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May 14, 2022
The color turquoise - it’s ever-present here in tropical Panama where my wife and I live. It’s the dramatic shadows in a steamy green jungle or the ocean’s horizon line seen from our back deck. It’s often coupled with shocking pink and orange on houses and graffiti and billboards. I love all colors, but turquoise has a special place in my heart.
What cinched my love affair with turquoise is the last paragraph in the book Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay (pub 2007). In 395 pages exploring the origins and fascinating stories behind various colors, Finlay never mentions turquoise.
Until the very last paragraph when Finlay writes:
“When I was two days from finishing the first draft of this book, a friend called from New York in great excitement. “There’s a text message on CNN. They say someone’s found the color of the universe,”
It turns out that scientists at Johns Hopkins University had discovered that by combining all the colors of all the atmospheric light in the universe one would come up with a very pale turquoise.
The color of the universe - pale turquoise.
Fascinating.
I had to read further.
As it turns out, the scientists got it wrong. They used the wrong color white for their computations. Actually, beige is the color of the universe. But for me, I still wanted more on turquoise and its cousin aqua.
Are they 2 different colors?
If so, how?
Some online searching gave me an answer. Although aqua and turquoise are both part of the Cyan or green/blue family - they’re a bit different. Aqua has exactly equal parts green and blue and absolutely no red tint whatsoever with an RGB of 0 (red)/255 (green) /255 (blue).
While turquoise’s RGB numbers are 64 (red), 244 (green), and 208 (blue). Hence turquoise plays so nicely with red because it has red within it. Turquoise leans more toward green than blue. There’s a reason why aqua feels so cool and turquoise, more vibrant and perky.
Yes, yes, my wife mused, but what does this have to do with real life?
A painting she inherited gave one answer.
The painting was of an Alaskan sled dog by Fred Machentanz, an early 20th-century painter. Machentanz was known for his ability to capture the eerie, glowing light of Winter in Alaska.
If you ever have had the pleasure of walking on a glacier in Winter twilight, you’ll know what I’m talking about.
The snow twinkles with pale pinks, blues, and, yes, aqua. Glacier crystals are compact and refract light much differently under the pale, weak sunlight of an Alaskan day.
Aqua leans more toward blue than turquoise. And so, Machentanz's paintings create a twinkling calm, a reflective and peaceful vibe. But the more adventurous scenes approach shades of turquoise where brighter, warmer colors are brought in to create drama and excitement, such as one painting of a musher leading a pack of dogs down the icy Bering Sea coastline.
Machentanz was a master of capturing aqua and turquoise on polar bears, on huskies, on mountains, on most everything in rural Alaska. He used aqua as a base layer with transparent glazes on top to create incredible depth in his work.
Take a look at the famous Coca-Cola ad with a polar bear and you’ll see a similar Machentanz shimmer on the fur and snow.
Fast forward to Panama, where my wife and I now live in the oceanside town of Puerto Armuelles. From our deck, we look at the amazing pacific ocean with its myriad shades of aqua. The ocean horizon line is a deep turquoise melting into a gorgeous orange/red sky. And inland? There’s the green and dramatic turquoise of a thick jungle. 100’s of different greens, yes, but turquoise lends the definition and pop of color to the green.
In the evening we’ve been watching the popular Korean drama “Mr. Sunshine” about South Korea’s righteous army and their struggle to maintain the Joseon empire in the early 20th Century. The cinematographer, I’m told, was meticulous in his filming to make sure that every scene, emphasized turquoise and its complementing red/orange.
Watching it I was struck again and again by the symbiotic relationship between turquoise and orange/red. The turquoise tile roofs of the emperor’s palace juxtaposed with the bright red of women’s robes. The turquoise shadows on a black horse’s mane as he prances through a funeral procession - bright red flags flying in the wind. Breathtaking cinematography at every turn brings unity to the entire 24-episode drama. At times I lost track of the plot as I marveled at the photography.
Aqua and turquoise have a solid place of honor in my paintings as well. They are often the cool undertones I lay down first. Spicier, warmer tones come later. I look forward to trying the glazing effects of Machentanz or capturing the dramatic scenes and colors of “Mr. Sunshine.” Take a look and see if you can spy these two colors in my work. Thanks for reading.
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