Open Door

"Open Door", 30" x 30", oil on canvas

I have been researching colour and its effects on the body and its symbolism lately and working on a series of red paintings, the first two had other colour but this one i just worked with the simple palette of red to experiment with variation within the colour, using texture and three shades of red.  Here is something i found on the internet on RED.  The website is called http://www.sensationalcolour.com/

Red represents beauty in many languages and cultures, including Russia.

In Chinese culture, colors corresponded with the five primary elements, the directions and the four seasons. Red was associated with fire, south, and summer.

In Japan, the color red is associated closely with a few deities in Shinto and Buddhist traditions, so statues of these deities are often decked in red clothing or painted red. Mark Schumacher has a page on his site the goes into depth on the Color Red in Japanese Mythology.

In Sweden, Falun red (red based on the pigment from the Falun mine) was reserved for the privileged class.

In China, red is associated with good luck and fortune.

In Greece, Easter eggs are dyed red and the Greek expression "piase kokkino" ("touch red") is said when two people say the same thing at the same time. It is believed that such an occurrence is an omen that the two will have an argument in the future, which can only be broken when the two touch the closest thing that is red.

In Jamaica, a popular slang term for someone who is under the influence or drunk is "red."

In England, red phone booths and red double decker buses are national icons. Standard British pillar boxes (mail boxes) have been painted red since 1874.

In India, a red mark on the forehead is said to bring good luck.

To the Hindu, red symbolizes joy, life, energy, and creativity.

Islamic, Hindu, and Chinese brides traditionally wear red.

Cochineal red, discovered by the Aztecs, was made using the female cochineal beetle. A pound of water-soluble extract required about a million insects. For the Aztecs, Indian red dye was considered more valuable than gold! However, it was the Spaniards who introduced the crimson color of Cochineal red to Europe in the 1500s.

In Aztec culture, red was connected with blood.

Red amulets were worn in many cultures to prolong life.

In Singapore, the color red traditionally symbolizes joy.

Chinese New Year is celebrated by wearing red clothing and decorating the house with red. Red envelopes with "luck money" are given to unmarried children to bring good fortune to them for the rest of the year.

Red symbolizes feast days of martyrs in the Catholic church.

In Israel, kosher clothing stores banned the color red and sell only loose-fitting apparel for women.

The belief in the protective power of the color red can be traced back to the old Chinese folklore of the Nian, a man-eating beast of ancient China who used to feed on human flesh. Discovering that the creature abhorred loud noises and the color red, the people made liberal use of the color not only in their firecrackers, but also in home decorations and clothing to protect themselves from the Nian.