Thread: new color

This is a fascinating conversation in general, but every time I read another post, regardless of its content, I am dogged by the same image, so I thought I'd share:

Ever been to a paint store, for either artists or houses? Ever seen their selection of colors? There are thousands on display these days; shades of shades, tints of tints, etc, etc. Given that the paint companies seem to come up with a "new" color every day, and all those colors, no matter how unique, fall within the visible light spectrum (as they must, or else they would no longer be colors), then why can't a person find a "new" color in a dream that she has never before witnessed, and perhaps might never have found its way into our common lexicon of "color?" [a quick aside: yes, "no matter how unique" still assumes that all these colors are derivatives or combinations of the primaries, given that the primaries represent the full gamut of visible light]

I suppose this thought is simplistic, which I'm sure you will confirm for me, but I keep having it. Yes, our perception of color is limited to what colors can be drawn from the visible light spectrum. Yes, to call that spectrum the limit for color selection seems correct, because anything beyond that spectrum would be something other than a color. But it seems to me that the selection of different shades and hues of color that can be drawn from that spectrum is practically infinite, so encountering a new color in a dream (or on a painter's palette) seems more like a happy accident to me, rather than an inconceivable or impressive event.

Sorry; I know you guys are talking about bigger things, but I just had a need to share this nagging thought...