My Selvedge newsletter came in this morning, reminding me of how I’ve missed color during all the rain we’ve had this week. I realized I’m hungry for color!
So today I decided to seek out color around me. Next to my reading chair I keep a small Frida Kahlo pencil bag, a gift from my daughter. She found it while shopping for oil brushes at The Starving Artist in Hendersonville.
Kahlo’s direct gaze and often bright colors tell anyone who knows her subject matter, that she chose to paint life’s difficult experiences, rather than to give in to them.
Color! I found lots of art books on my shelves. But think of this. Some artists could live with black and white, such as Louise Nevelson. I think her strong, individualistic personality didn’t need to be cheered on by color. Or maybe her materials and her forms reflected her New York City surroundings.
It wasn’t that the United States was a colorless country. A little earlier than the 1950’s, when many of her friends were painting in browns, earthy greens and dusty yellows, Georgia O’Keeffe was bursting with color.
In my 4” square book Women Artists I found Jane Peterson, who enlivened a beach scene by abstracting patches of color, which she chose to see. To me, they’re musical, blending with the (also abstract) implied “sounds” of gulls and surf.
My other 4” square book is Made in France. Here is a poster for armchair travelers. Look! (How could you not?)
In the 1920’s Sonia Delaunay was designing ways for French women to enjoy the color combinations and shapes that inspired her.
Taking “A Room of Her Own” off my bookshelf, I was surprised to find only one room with the spirit-lifting color I was seeking. In 1997 when it was published, women wanted pastel, muted, meditative spaces. Below is the exception, in the chapter called “Passions and Places”.
Yes, the things you choose to keep (within sight) can keep your imagination alive. I want to show you this 3½”-high painted wooden box I found at a sale (not within memory). It always feels good to walk by its deep warm color, the polka dots and the friendly animal spirit.
When I lifted this box down, a piece of paper fell off the shelf. It’s a positive message, one of the many notes we have all over the house. It’s wonderful.
Before I posted this note a few minutes ago, I made a copy of it and added … color!
In the studio of the soul anything goes. So I say, surround yourself with color!
Having just returned from a three week road trip to New England (after we had to cancel our France plans to see Christo’s team wrap the Arche de Triomphe), I immediately thought “Color” would be about fall foliage. We were lucky; leaves started turning early this year and we beat the hordes of leaf peepers by a week. Not to worry, Deda—next week promises to be full of color again!