I know next to nothing about color theory. I might have said I know nothing were it not for my baseline understanding that red, yellow, and blue are primary colors, and this video has called even that into question for me recently. I understand there are secondary colors and complementary colors and more, but all my decisions about color are based on instinct. I trust my sense of aesthetics to know when colors don’t make sense together/make sense only in a certain context/make sense only if some other color gets involved. I admit this because I think the best and most thorough answer possible would come from someone well acquainted with color theory. My stated ignorance notwithstanding, the following is my attempt to intellectualize my instincts.
If I were to add a new color to the rainbow, I think onyx would be my top choice. The depth and richness of the darker colors are always diluted in the rainbows I’ve seen, but to see even a shining and smoky version of onyx after a torrential downpour or a heavy misting—it really doesn’t matter—would be an absolute delight. Where would I place it? I have ideas about that, too. The only one that does not involve having to alter the way the human perception of light* works is for it to be placed between indigo and violet. If tinkering with physics** were an option and I figured out how to do it just right, I might have violet come before indigo and put onyx at the bottom instead.
If onyx is my top choice, silver would be my second. Its secondary ranking results solely from a failure on my part to envision it working naturally*** with any sense of aesthetic coherency in the rainbow. Because of this one superior quality, onyx gets top ranking. For silver to work without my feeling it’s somewhere it shouldn’t be, the yellow-green-blue sequence would need rearranging. With silver included, it would become: green-silver-yellow-blue. I would prefer a smoother transition into the blue-indigo-violet sequence, but here I must reiterate my preference for onyx. Both colors are equally enchanting, but onyx has greater utility here and greater natural value, which is to say only that it can be envisioned as an addition to the rainbow with less brute force.
*Just in case it isn’t obvious I: The question necessitates some toying with the perception of light, but this is the only option that doesn’t necessarily involve rearranging the entire spectrum of light (assuming that’s possible) to suit my needs.
**Just in case it isn’t obvious II: The question necessitates some tinkering with physics is already underway.
***Just in case it isn’t obvious III: I’m having to take some liberties with the meaning of “naturally,” since the question itself is founded on what I assume to be an unnatural premise.
****Just in case it isn’t obvious IV: There is no grouping of four asterisks in the above text. Why are you reading this?
With care,
~ Grigori