Every moment of our lives we are surrounded by color. It is ‘a common thing’ and we are used to its appearance, maybe take it for granted, and we easily can forget about its beauty and the impact it has on our lives emotionally. It is however one of our senses and it deserves more attention.
This morning a Robin was hopping through the garden, and I immediately saw its red breast showing up. The vibrant red/orange is something we can not deny. The Robin has no idea of his vibrant presence and think it can hide in the bushes without being seen. Only the idea is so endearing.
It’s natures colors that moves me most, all its hues are countless. And natures colors are never dull. I believe that every color has its vibrancy, colors can strengthen or weaken each other by placed next to each other. We can look at color in several ways, psychic, emotional, technical or scientific, I wrote about it in another post, and yet it is almost impossible to describe what you feel about one specific color. There are always two sides of a story, and that’s the same when talking about color. Which makes it to one of the most difficult subjects when it comes to choosing.
quinacridone violet
Inspired by Hydrangeas
Of course I was inspired by all these wonderful colors of the Hydrangeas, as I am very sensitive to colors in my surroundings. I am often ask about my use of color, and not the colors I use but how I come to my choice of color. Well, I never think about what color to use, it’s some intuitive process while painting, I paint and my brush picks up the color I am leading to. No plan, and no complicated color scheme before I start. What I do is I use lots of water, I may even draw with water and then let the watercolor paint flow into those areas, wet in wet. Or I might do it afterwards, paint with the color and add some water while it’s still wet. Or I let the first layer dry completely and go in with my brush. My favorite colors to work with are phtalo blue, quinacridone violet, chrome orange, burnt umber, indigo, and opera rose. When blended with each other they make the most beautiful shades.
