Maxfield Parrish's Blue and Melatonin

Today's New York Times has a feature that explains how colors in natural light set our body's internal clock. Blue light, it turns out, is crucial to helping is feel influences whether we feel sleepy and peaceful at the end of the day. 



Maybe that's why Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966) was so successful in his blue-themed paintings of twilight, such as "Stars," above.

How we artificially light our indoor environments can help, too. According to the New York Times article:

"Artificial light has been around for more than 120 years. But the light emitted by older sources, like incandescent bulbs, contains more red wavelengths. The problem now, Dr. Brainard and other researchers fear, is that our world is increasingly illuminated in blue. By one estimate, 1.6 billion new computers, televisions and cellphones were sold last year alone, and incandescent lights are being replaced by more energy-efficient, and often bluer, bulbs."

LINKOLOGY
New York Times article: 
Maxfield Parrish on Wikipedia
Previously on GJ: Blue Light and the Circadian Clock
Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter
Maxfield Parrish
Maxfield Parrish: The Masterworks
Thanks, Sam Zanger