The month of March is always hopeful for me. March means the first day of spring is just around the corner. With spring, warmer days arrive and things begin to start growing again. The landscape is still pretty dreary as the trees aren’t in leaf yet, but it’s not far away. The grass is peeking through; hopefully, we will have sunny days to put life back into the living things in our environment. Many of us eagerly await the first sprouts shooting up from our perennials in the gardens. We crave colour in our lives after the dull and grey days of winter.
Colour can come in many forms to brighten our lives.
Sometimes colour arrives in the form of a good friend you haven’t seen for a very long time. A mutual friend reconnected me with someone I knew decades ago. A simple lunch at my house with Anuva and several hours of ‘catch up’ chatting certainly added colour to our lives. Learning about what our respective children have been doing and where they are now. Grandchildren were a popular topic of conversation as we shared pictures on our phones and told our colourful stories about their antics. How did we ever live without them? We all think we can never love a child more than our own children, but that is not true. Grandchildren fill our hearts with love, even more, when we can send them home to our children after a tiring day of fun and games.
Being creative always affords opportunities for me to experiment with colour and brighten my days. The happier I feel, the brighter the pallet. Unlike Picasso and Matthew Wong, I have not had a ‘Blue Period’ in my work. Bright colours and lots of movement attract the viewer’s eye and express the joy of being alive. Red is one of my favourite colours although I tend to use it sparingly as it can take over the composition. The picture with this blog is a photo of silk scarves I dyed in the 1980s.
Painting on silk was a thrill for me. It’s not something I have done for many years but the colours and techniques of silk dying set me on a path of finding joy in colours and how they relate to one another. Since then, I have applied my knowledge of colour to a wide range of media including acrylics, watercolour, fibre art and a broad range of mixed media.
What you chose to wear also expresses to the world what your relationship is with colour and the world around you. Sometimes I dress in neutral colours but I tend to not leave it that way. I have to add a pop of colour with a scarf or some jewellery. Green is a favourite colour to wear as it brings out the green in my eyes. For me, green is also about nature, growth and healthy living. It was also Bob’s favourite colour so I can’t wear green without great memories of him.
As March marches on, I suggest you find the colour in your world and celebrate it. Whether it’s a person, a pet, the neighbour’s garden or your own wardrobe, embrace the colour in your world every day. Let’s make March a celebration of colour.
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