Passionate about Color:
I am obsessive about color. I drive my Chili Red MINI Cooper through a sea of grey, white, and black sedans. Yesterday I wore a fuchsia blouse, a fuchsia scarf, a dusty pink cardigan and plumy-purple corduroys to work. It suited my mood – happy to be me – passionate about life – colorful in a sea of beige chinos and golf shirts.
[Men’s Bathroom Sign from Italian Adriatic coast]
Foundations of Art Lesson #2 – Color:
There are a lot of ways to look at and define color, but here’s my favorite method. Close your eyes and visualize a rainbow. Every color in that rainbow is a part of the visible spectrum of light. Color consists of all the colors of the rainbow as well as white and black and any an every possible combination of any of those colors that you can possibly dream up. Wow! I love that. In fact I’m going to say it again – color is any and every possible combination of the rainbow and white and black that you can imagine. All that possibility makes me happy to be an artist.
[Glorious Fuchsia Flower Box in Cesena, Italy]
[Yellow Building with Bright Green Shutters in Florence, Italy]
Here are some additional color vocabulary words and ideas to consider:
- Warm: reds, oranges, and yellows
- Cool: purples, blues, and greens
- Primary: red, yellow, & blue (you can combine these to make any color)
- Secondary: green, purple, & orange (a mix of any two primary colors)
- Complementary: red & green, purple and yellow, and orange and blue (opposites on the color wheel – these colors are very vibrant when placed next to each other)
- Monochromatic: a limited palate consisting of black, white, and grey or of tones of a single color
[Golden Knocker on a Green Door – Rome, Italy]
Foundations of Art Travel Photography Exercise #1 – Color:
Plan to spend a whole day on your next road trip or travel adventure shooting just for color. Look for and shoot the following:
- a monochromatic scene
- warm colors
- cool colors
- complementary colors
As you shoot, notice how colors make you feel. Add the following to your photography goals for the day:
- your favorite color
- a color combination that helps to tell a story
- a color that represents the culture of the place you are visiting
- a color that represents the cuisine of the place you are visiting
[Ancient Orange Walls with Green Ivy – Florence, Italy]
I bought a winter coat today. It’s a rich, concord-grape purple color and it has big, bell sleeves. I’m going to attach a hand-made felted broach to the collar – it’s lime green, aqua, and fuchsia with sparkly beads. I look forward to walking outside all wrapped in color on a stark winter day. I believe in color therapy – self expression – happiness – passion – authenticity – ART.
In joy,
Melinda Eliza