Skip to main content

Sage green and other autumnal musings

       Now that autumn is officially here, and the natural color palette of the landscape is warm and muted, I am focusing on the beautiful muted green called sage.



Here’s  a description and recipe from Bustanoby’s Color Manual, 1939:

Sage green
Grayish green of  dull character, resembling the undried narrow, wrinkled leaves of the sage plant, used as a seasoning in cooking. Sage Green was recorded as a color name as early as 1596. In the reign of King Henry VIII, when the enjoyment of food was a high art, it was customary to have kitchen gardens growing sage and other plants, used as subtle seasonings for foods. This practice is still followed today in some rural localities.

16 parts Zinc White
8 parts Yellow Ochre
1 part Ultramarine Blue

Speaking of the autumn palette, here is what I have recently pulled from mine: 






Always looking for harmonious blends, I find that sage green pairs well with lavender and black.


Interested in adding a little sage green to your wardrobe? 
Visit my shop here to get the scoop on these pieces and more!


Sage green and black is the color combination of my booth, which you will see at my next show, which is Deja Vu in Columbus Indiana on November 10th. Mention this article and you will receive 20% off your purchase!


Come to think of it, sage green and black is the color combination of my blog! 

   Please feel free to comment on what you see or read here.














Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Paint and Palettes

          I’ve always been a lover of paint and paint palettes. I vividly remember the excitement I felt opening that rectangular tin filled with round cakes of watercolor paint in elementary school. I was hooked! From that point on, I have wanted to explore and express within the inviting purity of paint.          In 1988 I had a beach side shop where I hand painted women's clothing. I was using acrylic paint in abundance. One morning I had cleaned my palette off, and had peeled a large colorful piece of variegated and textured acrylic paint from it.  Some friends of mine came into the shop (actually it was my minister and his wife). During our brief conversation, I showed them the peeled up paint and said, “This is too pretty to throw away, but I don’t know what to do with it.” The husband said, “Oh, you should cut it up and make it into jewelry!” We all laughed about it. It was like "Yeah right, I should try it!”   After they left I thought "Wow, that could have been

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 that canvas in my future?  It'

The Clearing, Revisited

     I've been talking a lot about the importance of having a muted palette, meaning very little color.  But lately, I've wanted to add color to some of the paintings that I did over the last few years. So that's what I've been doing. I just added color to this piece. It was called The Clearing, and it was a very monotone palette. It was actually one of the favorite paintings at my shows. But you know, it just didn't sell. So I decided to take a breath, (a couple of breaths actually), and re-work this painting, add color, and actually change the path of light in the painting.        So what do you think now? I kind of like it! I like the new light coming through, and I like the blues that are in here now, that didn't used to be, and the light browns and yellows. And I like this little trunk, that gives you a place to sit when you're at the clearing of the woods. A limited edition print of the original Clearing is   available here.   As a reminder, if you dec