Brightest most colorful star in eastern morning sky not near any constellations; rises about 4 or 5 am? I have been believing this is Saturn, but perhaps Antares instead? It is so colorful it shines blue, red, green and white. 

It is largest in sky in the East before dawn rises about 4 or 5 AM, seen from the San Joaquin valley, central California.
From 38&deg; north latitude, Sirius rises in the east-southeast just before dawn in late August.
Most of the naked-eye stars in its constellation Canis Major rise later.
Orion's belt points toward Sirius and appears above it when they are rising.
As the Skymaps.com evening sky map shows, Antares sets in the southwest several hours earlier.
Saturn is currently in Sagittarius, which is in the south on August evenings.

Refraction by the changing atmosphere makes stars twinkle and even appear to change color.
This effect is more pronounced when a star is bright or low in the sky.
Planets generally do not twinkle because they span wider angles than stars do.