All The Colors of Life

All The Colors of Life by Lisa Aisato is picture book about different stages of life. The book is divided into different sections that are based on the various stages of life from childhood to old age. Furthermore, these pictures are accompanied with minimalistic verses, which complement the vibrant pictures. In this book, I liked the variety of colors, the visual symbolisms, and the minimalistic verse.

The variety of colors appealed to me because they were pleasing to the eye and relatable to my soul. In the section that was based on childhood, the colors that are used emphasize the innocence and the never-ending expanse of children’s imagination, which accentuate the beauty of the early years of a person. I interpreted it this way because I feel that many of us underappreciate the carefree nature of one’s childhood years and this book evoked those beautiful memories. In contrast, the colors used in the illustrations of the later stages of life are darker perfectly depicted the various struggles of life that people face as they grow older. For example, there is one illustration that shows a shadow shaped as large and intimidating monster that juxtaposes with the tiny shadow of a man. The use of shadows implies the anxieties and worries that disturb people in their everyday lives. For this reason, the variety of colors used in the illustrations of this book accentuated their aesthetic value and insinuated feelings that the reader can relate to.

Other than the colors, I found that there were many pictures that included unique symbolisms that alluded to the many truths of life. For example, there was a picture of teenager wearing a protective costume of sorts that had many forbidding signs such as the ‘no smoking sign’ and an adult was shown putting these on. It depicted how teenagers can be restricted and sheltered a lot, which can inhibit their personal growth, therefore it probably encourages adults give space to young adults. Another picture was of a couple on a swing with one person cutting the swing into two pieces with a saw, which embodied an end to the couple’s relationship. Personally, I felt that this picture perfectly depicted the brutality of separating from a person because of the psychological pain it can cause. There are many more pictures like these, but I just mention two because these were two of the many that stood out to me and helped me realize how a picture can say a thousand words. Also, these symbolisms helped me realize the potential of visual art; I thought that only words can be twisted in different ways, but Aisato’s art proves me wrong.

Aisato couples these awe-inspiring and moving illustrations with lines of verse that complement her art beautifully. I liked the fact that there was just a line accompanying almost every picture because it keeps the verse minimalistic to an extent that it hints at the theme of the picture to invoke never-ending possibilities of meanings, instead of saying everything through words. The verse allows the pictures to speak for themselves and say more than words can every say, which I think is the beauty of minimalistic verse.

From the brilliant use of colors to the deep-cutting symbolisms to the simplistic verse, All The Colors of Life By Lisa Aisato is a beautiful portrayal of human life that I would recommend to everyone.