Most people have their own intuitive color style, but simply aren’t comfortable or confident using their own preferences in a quilt. Starting today, you are going to look at color differently, more observantly. By recording your likes, dislikes, and color observations, you are coming one step closer to recognizing your own personal color “style” or palette.
Next time you’re admiring a beautiful painting/quilt/photograph/rug (or whatever piece you’re admiring), stop and notice the colors. Really take a moment to ask yourself why you like that floral arrangement. Take a photograph of the flowers in your garden, your favorite coffee mug, or whatever offers up a striking color palette in your eyes, and paste that photo in your journal.
Go through your magazines and cut out the pages that have color combinations you love. Add photographs of your favorite quilts. Look at nature and observe the color combinations. Have you ever noticed that in nature green is a neutral? It goes with everything from orange daylillies to red berries, to blue larkspur to the yellow of lemons. After visiting botanical gardens, hiking on wilderness trails and taking photos on those excursions, I added those photos to my color journal and was amazed at the endless variations of green and combinations with other colors. As you become more observant, you’ll notice that each season has its own color palette, and you can capture nature’s glorious colors in your journal!
This week, be a color detective. Notice colors and color combinations, and start filling up that journal. Don’t feel like it has to be a work of art. It’s a place for you to experiment with color without committing to a quilt yet. Have fun and get busy with that glue stick!
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