THE COLOR OF TIME

 A series of essays.....

Waiting For The Magic To Happen.....!

.....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E. Hughes



Waking-up in the morning, I wonder....and, attempt to recreate in my mind all of the colors that I thought about, dreamt about while I slept.  Those swirling, magnificent shades of blue and green, with reds that range from 'Valentine's Day Bright' to the fading beauty of a deep, dusty rose.  The blacks.  The whites.  The various shades of gray.

Amazing, glorious color continues to guide me through the day acting as 'trigger mechanisms' releasing the flow of energy, imagination, if you will, that guides my actions and intentions while fueling the desire to be a fully functional and creative human being. 

Color creates moods; color changes moods.  Color evokes memories and, in turn, produces responses from those memories.  Yet, color is timeless. Color is ageless.  It can be yesterday, today or tomorrow and ebb and flow offering irregular outlines that shift like the seas with the tide.

Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts

Color bounces off of solid surfaces, as does light and sound, within its epic lifetime journey and is refracted through a variety of eyes.  How often have you been asked the simple question, what is your favorite color, and hesitate...for a moment, because it's difficult to say just one?  Or, are you enamored of one solid contender?  I have to stop and think each time this question is posed because the lofty blue of the sky might be calling me that particular day...or, forty shades of green are pulling at my heart strings right then or, I am remembering the multiple shades of 'all colors' and 'lack of color' that pronounced my recent dream; the black, white and grays that surround my nocturnal existence.  It is difficult to choose.



This past Tuesday evening my husband and I were blown-away by the Blues/Rock-and-Roll musician, Joe Bonamassa, when he performed in concert at the newly opened Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Orlando.  This master guitarist and songwriter performed with two bands, one acoustic and one electric, while showcasing his unique style of European influenced blues.  This magnificent entertainment  was a treat for the senses!  A sterling performance encompassing guitar perfection (at least eight acoustic and an equal amount of electric guitars were played by him) meshed with a dynamic percussion presentation that was beyond my wildest imagination. 




With not a still body in sight, we swooned, clapped, whooped and fell wantonly under the spell cast by the primal rhythms and musical beats that surrounded us under a velvety cloak of bliss.  The stage rolled and swayed from the weight of such unmitigated talent.  The bright lights enveloping all of us sprayed beams of rich, warm color all around the room as they danced rhythmically with the primal beat set-forth by Bonamassa and his band. 

Soft, powdery blues mixed with powerful beams of bright white light spotlighted Joe and turned the stage into an extraterrestrial-like encounter as this eclectic mixture of talented musicians delivered a gorgeously textured, unplugged experience.  At one point, the white illumination resembled sailing ships carrying the music across an imaginary sea and back to Europe, the place which lent its vintage flair to the acoustic blues set.

Like Ships Out At Sea......

The influences behind his second set, with a shift into electronic mode, introduced power in the form of giant beams of red, orange, gold and clean white lights illuminating the band and audience alike.  The capacity to help influence the behavior of others is often emphasized by the use of strong colors and light. It certainly worked for me!

 

Rock-and-Roll

Electronic Mode

Acoustic

Thank you, Joe Bonamassa!!!

Color does evoke memories, some pleasant, others not.  I have mentioned several times before how the deep, luscious reds of velvety rose petals call to mind my Mother's lips.....stained 'happy' for a night out on the town.  I could never pull-off wearing red lipstick for some reason.  Maybe my smile requires a deep shade of pink in order to be effective?  And, a pale mint color reminds me of a baby's layette with sweet thoughts of my youngest brother, Dennis, when he was brought home from the hospital swaddled in this soft shade of green.  Both of my girls wore an ample amount of pale green as babies because of the good feeling it elicited within me. 

I often wore pink growing-up.....and, not always by my choice.  Mom said the color appealed to my skin tone and complimented a slightly ruddy (interesting color word), deep skin shade which reminds me now of my Father.  Ahh!  Shades of pink: Blush, rose fuscia, magenta!  All shades that were memorably worn by my bridesmaids and flower girl in my wedding so long ago!  Today, pink remains such a forgiving color for me....

Yellow.  No.  I really don't know why!  Funny how some colors just do not penetrate the heart.  Maybe someday I will figure this one out!

Blue and every shade of blue imaginable....speaks to me with such power, liberation and sweet contentment.  I am reminded of vacations spent walking the beach for hours upon hours and staring out at the sea, so vast and powerful.  I am standing under a sky so blue it actually hurts my eyes in all its cloudless wonder.  Provençal blue pots containing massive varieties of flowers with colors and scents that overload the senses with their unabashed assaults always decorate my world. 

It is the deepest, darkest blue known to mankind and brings me under its spell, wraps me around its finger and takes my breath away.  It boggles my mind and captures my heart so completely each and every time I see it.  My mood improves just thinking about it.  I know that I am a better person because of it!  I am looking into my children's eyes....my beautiful daughters.  Pools of blue so deep and reflective that it's possible to dream only good thoughts and imagine a positive future within their cool depths.  This blue helps to keep me grounded and always continues to define me in so many constructive ways!

The color of time is a personal journey into the unknown where patches of glorious pigment, real or imagined, adhere to us like neon-bright 'sticky notes' providing directions (good/bad) and inspiration along the way.  We cannot ignore its presence; we can only acknowledge its existence and run with it.  Like a creative adjective, color modifies time and gussies-up our short life spans as we continue to plod along our individual paths.  Color gives us the power to change our world!

What is your favorite color?

Do colors affect your mood?

What is your least favorite color?




Copyright © 2014 by Jacqueline E. Hughes
All rights reserved