Lens-Artists Challenge #149 – Cool Colors – Blue and Green

hot air balloon, blue, green — FLOATING AWWAY

“True voyagers are those who leave just to be leaving; hearts light like balloons.”
Charles Baudelaire

This week we are returning to the color wheel and its cooler members, which include blue (primary) green (secondary) and blue-green or blue-violet aka purple (tertiary). A visit to the web on the subject will take you deep into the emotions said to result from exposure to these and other colors. For this week’s purposes, let’s simply explore the many ways the cooler colors appear in our world.

metal frog, statue, violin — FROG-OLINIST

“Sometimes you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince.”
Bianca Frazier

There are times when blue and green colors are used just for fun, as in the two images above. I captured the opening image one chilly, pre-dawn Oregon morning as a major balloon festival was getting underway. Shown in my second image, the smiling frog greets visitors arriving at the gates to Magnolia Gardens’ Audubon Swamp. Both images speak to me of fun and creativity.

“Get close to grass and you’ll see a star.”
Dejan Stojanovic

Leaving behind “just for fun”, we move on to the blues and greens found in nature. Complimenting each other perfectly, this was the area where I found the greatest frequency of the two colors together. My image above presents it in an abstract way via a vertical pan of the spring marsh grasses. Below, we see it in a more classic landscape of sky, trees and water.

reflection of sky in water, blue and green, nature — REFLECTIONS

“The gods preferr their libations diluted with rainwater and mixed with freshly cut grass.
Thomm Quackenbush

Beyond nature’s more typical examples, the image that follows resulted from a bit of serendipity, capturing a somewhat unique combination of the colors.

“Despite its dark veins, the transparency of dragonfly’s wings assures me of a pure, innocent world.”
Munia Khan

Moving on from nature, there are also beautiful combinations of blue and green in art and architecture. A stunning example is seen below in the Dome of the Rock Islamic shrine in Jerusalem. The rock over which the shrine is built is sacred to both Muslims and Jews.

Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa Mosque — DOME OF THE ROCK, JERUSALEM

“Love is your religion; the whole world is your temple.”
Matshona Dhliwayo

In addition to Israel, my quest for combinations of blue and green took me on a bit of a world tour – some examples are shown below:

ANCIENT BLUE AND GREEN CEILING, BEIJING, CHINA

“Fear sees a ceiling, hope sees the stars.”
Colton Dixon

arizona, cacti, art — ARIZONA STREET CORNER ART, USA

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Pable Picasso

LOVELY LAMPOST, LA BOCA, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA

“There’s nothing more lovely than your lamplight, seen from a dark street…”
John Geddes

Last week we greatly enjoyed the fun we had with your responses to Ann-Christine’s Spots and Dots challenge. We hope you also enjoy this week’s Cool Colors and will join us with your own examples. Please remember to link your response to my original post and to use the Lens-Artists Tag. Finally, next week we’re excited to announce that our challenge will be hosted by Dianne Millard of Rambling Ranger. Be sure to check out her beautiful blog and watch for her post next week. Until then, as always, please stay safe and be kind.