perceived color

[4.3] The proximal stimulus applied to the retina initiates color, which is perceived as a substance occupying the space in front of the observer’s eyes. Color may be perceived as self-luminous or as being reflected or transmitted light. It may be perceived as confined to a point or line, or arrayed as a surface or film, or distributed in three dimensions as in the case of the perceived image of a patch of fog. A perceived image may be perceived as composed of volume color, as in the case of fog, or as covered by surface color, as in the case of a piece of chalk. In the case of the sky or a patch of color seen through an aperture where it cannot be identified as belonging to a specific object, it is called aperture color, and judgment is suspended as to whether the color is self-luminous or perceived by reflected or transmitted light. The color of a point source of light may be perceived and described as such. This is a special case of a self-luminous color.