Blue of the sky, in the Infinite of the sea!

The mornings are powerful, with strong light, very blue in a clear sky, overlapping with the blue of the sea, which streaks in different shades, even green. Our gaze sees almost infinity, it seems that deep down, the infinity of the sky meets the infinity of the sea, taking our thoughts to fly in depth, reaching memories and dreams. From the balcony of my room, I fill my lungs with the smell of the sea, an odor that has accompanied me since my childhood and that I would not replace with any other, as I would not replace all these shades of blue that surround me, my favorite color, how peaceful it transmits to me: serene myself, the soul! All these sensations fill me with life and push me to start a new day, full of good emotions.

Color portrayed in several poems and songs, such as, for example, by Mário Sá Carneiro, in some of his beautiful and profound poems in which he tells us about the sensations that the color blue gave him: “… A little more sun – I was ember , A little more blue, I was beyond.” Like Vinícius de Moraes in some of his poems, as beautiful as they are melodious “… May the woman socialize elegantly in blue… Acquire from time to time that color only found in the third minute of dawn…” However, who sees the color blue in nature or in built spaces, paintings and clothes, you can't imagine that it was once one of the most expensive in the world. Several ancient peoples sought this hue with great difficulty, when mixing plants, oils, among other substances, without success. Therefore, in archaic languages, there was no name to designate it.

Lazarus Geiger, a philosopher, refers that the color blue was the “last”, after black, white, yellow, green and others, to appear in several languages. The Egyptian civilization was the first and for many years the only one to develop a way to obtain blue (through minerals with copper, limestone and sand) and to name it. In this way, its rarity made it, for that civilization, the color of the Divinities and implicitly the color of the artifacts that were used in funeral ceremonies, to protect the bodies against the “after-death evil”. Later, they found lapis lazuli, a semi-precious stone used to make ornaments, with an ultramarine blue pigment, being the most expensive of all.

Blue became a color desired by many, pleasing to human perception, quickly associated with the blue of the sky or the blue of the sea, two elements of nature that have always surrounded and fascinated Man. As a curiosity, I can add that currently, there are 111 shades of blue.

In the eighth century, the Chinese used cobalt blue to color porcelain. In the Middle Ages, Europeans used it in the stained glass windows of cathedrals and the domes of churches were painted blue, to simulate the vault of heaven. From America came indigo blue. In the 19th century, they began to produce synthetic dyes, which allowed them to dye textiles (clothes) much more cheaply, thus becoming widely used in military uniforms.

Blue is the color most associated with sympathy, harmony, friendship, trust and fidelity; distance, infinity, imagination, cold and sometimes sadness.

The color of the sky is, as such, of the eternal, of which we do not want it to change, but rather, that it remain, that it lasts forever. The more layers of colorless air, the bluer that air becomes. The deeper the water is, the bluer it becomes. Hence, blue gives us the feeling of infinity. Photographs taken of our planet Earth, outside the terrestrial layers, show us a Blue Planet!

In nature, we can see several flowers of blue tones, such as the forget-me-not flower, the thistle, the honeysuckle, the chicory. As well as we can see lots of birds of beautiful blue tones and also, some fish. However, we do not eat blue products. It is a color that is not found in our food. The closest color is the bluish-purplish of blueberries. Therefore, it is considered a satiating color, which decreases appetite.

We have the sapphire as a precious stone and an English legend says that on the finger of the unfaithful, the sapphire ceases to shine. Blue is also associated with miracles and is one of the reasons why it is chosen as the color of some medicines. As if these caused a miracle and led to the cure of the disease in question. Blue, in terms of health, promotes a decrease in blood pressure, a decrease in blood flow and a decrease in body temperature. It has a calming, reassuring effect and as such reduces stress and anxiety.

Favors intellectual activity, meditation and creativity. It also promotes affection and tenderness. Symbolizes maturity, for its depth; purity, tranquillity, security, the ideal and the dream, devotion, sincerity, confidence and subtlety. It favors understanding. It is the only one that has the power to disintegrate negative energies, promoting patience, sympathy and serenity. For this reason, it is a good color for the bedrooms of adults and children, in particular children who show hyperactive behaviours.

Its symbology focuses more on one aspect or another, depending on its tonality, highlighting the light blue, with regard essentially to aspects associated with hygiene, freshness, but also productivity and success; while dark blue is corporate, instilling power and confidence, giving people tranquility and security, not least because it is not an intrusive color, in the sense that it conveys assertiveness, but also respect for others.

Blue was one of the favorite colors of the Impressionists, who used it to create moods, feelings and environments, in addition to nature. Matisse used intense blue to make those who appreciate his paintings feel the emotions he expressed and wrote: “A certain blue penetrates your soul”. Van Gogh wrote: "Cobalt is a divine color and there is nothing more beautiful, to create atmosphere around things".

In the 20th century, many artists recognized the emotional power of blue and developed their paintings around this color. Pablo Picasso during his Blue phase (1901-1904) used blue with green, without warm colors, to give them a sense of melancholy. It was also used to grant the sensation of infinity (depth) and transparency.

As far as timeless fashion is concerned, blue was also introduced in 1873, for a practical and comfortable garment, which has remained to this day and which no one does without in their wardrobe: the Blues Jeans! Levi Strauss, a German immigrant, residing in San Francisco, created them, with the aim of obtaining resistant trousers for the work of workers, made of Denim fabric, dyed with indigo dye. Our much loved and always desired jeans, which in 1935 made the cover of the haute couture magazine, Vogue! In 1950, they became an indispensable piece, essential in the wardrobe of young people in the United States, Europe and, progressively, worldwide.

In the middle of the century. In the 20th century, the color blue prevailed over the color black, both as the color preferred by people, without associated gender, as dictated by the great world-renowned couturiers. It was also, par excellence, the color of the attire of political leaders and businessmen. It is also a color associated with authority, but without becoming threatening, which is why it was chosen for various symbols and/or uniforms of world organizations such as the Council of Europe, UNESCO, the European Union and NATO.

Also in that same century, it was possible to produce shades of blue, with Yves Klein creating the International Klein Blue, which he registered a patent, being a very bright blue, made from ultramarine blue.

Blue has also become the default color for hyperlinks in graphical browsers to make them easy to read in context.
of other content.

Without color, we could not live in this fantastic way, with all the sensations that life brings us, colored, depicted in blue, yellow, white, red…. no matter what color it is. It matters that it communes with our identity and opens the door to rewarding emotions for each of us, which will also make us contribute to the gratification of others. Well, only balanced, accomplished people are good people, and only those people can grant us the well-being and warmth of our souls, whatever color they are dressed in.

If for me blue is the color that makes me truly find myself, for you it could be yellow or orange or black…. Coco Chanel said, “The best color in the world is the one that looks good on you!”

We close here the portals of this look at the colors of the rainbow, a search we made, not to go after the pot of coins, as we were led to believe as a child, but to be able to use color in the best way, in our life and in that of others. each one, being able to generate emotions that promote feelings of gold.

Here we will meet soon, to talk about a new topic: Life and beauty!

In the meantime, share your golden feelings with others and there you will enjoy most of the beauty of your life!

Matilde Proenca.