How green was my …

Green is welcome in a lot of venues. Green grass. Green lettuce. Green lights. But sometimes it shows up in unexpected places …

For instance, what about a big green stain on a nice carpet:

 

 

How are we going to get that out? The answer? Cut down the tree.

Here's a wider angle view:

 

 

 

Ooooh, there's a glass door. And that's where the tree comes in. The carpet is beige, just like those large swaths show. And the green? Light that's been reflected off a leafy green maple that's just outside the door.

Interesting, no? We've talked before about how objects only get their color by reflecting (and absorbing) particular colors that reside in the ambient white light. And in this case we can see what happens when the white light hits a green tree (which absorbs everything but the green) and then falls on a beige carpet. We end up seeing green.

This happens all the time and is something that all artists need to deal with. If you want to paint something well, you don't just worry about the colors of your objects. You worry as well about the colors of the surroundings and the color cast they throw on the main players.

Who'd have thought you could find such a dramatic example of color theory in one's own bedroom?

- And that's today's words from the bird