Color Inspiration - Mustard Plant

Color Inspiration with 2015 Color of the Year - Marsala (4th from left)

This little Mustard plant self seeded itself next to some bright green Euphorbia in my garden last spring.

Color Inspiration - Lavender Glass

A small section of one of my paintings - the colors inspired by old lavender bottles on my window sill - I love the touches of rust on the glass and wonder where the bottles were before they came into my possession.

Where do you get your Color Inspiration?

Etsy Sale

All of my Nuno Felt scarves have found new homes this week - from Australia to Paris, from Maine to Washington.

Guess I had better get back in my studio!

Sale is still on in my Etsy shop

Color Inspiration - Swirling Snow

Swirling Snow
Actually swirling camera as the snow fell on our garden arch that my son covered with twinkling lights

Color Inspiration

Kale in Snow
Denim and Pink, what a lovely combo!

Color Inspiration - Pink Climbing Rose

This heavenly scented climbing rose has such delicate shades of green and blush - Nature yet again giving us a lovely complementary palette

Artful Color for Creative Projects

Color Inspiration - Purple and Gold Flowers

My cutting garden is full of Purple and Gold flowers, in a variety of shades and hues.

Want to create bouquets that glow with color? I live by my motto that all colors can work together! Just remember that if you want to pull together colors that are very different from each other, simply add transitions:

By pairing equally saturated versions of each of the complementary colors - intense purple salvia and buddleia with orange-yellow rudbeckia, I can then pull in the warmer, less intense hues - light yellow rose, beige-orange african daisy, red-purple spiky flower (which I can't remember the name of!). The african daisy works well in the palette not just because it is in the yellow-orange color family, but also because the center acts as a perfect transition from orange to purple.

p.s. Note that Radiant Orchid (#coloroftheyear) is included in this palette - 6th from the left

Have fun playing with color!
If you want to learn more: Artful Color for Creative Projects
All color wheels from: Eye For Color

Color Inspiration - Yellow Door

This bright yellow door caught my eye and is especially lovely paired with spikes of purple salvia.

Just as this scene has lots of colorful interest, depth can be added to any complementary color scheme by adding shadows and highlights of each color, and expanding with a second set of complementary colors to make a Tetrad (such as the grey-blue in the salvia stems and leaves of the curry plant)

Color wheels from Eye For Color

Color Inspiration - Old Fashioned Rose

Color Inspiration from our new rose garden. Can't you just smell this David Austin old fashioned rose?

I accidentally over-exposed this shot, but ended up liking the result - soft, warm pinks, greens and taupe all on the Warm, Light Earthone color wheel (from Eye For Color)

Color Inspiration - Pink African Daisy

The color combo in this photo is so unique - adding a bit of grey-blue to the traditional complement of purple and gold, I just had to create a color swatch - hope you enjoy!

For an entire book of Color Inspiration - pick up a copy of Artful Color for Creative Projects

Color Inspiration - Romantic Lilac

The last of my lilacs have faded, the end of a glorious month of heavy fragrance. 

For more color palettes: Artful Color For Creative Projects

Color Inspiration - Scratched Paint

 

 (color palette in various mediums)

Artwork created for fabric sublimation provided color inspiration for other projects

Color Inspiration - Garden Tools

Color is everywhere, but sometimes so subtle we don't realize that our eyes are picking up nuances of color in every day objects.

This simple tool bench vignette provides a soft, cool earthy palette which would be stunning in a room (imagine soft grey-blue walls, taupe furniture, a chocolate rug and a splash of terracotta in a pillow or painting), or in an elegant piece of jewelry (smoky quartz, carnelian and kyanite) or...

For more color inspiration

Color Inspiration - Pink Chairs in Holland

Feeling Pink - Shop in Holland in all shades of pink!

See what I have created with this palette in Artful Color for Creative Projects

Color Inspiration - Lavender Poppies

A mix of teal and purple with just a hint of copper thrown in for pop.

Another way to use the #Coloroftheyear Radiant Orchid

Add a Pop of Color!

Color Inspiration - Painted Poppy Pods

I painted this piece for a client who loves purple and teal in muted, earthy undertones.  I used various values and saturation levels, but felt I needed something more to make the palette pop. By consulting my color wheel, I realized that just a hint of cool gold would help create more movement and interest, yet still work within her color palette.

Color Inspiration - MT's Tail Light

My friend Michael Tomlinson - singer, songwriter, comedian, story teller, humanitarian... keeps me giggling with his tall tales (for some laughs read his facebook stories).

He also has an affinity for old vehicles. Don't you just love the colors of this one? Yellow and red with a smattering of rust, and even some mauve spider webs thrown in!

Color Inspiration - Cafe Latte

Look for Color Inspiration all around you!
An artful cup of coffee at our local coffee house
(see what I created with this color palette in Artful Color Inspiration)

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Color Inspiration - Sunset Nuno Felt Scarf

Color Inspiration - Sunset Nuno Felt Scarf
Use Pantone's Color of the Year in new and lovely ways - here it is (4th from the right) enlivened by warm, bright colors!

More color inspiration

Color Inspiration - Hot Pink Peony

Thought you might enjoy this bright color palette!
(See what I did with it in Artful Color for Creative Projects)

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