70 Red Color Quotes Inspiring the Passionate Side of Life
Red falls within the warm colors spectrum on the color wheel. It’s a bold, vibrant, and hot color. It has many associations and meanings. On the one hand, red is passionate, loving, and energetic; on the other hand, it communicates danger, caution, and alertness. In this article, you’ll find our pick of the best red quotes that highlight its place in nature, food, fashion, and how it makes us feel.
There’s no denying that this powerful color can elicit such strong emotions in us regardless of its usage and context. Throw on a red dress or shirt, and you’ll instantly feel like the center of attention and admiration.
Due to its vibrancy and presence in several aspects of our daily lives, it’s a color we can’t escape. We find it everywhere, from the red stoplight on the streets to red peppers in our homes.
Best Red Quotes
The color red is powerful by nature. It stands for many things, but a typical theme is attention-grabbing regardless of its usage.
Red always stands out in whatever context it shows up. Whether it’s a red rose, red stop sign, or red outfit, it’s sure to be a show-stopper.
We use this powerful color in many ways. Some people think of this color as the color of life since it dominates many aspects of living. Below, you’ll find some of the best color red quotes that show reverence for this dominant color.
Related: You might also like our rose quotes for those gorgeous flowers synonymous with red. While our orange quotes and pink quotes (well, technically violet) celebrate the colors on either side of red on the color spectrum.
"I feel like I thrive in the red light."
- Panos Cosmatos
"Love and a red rose can't be hid."
- Thomas Holcroft
"Red has always been my color, because red stands out."
- Ravyn Lenae
"I always liked red. It's a picker-upper."
- Nancy Reagan
"Red is the great clarifier - bright and revealing. I can't imagine becoming bored with red - it would be like becoming bored with the person you love."
- Diana Vreeland
Red quotes in appreciation of its vibrance and strength
Red, a vibrant color, is bright, bold, and always pulsing with energy. On one end of the spectrum, red is passionate, determined, loving, and courageous. However, it also has its hot red side that’s aggressive, obsessive, angry, and dangerous.
The same way we learn to balance our opposing and contradicting characteristics is similar to red’s place. These red quotes appreciate the color's bold and courageous properties.
"I'm in love with red. I think it's such a passionate color. Every flag of every country pretty much has red it it. It's power, there's no fence sitting with red. Either you love it or you don't. I think its blood and strength and life. I do love red. I love all colors. Great shades of blue, you find them in nature. They're all magic."
- Bryan Batt
"I want to be different. If everyone is wearing black, I want to be wearing red."
- Maria Sharapova
"Bright reds - scarlet, pillar-box red, crimson or cherry - are very cheerful and youthful. There is certainly a red for everyone."
- Christian Dior
"Whether it be a red eyeliner or a graphic line on the crease of my lids, I'm more attracted to the ideas of something interesting than being 'pretty.'"
- Solange Knowles
"Red is such an interesting color to correlate with emotion, because it's on both ends of the spectrum. On one end you have happiness, falling in love, infatuation with someone, passion, all that. On the other end, you've got obsession, jealousy, danger, fear, anger and frustration."
- Taylor Swift
"Red is uplifting."
- Jerry Lewis
"Red, of course, is the colour of the interior of our bodies. In a way it's inside out, red."
- Anish Kapoor
Red quotes and nature
In nature, we can find red in flowers, animals, fruits, and vegetables. Our planet also houses red soil, and sometimes we experience red sunsets. Here are some red quotes in relation to nature.
From light pinkish reds to darker ones, red remains an enchanting color. In vegetables, it usually indicates something hot, and in flowers, it tells tales of love and passion. Red sunsets often have a dark and alluring look that we can't help but be in awe of.
"I sometimes think that never blows so red The Rose as where some buried Caesar bled; That every Hyacinth the Garden wears Dropt in her Lap from some once lovely Head."
- Edward Fitzgerald
"The red squirrel is more common and less dignified than the gray, and oftener guilty of petty larceny about the barns and grain-fields."
- John Burroughs
"From space, the earth appears predominantly blue; the clouds are brilliant white. Surprisingly, you don't see much green, although Ireland looks green, and so do Scandinavia and New Zealand. The deserts are brick red and really stand out."
- Helen Sharman
"And so we remained till the red of the dawn began to fall through the snow gloom. I was desolate and afraid, and full of woe and terror. But when that beautiful sun began to climb the horizon life was to me again."
- Bram Stoker
"The thing about organic farming is that the produce will not look the same. Your tomato will not resemble the rich red one from the textbook, and that's the beauty of it."
- R. Madhavan
The red sun was pasted in the sky like a wafer.
~ Stephen Crane
Inspiring red quotes about life and living
Red can communicate many meanings to us about our human emotions and characteristics. Red, in its boldness, can inspire us in many ways. If you’re a painter or writer, this color can create bursts of inspiration.
In life, we also have sayings that place the word ‘red’ at the center of them. Just like life, red is alive, beating, and energetic. Here, we feature some inspiring red quotes about life and living.
"Red is the ultimate cure for sadness."
- Bill Blass
"Whenever you're sitting across from some important person, always picture him sitting there in a suit of long red underwear. That's the way I always operated in business."
- Joseph P. Kennedy
"Never wear a red t-shirt to Target. I enjoy helping people, but not every two minutes."
- Kevin Nealon
"A free and truly independent press - fiercely independent when necessary - is the red beating heart of freedom and democracy."
- Dan Rather
"I don't paint the town red. But when I do go out, people always want to touch my hair. It happens every time."
- David Lynch
"The argument that gay marriage doesn't affect straight marriages is a ridiculous red herring: Gay marriage affects society and law in dramatic ways. Religious groups will come under direct assault as federal and state governments move to strip them of their non-profit statuses if they refuse to perform gay marriages."
- Ben Shapiro
"To me, every decision needn't be a 'big-bang' reform but a signal of proactive decision-making and removal of red tape and bureaucracy."
- Anand Mahindra
"Their silver war is being paid for in red blood. "
- Victoria Aveyard
"Roses are red, violets are blue, I'm schizophrenic, and so am I."
- Oscar Levant
Life is simple, it's either cherry red or midnight blue.
~ Lou Gramm
Red quotes about how it makes us feel
In color psychology, red is a color that can communicate a loving situation, inspire passionate actions and make us feel strong. It has many sides that target various aspects of our human nature.
Whenever you’re feeling blue, red is a color that can take you out of that state. Red can make you feel happy and in love. Red can also evoke anger and caution. For instance, when someone “sees red,” it tells us that they are furious and can get aggressive.
"Now, I recognize that there are certain postures and angles that make people see red, which are evidence of original sin or something, and I avoid that. I don't shoot that any more."
- Jock Sturges
"If I could tell you about red I would sing to you of fire sweet like cherries burning like cinnamon smelling like a rose in the sun."
- Dixie Dawn Miller Goode
"Put on your red shoes, and dance the blues."
- David Bowie
"Thinking back to boyhood days, I remember the bright sun on Harlem streets, the easy rhythms of black and brown bodies, the sounds of children streaming in and out of red brick tenements."
- Walter Dean Myers
"The spirit of arrogance most definitely makes you shine. It paints a bright red target on your own forehead."
- Criss Jami
"Lie on the bridge and watch the water flowing past. Or run, or wade through the swamp in your red boots. Or roll yourself up and listen to the rain falling on the roof. It's very easy to enjoy yourself."
- Tove Jansson
Red quotes about fashion
Apart from clothes playing their role of protecting our bodies, the color we wear can affect our mood. Red, being on the warmer side, can be intense and daring.
In clothing, red can signify confidence, power, dominance, and boldness in clothing. Many people choose clothes in this color to feel daring, desired, and seductive.
Apart from throwing on red clothes, you can also make a statement with fashion accessories. You can also go bold with red lipstick or red blush. On days when you feel down, putting on something in this hue can boost your confidence. Check out some quotes about red’s place in fashion.
"Just a touch of eyeliner and red lips is glamorous."
- Monica Bellucci
"Candy apple red is my favorite color. It's a powerful color to wear. It's always been that way I’ve always been really attracted to that color."
- Carly Rae Jepsen
"Colors which stand the test of time are Valentino red, white and black. For the festive look, using these colors, you can work with embroidery and sequins to add some bling element to it."
- Rhea Pillai
"She's wearing a tight red sweater and a red skirt and enough makeup to scare a hooker."
- Kathryn Stockett
"When in doubt wear red."
- Bill Blass
"As she always did on any really important day, Penelope Hayes wore red."
- Anna Godbersen
"Nothing attracts attention like a red dress."
- Laura Bush
"My red patent-leather, 5-inch peep-toe slingbacks are not mere shoes. They are fine art. They make me feel tall. They make me feel sexy. They make me feel powerful. I call them my 'special-day shoes.'"
- Nancy Lublin
"At home I wear my own clothes, no makeup and don't do anything exciting with my hair. I get to borrow pretty dresses for the red carpet and have experts do my hair and makeup."
- Gugu Mbatha-Raw
I love to wear red lipstick a lot, even in the daytime.
~ Heather Morris
Designers want me to dress like Spring, in billowing things. I don't feel like Spring. I feel like a warm red Autumn.
~ Marilyn Monroe
Red quotes from the arts and literature
If you’re a lover of the arts, you could get inspired by some of these red quotes from the field. These quotes could spark your child-like creativity and curiosity.
"Red is one of the strongest colors, it's blood, it has a power with the eye. That's why traffic lights are red I guess, and stop signs as well... In fact I use red in all of my paintings."
- Keith Haring
"I have worked with this red all over the world - in Japan, California, France, Britain, Australia - a vein running round the earth. It has taught me about the flow, energy and life that connects one place with another."
- Andy Goldsworthy
"I turned into Little Red Riding Hood. I made a cake, packed it up and went through the forest until I met the wolves. That's something the story got wrong, wolves don't travel solo, they hunt in packs."
- Louise Welsh
"For any writer, a red pen is such a trigger."
- Jason Isbell
"Good for Christmas time is the ruddy color of the cloak in which the tree making a forest of itself for her to trip through, with her basket, Little Red Riding-Hood comes to me one Christmas Eve"
- Charles Dickens
"All my life I've pursued the perfect red. I can never get painters to mix it for me. It's exactly as if I'd said, "I want Rococo with a spot of Gothic in it and a bit of Buddhist temple" - they have no idea what I'm talking about."
- Diana Vreeland
"It's a waste of time to think that if you colored a painting red what might have happened if you painted it black."
- Yoko Ono
Looking up at that starry sky gave him the creeps: it was too big, too black. It was all too possible to imagine it turning blood-red, all too possible to imagine a Face forming in lines of fire.
~ Stephen King
Eurydice sits alone on a red bed. She has flaming red hair, so flaming that you can't see anything else of her, much less anything else around her. She takes up too much space. Also she's mad. Which has nothing to do with anything. She lives in her own world because she makes the whole world hers.
~ Kathy Acker
Looking up at that starry sky gave him the creeps: it was too big, too black. It was all too possible to imagine it turning blood-red, all too possible to imagine a Face forming in lines of fire.
~ Stephen King
Red is a colour I've felt very strongly about. Maybe red is a very Indian colour, maybe it's one of those things that I grew up with and recognise at some other level.
~ Anish Kapoor
Blood red quotes
"The walls of the arch are covered with blood-red jellies that wink and glisten at me by the light of the moon. My father told me they were completely harmless. I don't believe him. Nothing is completely harmless."
- Maggie Stiefvater
"Not when the baby wash in crimson and squealing like it just depart heaven to come to hell, another place of red"
- Marlon James
"It soon come to pass when red no different from white or blue or black or nothing. Two black legs spread wide and mother mouth screaming. A black baby wiggling in blood on the floor with skin darker than midnight but the greenest eyes anybody ever done seen. I goin' call her Lilith. You can call her what they call her."
- Marlon James
"Red blood is just so hard to clean up" "You would know" I snap remembering shade. "Because no matter how hard you try to hide it, I see it all over your hands”"
- Victoria Aveyard, Red Queen
"I had no idea this thing was televised. Boy, is my face red."
- David Letterman
Red lips are not so red as the stained stones kissed by the English dead.
~Wilfred Owen
The true color of life is the color of the body, the color of the covered red, the implicit and not explicit red of the living heart and the pulses. It is the modest color of the unpublished blood.
~ Alice Meynell
The red carpet can hide more than just blood stains.
~ Anthony T. Hincks
Red quotes about food and eating
"I love red bell peppers. Bell peppers in general, really. I like to eat them like apples. They're so crunchy and delicious."
- Alex Honnold
"We'll take the cake with the red cherry on top."
- Navjot Singh Sidhu
"I love bright red drinks, don't you? They taste twice as good as any other color."
- Lucy Maud Montgomery
"I especially like to make my own ginkgo soup, bean curd sheet soup, and red bean soup. This way, I can control the sugar portions."
- Alvin Leung
"My mom FedExes a red velvet cake she makes from scratch to me every birthday."
- Molly Sims
"A splash of red wine vinegar can pull things together like a pinch of salt."
- Alex Guarnaschelli
Jen’s a passionate environmentalist and sustainability expert. With a science degree from Babcock University Jen loves applying her research skills to craft editorial that connects with our global changemaker and readership audiences centered around topics including zero waste, sustainability, climate change, and biodiversity.
Elsewhere Jen’s interests include the role that future technology and data have in helping us solve some of the planet’s biggest challenges.
