Shades of Purple
An inquisitive reader wrote to me this week and said that she did not understand how the two purples of the year 2014:
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Could look so different!Look at how many purples are in this a chart of Pantone:
I think the easiest way to explain why they look so different is to look at a color wheel:
Purple is a range of hues between red and blue. We have violet, a secondary color, which is what most of us see as the actual color purple. Now see how the blue violets are closer to blue, therefore has more blue in them? That is why some purples look bluer, such as Exclusive Plum:
And the closer to the red side of the color wheel, such as Radiant Orchid, the color looks pinker/redder than other purples:
Does this make sense? Do you see why they can appear so look so different?I have always loved the cooler side of purples (blues) such as Ben Moore Luxe AF-580:
I have not ‘warmed up’ to the pinker color of purple yet. What do you think? Which is your favorite shade of purple?