How do odors become pictures? Positioning painting as a rigorous experimental tool—not just an output medium—we used it to capture and externalize odor perception in a controlled study. Twenty-four university students created two works each under rose or strawberry odor using a 24-color palette, then selected “felt” colors from a Munsell-based panel and labeled the odor. Separately, sixty evaluators assessed those paintings using the semantic differential (SD) method across eight scales (dark–light, cold–warm, negative–positive, etc.), and another sixty participants evaluated the two odors on the same scales. Image analysis (K-means) summarized each work’s dominant color palette. Each odor produced distinctive, reproducible chromatic signatures: the strawberry odor evoked warmer palettes (yellows, pinks, oranges), while the rose odor evoked cooler palettes (greens, blues). Despite the cohorts being independent (painters vs. evaluators), perceptions were concordant: paintings made under strawberry odor were evaluated as lighter, warmer, and more positive—similar to the odor ratings—whereas the rose odor showed the complementary pattern. Factor analyses on SD data converged on two art-relevant dimensions—Affective Dimensionality (light–dark/warm–cold/valence) and Perceptual Valence & Complexity—observed in both painting evaluations and odor ratings, confirming cross-group consistency. The findings suggest that painting with odors is a sensitive method for experimentally capturing multisensory (odor-to-vision) perception, yielding color–emotional “fingerprints” that audiences can read. This research offers implications for art therapy, marketing, and environmental design, where odors may evoke emotions, facilitate expression, and enhance perceptual experience.

Authors:
Zahra Davoudi, Tohoku University, Japan
Nobuyuki Sakai, Tohoku University, Japan

About the Presenter(s)
Zahra Davoudi, PhD candidate at Tohoku University, studies multisensory perception with interests in olfaction, vision, and art. Her current project explores how odors influence visual creativity and emotional responses.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Friday Schedule

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