Skip to main content

Words and colors


  
   I am a huge fan of words and the many shades of meaning between words. I also love to describe and name my art pieces according to their color group. This is why I was delighted to find a lovely chart called the color thesaurus by Ingrid Sandberg.

      Seeing the color thesaurus brings up the question “ why would I describe a jewelry piece as white when I could paint a imaginative image in the reader’s mind if  I call it eggshell, porcelain or chiffon? After all, if you’ve ever strolled the aisle of paint colors you know there are a zillion shades of white.

      Once a friend asked if I would come help her decide a color to have her living room painted. Being a student of color and an ambitious professional artist, I agreed to meet her in her home. All the way over to her house I was drilling my mind with everything I could remember about colors and their psychological effects. I got to her house and she showed me the room, then presented several swatches of paint samples she had considered. To my dismay, all the paint samples were WHITE!! I’m thinking to myself, she had me come all the way across town, missing a day of work in my studio, for THIS? Yeesh!

     We looked at each color, considering it for her walls, and I started to see how each white offered its own effect and mood. We even made a separate trip to the paint store to consider more options of white.  The effect she wanted was warm, welcoming and quiet.
We discovered there is a big difference between pearl, alabaster, snow, ivory, cream and cotton, to name a few. Some whites are too clinical, others too stark. Our color search became a project that required more energy and focus than I ever would have thought.

 A few weeks later when I visited her in her newly painted living room, I was pleasantly surprised by the warm and inviting feel of the room. We definitely chose the right white!

 At first blush some of the paint films I peel and upcycle into jewelry have very little interest. At other times I look at the dried paint and am reminded of my friend’s living room. It was just white,  after all, what’s the big deal? Here’s some of my recent favorites and their descriptive names:




Carmel bracelet

Dove earrings 

Dove necklace

Cafe au Lait necklace 


It’s all about words and colors, and what is evoked in the mind.

For more information or to purchase a 
Parts of Art piece, visit my online shop here. 













Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Winter Work

        Now that my show season is over, it's time for what I lovingly call winter work. Winter work is studio time. It's when I light the fire in the wood stove and sit down at the drawing table and/or easel, both of which are pulled close to the wood stove. It's winter work because when the weather cools off and the leaves fall, the studio is the most inviting place in my life. The warmth of the fire and the smell of the wood and the blank slate on the easel are what inspire and motivate me to work.        At one of my shows I bought this glorious coffee mug from Paige @rockbottomceramics. It sits on top of the woodstove and keeps the coffee warm for hours.  It's a studio staple.     There is purposely a blank canvas on the easel, or in this case, a smooth panel which will eventually be gessoed and painted with an expression of light through leaves. The blank canvas is self care. It's a sign of hope for my future. What will go on ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Up and Running

 Show season is up and running! Next up: One of my favorites, the Crosby Festival of the Arts. It will be held in the beautiful Toledo Botanical Garden June 28-30. I'll be in booth 178 - the Purple Zone- which is where I've been located before.       One thing I love about this event is the location. M y booth is situated close to the herb garden, which is laid out on an inviting pathway, full of life and color. I look forward to taking photos of the gardens, which will eventually find their way into my art. Here's some from last year:      I'm excited to return to the event with my mixed media collage paintings. I've been at work on some new pieces, which will also be available.  Here's a sneak peek at the latest work:        I'm still aiming to capture that path of light through leaves.  I combine paint, papers, ink, wax resist, linocut printing, colored pencils and canvas. My aim is to combine these various ma...
Post a Comment
Read more

Back in the Woods

    As Spring arrives, so does the 2024 art show season.  I am looking forward to a great new season of showing, telling and selling my art.        First on the docket, Broad Ripple Art Fair in Indianapolis. The dates for this gem of a show are May 18 and 19. I love being a part of this show because it is in a beautiful wooded venue and has a serious following of art-loving patrons. I will once again have my series "Of the Woods", which has expanded and evolved quite a bit since last year. Here are some of what I'll be showing.       The first two pieces are mixed media collage painted on canvas  and embellished with handmade papers, tissue paper and canvas. They are each 30 x 40".  The last piece is a watercolor painting embellished  with wax resist, acrylic paint and handmade papers. It is matted and framed in my signature frame. The size is 24" x 36" under glass. Which one do you like the most?  What would you...
Post a Comment
Read more