The Saturday Morning Post: The Color Of Place

Washington DC, is shades of brilliant blue sunshine, warm white Indiana Limestone, at night the landmark buildings are brilliantly lit against the night sky. Art of DC, needs these colors. 

The first time we went to Italy, was in the winter, February, and I found exactly the color tone I was dreaming of, the color tones I had seen in art. Warm earth tones, terracotta and ocher.  The late winter light made it all the more perfect. Italy in art, needs these colors, these are the colors of place. 

I have a special place in my heart for the desert southwest of the United States. My father got a wild hair idea and we spent a winter in Phoenix when I was in the first grade. That experience left etched in my memory the warmth of the landscape against endless deep blue skies. The deep reds and purples of the mountains surrounding the city. Art of that part of the landscape is art of those colors. 

Florida is pine trees and palmetto scrub, shades of evergreen not brilliant or vivid greens. The surf is dark green, and brown, with musty foam. The lakes and rivers of Florida are brown, often murky or muddy looking, the deep springs emerge crystal clear out of coquina rock caves.  Paint it with caribbean blues in the water and it looks wrong, because outside of the shallows in extreme south Florida, that is not the color pallet of nature. 

Each place has a color pallet, look for it, see it, incorporate it into your art, or maybe not if you want the art to look alien to the landscape. 

I am on a digital detox. This post was written ahead of time and scheduled to appear today. I have not missed posting at least once per day in over a decade. While on this detox, I will not have internet access many days, when I do have access it will be limited. Please continue to leave comments, but I may not reply to comments. I will read comments when I can. Normal service will resume in late May.