The Color "Gray"

Monday, I returned from a short family visit to southern Ohio.

The person responsible for making "gray" synonymous with  heavy, downcast, impenetrable, cold and damp, dreary, sickly, ashen and threatening must have been born in Cincinnati. Although, to be honest, the sun did peek out Sunday for about 30 seconds, the heavy cloud cover suggested no promise that any blue might float above. Those perpetually gray winter skies reminded me of one reason I've come to love Colorado.

In Denver, gray skies have  entirely different emotional weight for me.

Denver gray  is an optimistic  symbol of constant change, offers protection from the sun, and is a nurturing rather than threatening promise of snow or rain. 

While gray may indicate something "neither here nor there", as an artist, I place no value judgement on a color midway between white and black. The gorgeous "grays" which result from  mixing two complimentary colors plus white excite and inspire me. I have already recognized that geography can change one's choices of color, e.g. orange and yellow, but I never before considered the impact of that same geography on neutrals.