Palettes
Color inspiration from a place.
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Creative Art Lesson: Use Only ONE Color
When choosing to do an art project, we sometimes can get overwhelmed or feel the necessity to use all the “crayons” in the box- or all the colors we can, since, well, they are there! For this creative exercise, I actually challenge you to do the opposite, and only use ONE color when doing a drawing. Given I decided to draw icons or doodles of summer, I chose the color yellow. I have to admit, it was very hard to not want to go in to the drawing an embellish with more colors. Also, it was hard for me to not want to draw my swimming pool in blue (not…
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The Psychology of Yellow
Yellow just makes me happy! I love spotting it on my walks (a front door? a yellow center of a daisy) as well as wearing it – in a sweater, scarf, t-shirt! We only moved once during my childhood, and my parents selected the yellow bedroom to be mine before I had seen it. The room had yellow checked wallpaper. It was so cheery! Perhaps that is where my love for yellow started! The Psychology of Yellow It’s no surprise to find the psychological reactions that yellow can people. Here are just a few feelings and thoughts people have when they see yellow: optimism happiness hope positive thinking friendship good…
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Viva Mexico – A Colorful Collage
There is so much of Mexico I have yet to explore, but from the tiny taste I have experienced, I find it to be one of the most colorful and exciting countries to visit. Color is such a vibrant part of every community, from the festive papel picado flags draping a street to the hand embroidered floral dresses. I created this collage above and tried to represent the energy Mexico exudes. Have you been to Mexico? What was your impression?
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5 Creative Ways to Celebrate the New Season – Spring Time is Here!
It’s so easy to get wrapped up in our day to day or week to week activities that we often miss the most incredible natural occurrences happening right in front of our eyes – the transformation between seasons. On my daily walks, I do see blossoms beginning to bud on trees in spring, or colorful leaves on the ground in fall, but by the time I’m back home, inside and/or in front of my computer again, the fleeting moment is gone. It’s such a shame as I find there is so much creative energy a new season can provide. To become a little more mindful of the changing of the…
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Wanderlust Patterns: Exotic India Collection
I dream of traveling to India one day to soak up the colors, landmarks, symbols, and motifs of this culturally rich and diverse country. From the Pink City of Jaipur to the Taj Mahal in Agra, the visual feast of patterns is incredible. Inspired by stories I’ve heard, I created this Exotic India collection to celebrate this beautiful place in the world. If you are interested in licensing my illustrations or patterns in this collection, please contact me for details. For more licensing information, feel free to browse my portfolio.
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Creative Inspiration: Go on a Rainbow Hunt in the Castro, San Francisco
The Castro is definitely one of the most colorful neighborhoods in all of San Francisco! The extra large rainbow flag, the defining landmark of the area, flies proudly over the intersection of Market and Castro Streets welcoming all to the inclusive neighborhood. A Rainbow Hunt Beyond the main flag, there is no shortage of more rainbows to spot in the Castro. Rainbow banners hang from light posts and there is a cross walk lined with rainbow colors. For an easy entertaining game while exploring, play “I Spy” with your friends and try to be the first to spot the rainbows you see. If you are looking for an even more…
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Creative Inspiration from Sara Midda
I’ve been a huge fan of Sara Midda and her gorgeous art for many years. I first came across her work when my parents lived in St. Remy de Provence, France in the mid-90’s. Her book, South of France, A Sketchbook, is dreamy journal of her own experience of living a year in Provence. Her journal is filled with tiny thumbnail drawings of her moments. She has a spread of postage stamp sized loose watercolor paintings of mas’ (Provencal farm houses) and typical Provençal buildings in golden hues. She paints snapshots of everyday activities like an evening in the park playing pétanque. She discusses (and paints) the fruits and vegetables…
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It’s a Colorful World – December Color Palette
December is one of the best months to get out and about, open your eyes and see the colorful world we live in! Here’s a new palette for the month to keep an eye out for. These are some of my favorite holiday shades– cherry red, crisp turquoise, vibrant chartreuse, forest green and a rich brown. Once you spot these colors, whether it’s thumbing through your holiday ornaments, or at walking by an elaborate Christmas window display, snap a pic, make a quick sketch, then let me know! Post it on social media and tag #itsacolorfulworld, or send me an email! I can’t wait to see what you find. December…
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It’s a Colorful World – November Palette
Many years ago, while traveling with my family we came up with a “game” for the day where we’d pick a color and while we were out touring we would snap a picture when we saw the color. The picture could really be of anything; a door, a flower, some food, a painted wall, a sign. It’s amazing how many pictures each of us would find, and how artsy some of them were! For instance, when touring Istanbul, I picked the color red. It was everywhere, from flags hanging proudly to the bright red trolly in the Taksim neighborhood. I even found this very random red chair, on the side…
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Palette+Place: Sunsets at Lake Tahoe
This New Year in Lake Tahoe, California we were treated to quite a show. Night after night we were dazzled with pure visual entertainment. Jaw dropping colors magically changed before our eyes and in a matter of minutes it was over. No this wasn’t some marketing stunt put on by a glitzy casino, or a laser light show at the local high school, this was just Nature doing her stuff. With 4 decades of trips to Lake Tahoe, and a 2 year stint living there, I’m convinced Lake Tahoe sunsets are some of the best in the world. Night after night the sun dips behind the Sierras and the sky…
