Inspiration Fridays! What Color Are You?
What Color Are You?
The post-impressionists of France are my favorite, and their snails aren’t bad either.
“When God made the color purple, God was just showing off.” – Mae Jemison
A Burgundy snail dipped in garlic & butter can offer a tiny glimpse into the tastes of the elite class, but the sacrifice of the Murex snail comes with a legacy.
Tyrian purple (Imperial or Royal purple) was originally a precious dye extracted by the Phoenicians from the mucus glands of the Murex sea snail back in the Bronze Age. It took thousands of these snails to create even the tiniest bit of purple and unlike other colors of the period, which faded over time, Tyrian purple grew more lustrous with age. The Kings, Priests, and Kardashians of the bronze age relished the scarcity of this sumptuous color and used the dye to flaunt their privileged status.
I didn’t know any of this when I fell in love with purple. I discovered the color purple at the Varsity theatre in 1984. I was nine and the only royalty I knew about was the artist formally known, and then known again, as Prince. My purple came with a soundtrack and a motorcycle. Without heels, Prince wasn’t much taller than me at the time, and due to a brief lapse in my mom’s judgment, I was watching Purple Rain. It was clear purple was a superpower. Some might blame the music or the big screen, but whatever the cause, my love of purple is absolute.
A crushing side note: It’s been said that Prince‘s favorite color was orange.
Pilon’s Lunch – oil on panel
To this day, I draw in most of my paintings with Dioxazine purple and let bits of it poke through in the finished works. Purple is electric, it’s a mix of hot and cold. When I paint with purple, my paintings feel alive. It resonates with who I am.
There is no “best” color. Neutral and subtle, or punchy and saturated, each color comes with its own vibe… and so do we. The colors we choose can convey how we are feeling and can even be an expression of who we are. Do you have a favorite color? Have you ever asked yourself why this color is your favorite? Going a step further, how is this color reflected in your personality? How might it reflect what’s going on in your life? What does this color feel like?
Our preference for a specific color can change over time. Picasso famously went through his Blue Period following the suicide of a close friend, and as he began to recover from the loss, transitioned into his Rose Period, embracing warmth by adding oranges and pinks to his palette. Color is honest. I love the idea of choosing a color as the basis for a body of work. The color itself can tell a story. What color would you choose for a series? What effect would choosing that color have on your painting’s narrative?