hospital.

I complained about all this to other classmates as we took a break from our never-ending homework.  My pals waxed enthusiastic about Color Concept.  One even brought out a color theory book he'd been studying in his own time.  The conversation devolved from there, definitely not helped by drinking heavily while they talked about stuff I couldn't wrap my mind around.  Yeah, I learned humility, but it still seems to me some people try to mystify others with their brilliance by spreading an impenetrable order on things.  Or maybe I just have a blind spot on the science of the subject?

That said, there are certain usual rules about color I do understand.  Red and green are opposites on the color wheel and stands for Christmas.  Two adjacent colors are often contrasted with their opposing color.  On and on and on.  If you paint a purple iris with green leaves, well, nature naturally gives us nice combinations.  Yellow and black wasps scream a warning about their stingers.  I think we all intuitively get the obvious rules.

Novice artists are often afraid of color (though some embrace it from the start).  Many doodle and sketch in pencil or pen to develop skills.  When they start dabbling in color they often dislike the messiness of it all.  They're timid in their approach.  They can make some unpleasant choices.  Push on!  Keep trying!  It will eventually start coming together, whether or not you take expensive and incomprehensible college courses on color theory.

Computers make a lot of this kind of thing so much easier these days.  Create something, change your mind, try different combinations.  Roll the dice and see what happens.  Yeah, that's a stretch for "dice", but contemplating dice made me think of color charts.  Hey, don't stifle my creativity!  It was this or chopping celery :)