A New Romance in the Studio: Orange meets Periwinkle Blue

I’m very opinionated when it comes to color. When I paint, I’m directed by instinct–does Red work well in this corner? Does Pink belong next to Turquoise over here? My color choices are all based on what I see on the canvas as I work–it’s not something I consciously think about. I feel the colors and listen to their stories. Sometimes Red can be bold and bossy, but darken it with a Amber glaze, it stops shouting and gets all moody and mysterious. Pink is the same way–Sunny and Silly and Sweet, but then here comes Jade Green to the party and the tone changes. Sunny goes Sophisticated. It’s one of my favorite things about working with color. I love to see the interaction, the nestling in and combining and pairing  up and then the final expression together of something stronger and more important than each color could say by themselves.

As much as I like all colors, I admit that I play favorites. My basic palette starts with Blue, Yellow, Lt. Green and Pink. From there I know I can go big with Red, or more sultry with Wine. But recently, working on a new body of work for my upcoming show opening Sept. 4th at Museo Gallery, I wanted to try some new colors that I had not invited into the studio before: Orange and Periwinkle Blue. I knew I would need a lot of room to work with this new relationship. I chose one of my favorite canvas sizes: 36×48. And away we went! I hope you enjoy the “new romance”–I think Orange and Periwinkle Blue might be together for a very long time!

(P.S. Leatrice Eiseman, one of my favorite people on Bainbridge Island and executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, also is a big fan of Periwinkle Blue. You can read more about Lee and her love of color and influence on color choices for corporations worldwide on her website. She’s been kind enough to feature some of my new paintings on her blog. Merci mille fois, Lee!)