Monday 17 March 2014

Colour

My dress by Cos
I love this combination of colours - green, blue, indigo, violet - half of the rainbow. The colours of a peacock's tail.
Some people have an instinctive feeling for colour and always get it right. It's not just about choosing which colours go well together it's  positioning  those colours to achieve a balance that pleases the eye. Witness Kaffe Fassett ... or Ruth Ellacott in Handmade Happiness, who no matter how many colours she uses in her rag rugs and patchwork always achieves a piece which looks 'right'.

I've realised recently (it's taken me a long time) that there are colours that look expensive and colours that look cheap. I would put neutrals - cream, grey, and beige into the expensive category and cold, harsh colours - puce, royal blue,emerald green and anything neon into the cheap looking category. There are 'safe' colours like navy and black and highlight colours like lime and shocking pink. Plus millions of shades of each colour. And then there's fashion. Fashion should not be allowed to dictate on colour since what suits one person is wrong for someone else.

Learning about colour could take a life time. All I know is that nature is the best colour guide. Not garden flowers as we have tampered with their colours too much but meadow flowers or animal colours or landscapes -infinite combinations that will always inspire and always look 'right'.  
  

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