Most people have a mental image of the color white. For some it may be a warm white, for others, a cool white—there are infinite interpretations. For the person working the paint counter at your big box store, its arbitrary. More than once, I have inquired as to the true white of a ceiling paint. On most every occasion the answer is “it’s white.” I don’t think just because I’m a visual artist or work at an art museum that I am the only one who’s particular as to the tint of a color. I would assume many of you also concern yourself with what a ceiling color may look like especially after a neck-breaking application. Who wants a yellowy ceiling? Isn’t that the reason most of us paint a ceiling white? Anyway, I can hear myself sounding like a real “paint snob” by asking, “Well, is it a bright white or do you have a color chip that I can see?” “I’m not sure…it’s just white,” is the normal answer as they scurry off to avoid further discussion on the subject.
If you are as interested in color as I am, you should seek out the book The Secret Lives of Color by Kassia St. Clair. It dives deep into the origins of colors…how they are made, who invented them, why are the named as they are, etc. There is even a section on whites! Each color is a single page read that’s full of fun facts that you can recite to the next “paint representative” at the sales counter.
Patrick Kelly, Executive Director and Curator