Temperature: How hot is hot?

- Temperature is easy to measure when…you're talking about the weather,…just look at a thermometer.…The temperature of a color is not as easily quantifiable…because there isn't really a way to measure its hotness.…We determine the temperature of a color…by hot how or cold a color looks.…Even though we can't actually feel anything.…It's based on what we know would…feel warm or cool to the touch,…the sun, fire, a steaming loaf of bread.…Colors in the range of red, yellow, and orange,…tend to read as warm or hot.…

Snow, the night sky, a leafless tree,…colors in the range of white, blue, or gray, read as cool.…Temperature can relate to the overall degree of heat,…the quality of the light alone,…or to a specific color in an image.…Lets look at the temperature of light in this image.…Not only is the scene lit by a warm sunlight,…but the overall palate of the piece is very warm,…providing a general sense of heat.…By comparison, this Parrish painting, which uses warm light,…provides a greater variation with the contrast…