Different cultures assign different meanings to various colors. For example, red can symbolize love or danger in the West whereas it is associated with good luck in Asia. Another example is yellow associated with happiness or optimism in North America--when it is not standing in as a symbol of cowardice. However, yellow in much of Latin America is linked to death and mourning.
Whatever the differences are in terms of cultural interpretation, artists use color to create visual interest and establish compositional balance in a work. Certainly, colors can evoke emotions or create an atmosphere for the viewer. Historically, they have also been used to convey depth, volume and spatial relations in painting. In contemporary art, unconventional shades and color combinations are used to push the boundaries of what is commonly accepted or understood.
Considering the subject of color, Skyler imagines it as an insect, the color bug, that alights on an artist's hand. The artist carefully holds the delicate creature between his thumb and index finger so as not to destroy it. The careful attention to color suddenly transforms the appearance of the artist's hand and everything else around.
This transformative process is represented by the central image of an insect in hand reproduced in a color print on fine mat paper. The paper is then surrounded by a riot of color in acrylic paint and pastel oils drawn on canvas board.
