Black and Blue

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

Indigo Bunting Outside our Studio Photo by John Hulsey

“In nature, light creates the color. In the picture, color creates the light.”
- Hans Hoffmann

When is blue not blue? Ask any Indigo Bunting and they will tell you, ”When it is black!” This is because the feathers of the diminutive Indigo Bunting are not actually blue, they are black, and only appear blue to us when they are in direct sunlight. Their feathers are structured of materials that refract, or bend sunlight in such a way that only the bright blue light spectrum is reflected back to our eyes. When the bird is in shadow or indirect light, we see the true feather color and they appear black. Without getting too technical, the birds perform an amazing light trick—their feathers change the angle and speed of the light that hits them, and thus, we perceive blue.

Which brings us around to the larger issue of perception. What we see and interpr…