Why does Gray act like Blue?

After doing the color scales in class using tints (white), tones (grays), and shades (black) a question that I pose is why is it when gray is added to a hue does it look like a blue was added. When I put the tones next to the hue, tints, and shades they appeared to have a purple hue, as if blue was added instead of gray. There are two ideas that I have found to that build on each other to tell me why gray can act like a blue, or cool color, instead of a warm color like yellow or red.

The first thought that I had was how humans perceive color like they take in their other senses. It is said that color is seen in opposites such as blue and yellow that are never identified together, like how cold and warm are identified separately (Douma). Gray is a neutral color that is dull that doesn't seem warm at all. Therefore when I perceive gray I feel like it would be cool and calm like a shade of blue would be. This is not enough to explain why gray can look blue or purple.

A more concrete explanation of my question would be in the Munsell Color System. The system is an "egg" shaped color diagram where absolute neutral gray is in the middle and as it goes out towards the edge the colors hue becomes more and more intense until at the edge when it reaches the full color saturation (SpecialChem). So if the gray is right in the middle, why does the gray still lean towards blue? The answer would be that "red, purple, and blue are considered to be stronger hues that have a higher chroma (SpecialChem)." Higher chroma that these colors are more intense than yellows and greens. The yellow and greens actually achieve full color saturation closer to the middle, so the rest of the chroma towards the edge does not intensify (Special Chem). In conclusion I believe that gray seems more like a blue or cool color than a warm color because of Munsell's explanation that purple and blue are more intense colors in general than yellow.


Citation:

Douma, Michael, curator. “What is Color?” Color Vision & Art. 2007. WebExhibits. Institute for Dynamic Educational Advancement, Washington, DC. February 12, 2008.

"Color Center>> Color Handbook: Munsell Color System." SpecialChem S.A.20008. Special Chem Innovations and Solutions in Coating and Ink. http://www.specialchem4coatings.com/home/aboutus/index.aspx February 14, 2008