Before we recognise a place, we often notice its colour. A warm edge. A cool centre. A pale mark that draws the eye.
Let the eye wander
In this satellite image of Lake Eyre, rust-coloured ground meets pale salt and shifting blues. Look at the image as a whole, then choose a small area. The same composition can feel expansive from a distance and intimate up close.
Colour is a relationship
The blue appears more vivid beside the warm ochre. The pale centre gives the eye somewhere to rest. Neither colour works alone; each changes the way we see the next. It is a useful way to look at a painting, too.
A different kind of image
This is a false-colour satellite image, with spectral information translated into visible colour. It is a visual reference, rather than a photograph of the landscape as the human eye would see it. The image is from the USGS Earth as Art collection.
U.S. Geological Survey · Landsat 5 · Public domain.
Editorial landscape reference; not an artwork by Karissa Patrice Undy.