Taking in the local color

Marlyn Dintenfass Painting at the Babcock Gallery, NYC 

My coat matches the painting above

How many blues do we see in this Louisa Matthiasdottir painting? At the Tibor de Nagy Gallery , NYC

Just a few shots of some works I saw recently in New York. Always love color and to explore new artists.

Green

Color. If you have been reading me for a while you already know how I feel about color. I love it.  I love how color can set a tone. I love how color triggers emotion and reaction. I love that color can effect your mood. Color is so powerful.

And, as noted previously, different colors have come to "represent" certain things. Of course, how one feels about color can be very personal and tends to be rooted in personal experience and cultures, i.e., in the west we view white with innocence/purity.

This week the color green has taken on new meaning to me and to so many others in my hometown/community. The green I am talking about is a bright green and it is being worn in my community this week to honor the life of a brave 15 year old, Ethan, who lost his long battle against cancer just a few days ago. Ethan's favorite color was green. Some say this green was the color of his type of cancer. I am not sure which it is - maybe it's both - but I prefer to think of it as Ethan's favorite color.

I have always liked green, I like that the color represents nature, life and vegetation. (It has other associations as well.) However, until this week, I did not pay much attention to the color green. I remember the bright emerald green earrings worn on the red carpet in Hollywood (I watch E!), I might wear green or notice it on St. Patrick's Day, and this fall season, green has been touted as a popular color in fashion. But, I had no real emotional reaction to green until now.

Now when I see someone outside the local coffee shop in a green t-shirt, I smile. I see bleachers full of kids and parents at our high school football game (our school colors are blue and gold) and I am touched with emotion. I see kids everywhere in a uniform of green. This mass of color is SO powerful. Now, to me, this particular green = love. Supportive, unconditional and happy love.

Using a color to show love and support for a brave young man has changed the way I will forever look at this green*. This is what I call positive color cause and effect.

*Exact pantone color unknown at this time but there is likely a range of greens that would trigger in me the emotion and reaction I have described above.

Have You Seen a Double?

Driving home from Somewhere last week, as I came Over the hill,  I was confronted head on, through my car window, with one of the prettiest and most magical sights -  The Rainbow. It took my breath away and put a smile on my face. And, adding to the splendor was the fact that it was a double. The lime green field is pretty impressive too!

Some of my favorite quotes from The Wizard of Oz:


"Are you a good witch or a bad witch?"


"...But, some people without brains do an awful lot of talking...don't they?"


"A heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others."

Do you have a favorite quote from this movie? Please share!

What color is your holiday? Mine was true blue.

We are all together and very attentive

Healthy debate

The theme for our Family Passover this year was blue - but in a good way. We were together for our Family Seder (this year on Long Island) for the traditional reading of the Haggadah, light discussion and lots of eating.

During the Seder, the afikoman (1/2 piece of matzo wrapped in cloth, saved to be eaten at the conclusion of the Seder meal) was hidden by 2 key players who also strategically placed decoys to throw off those later participating in the search for this prized matzo. Impressive play. After little Ben found the prize and won the game (there were a few challenges made regarding improper assistance), we orderly* moved into the beautiful blue room to watch the Knicks and Yankees play. (I am confused, this sounds like Thanksgiving.)

It was a true blue and happy family affair - some were MIA but say they will report back next year. Happy Passover to all celebrating this holiday.

Just by coincidence I had my toe nails painted with "NYPD BLUE" just in time for the Seder.

Finally, blue is the traditional color of loyalty.



*Seder means order.

KNEES UP! and drive carefully please!

Okay, I am still in red and white mode from last week. I am ordering white stationery with a tiny red heart motif, my name and red/white Japanese paper liner, just purchased a red case for my new flip camera and now, my newest love:

KNEES UP - a fabulous metallic red from butter London's 2010 Holiday Collection. It is perfect this time of year; like wearing a Christmas ornament on your nails  - fun and fabulous! (You might recall from a prior post that I first met butter London, the 3 free lacquer, in Seattle this past summer.)

Knees Up, from the 2010 Holiday Collection

I ordered mine from Zappos.com - they might already be out so hurry and paint away! (Or bring to a nail salon near you.)

photo from butter London.

Yes, I Love Orange

If you don't already know, orange is one of my favorite colors. It presents itself in so many ways, especially this time of year on the East Coast. While the orange exterior color below is not as vibrant as I usually like, I do wonder if they painted the building during the fall - it is such a perfect match of canvas to the trees.

Yes, I did pull over to photograph this building mirroring nature

A close up of Fall in action 

And, speaking of orange, pumpkins are not just for Halloween -

Pumpkin Soup  - Yum Yum

Recipe from The Mayo Clinic:

Ingredients
3/4 cup water
1 small onion, chopped
1 can (8 ounces) pumpkin puree
1 cup unsalted vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup fat-free milk
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 green onion, green top only, chopped

Directions
In a large saucepan, heat 1/4 cup of the water over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Don't let the onion dry out.

Add the remaining water, pumpkin, broth, cinnamon and nutmeg. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the milk and cook until hot. Don't boil.

Ladle into warmed individual bowls and garnish with black pepper and green onion tops. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Analysis (per serving)
Serving size: 1 cup
Calories 72 Cholesterol 1 mg
Protein 3 g Sodium 241 mg
Carbohydrate 12 g Fiber 2 g
Total fat 1 g Potassium 199 mg
Saturated fat < 1 g Calcium 78 mg
Monounsaturated fat < 1 g

Fashion Illustration

Now these are certainly a new take on accessorizing with color. I could not resist sharing these crayon rings once I saw them via Daily Candy (LA version).
They seem perfect for your next cocktail party - when you need to write down a number - or for your elementary school fashionista. And, you can write your thank you note right out of the box!
(Not sure how you sharpen them though...)

Images from The Future Perfect, rings by Timothy Liles.

Purple Reign

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The color purple. Red + Blue. Not to be confused with violet. Historically, it was the color of royalty because it was so expensive to obtain. Weight for weight the dye was as expensive as silver - kind of like how expensive pure saffron is today. The ancient Phoenicians created the Tyrian purple/ imperial purple color dye from mucous (never thought I'd be using that word here) secretions from the hypobranchial (or that one) glands of certain predatory sea snails gathered from the Mediterranean Sea. The Spiny Dye Murex. Why am I so focused on purple? Check out the invitation above created recently for a very special boy who requested purple during our very first meeting. He was quite sure of his choice and I think the collaboration was a royal success.




Twig & Fig letterpress invite. Bronze folder.
Ancient Phoenicians lived along the eastern shores of the Mediterranean; today's Syria and Lebanon.
Tyrian purple is probably closer to magenta than the purple shown here.

Turquoise Unveiled as Color of the Year

Pantone just announced the color of the year for 2010. It is turquoise, PANTONE 15-5519. And, after a tough 2009/08, what better color could there be to start off this new year? It is refreshing, invigorating and, as they say, so full of fantasy - it just takes you away. Hmmmm.... and just when we were all getting back to work.

So now I am dreaming of a layered beach invitation of turquoise,coral and crisp white and or maybe I'll go to cocktail party in turquoise and steel grey (sparkling accessories work here) or maybe I can pop a bit of turquoise into my ski attire (in my dreams is this one, in turquoise, from Bogner)

See what the experts at PANTONE have to say about it all.

In Living Color

Ogden Rood (1831-1902), an American physicist and artist, wrote about color theory and introduced the term "hue". Hue is the basic term of a color - whether it is blue, green or red ... Neo-impressionist painters (such as George Seurat) benefited from his writings. Others have studied and written about color, saturation, color wavelengths, hue, perception, etc. I could read Modern Chromatics (1879) by Rood - but no. Today, I am going to study color via my new book "HUE", by Kelly Wearstler. Is this lazy? No, it's studying the practical application of color theory.

Feeling Blue?

I am feeling blue and loving it! Yes, I did this years ago, but here I am again. Another blue period. This should not, by any means, be confused with Picasso's somber Blue Period (1901-1904).

YSL. Use with intention and soft lips.

Seeing Red: More Branding and Just in Time for the Holidays

When you see a fabulous red sole, it can only mean one thing. And walking away never looked so good.

Anytime, anywhere. Click here before you walk away: http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/templates/media.jhtml?itemId=cat19460743&icid=elvid#

Another success in color branding.

And, the happy souls featured in red above are shown on a yummy Luscious Verde holiday card.

Branding at Tiffany's

Who knows where that pouch came from? Did you recognize the box above? Could you spot it from across the room and know the significance of a genuine Tiffany box? Can you guess – pretty accurately – where the envelope is from without looking at the return address? Why would your answer be “yes” or “Tiffany” to any or all of the above? Because Tiffany & Co. is known for their trademarked blue box. Yes, this particular shade of blue is trademarked - world famous at that. A successful branding story; you see this delightful shade of blue and you think of Tiffany. Did you know that “Tiffany Blue” is also known as Pantone Color 1837? 1837, the year that Tiffany was born.

Hmmm… what color would make people think of you? Are you color branded?

I’d be interested to hear about other successful color brandings. Please send me your top 3.

And, for those who don’t know me that well, I am not so much “color branded” as I am “pattern branded”. The obvious clue lies in the photos above.

Up On A Pedestal

Just this morning, a very cheery product came across my desk. I had to share it.

Recycled and full of color. How could these colors not make you happy?!

I am going to get one in blue; I could say "Tiffany blue" but that is the topic of my next post.

Check out these pedestals at http://iacolimcallister.com/miniPedestals.html

(And next time you are ordering stationery, think about bright colors for your inks. How could that not make you happy?)

Well Read in Pink

I like these books and their covers - - which are pink. (As if that wasn't obvious!)

And, because I am in a pink mood, the next 3 orders placed and processed during this month which contain any pink to them at all will receive a nice pink surprise. Maybe my niece will rethink her "old" favorite...

What Color is Your Sand?

Sand: small particles, varying in size, and often containing quartz, rock fragments from nearby... rocks of course... fine, grainy, soft, crunchy, smooth, etc.

Color of sand: often described as in the beige family...sounds blah. But this doesn't look blah to me! (Beach sand - up close - really close -along the coast of the Sea of Cortez.)