Color Buzz

Wrigley Field

Wrigley Field is the home of great history, culture and, of course, one of America’s favorite teams, the Chicago Cubs. The venue is our country’s second oldest active major ballpark. Many of the greatest players in the game have graced its field. It’s fitting that a Valspar limited edition color collection was developed. The colors are: Ivy Green, Marquee Red and Pinstripe Blue.

    
    Cubs Ivy Green        Cubs Marquee Red      Cubs Pinstripe Blue 

For those of you unfamiliar with Wrigley Field, one of its signature traits is the Boston Ivy that covers the outfield walls. The ivy starts leafing up over the course of the early spring. Baseballs in play often get lost in the deep, green leaves. When this happens, the play is ruled a ground-rule double.

Wrigley Field’s bright red marquee is famous, not only in Chicago, but throughout the world, as it has appeared in numerous movies and TV shows. Wrigley has set the scene in such films as: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Rookie of the Year, Bleacher Bums, The Natural and A League of Their Own.

          

 The Cubs’ blue pinstripes are simply classic.

To celebrate the majesty of Wrigley, Valspar is holding a raffle this Sunday, July 12th at the doubleheader between the Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals. The winner of the raffle gets to throw out the first pitch at the September 3rd game against the cross-town rival, the Chicago White Sox. If you’re at either game this Sunday, you can enter the raffle by finding the Valspar booth near Gate F, where they will also be taking donations for Habitat for Humanity to benefit the Chicagoland area.

Next week, the raffle will also open up online and I’ll post a link to it when it’s running. Needless to say, this is one opportunity Cubs fans can’t miss!

 Incorporating the three Cubs colors into a room is a great way to celebrate the team and their home field. Try them in a bedroom, family room, study or playroom.

One of best ways to work with these three powerful colors is to give them a neutral backdrop to pop against. You can try: Shoreline Haze, Milestone, Cliveden Sandstone or Ancient Scroll.

                       

Shoreline Haze 6008-1B   Cliveden Sandstone 3007-10B    Ancient Scroll 3008-8B

For an additional detail to add to your baseball room, you can check out one of our recent Friday Project Series: Baseball Shade.

I hope some of you take this on. Let us know what your results are! We’ll be sure to raise a “Cubs Win Flag” in your honor!

A Trip to the DMV

Last week, I had to venture out to get a replacement copy of my Social Security card and to renew my driver's license. Maybe not surprisingly, the outing gave me the opportunity to really appreciate how color affects those waiting for hours in a confined space. 

The Social Security office building was much like a doctor's office. The waiting room was painted a soft, warm peach color, which was actually quite soothing. It was as though a team of color psychologists had come in and given a color prognosis. Everyone in the room seemed relaxed and chatted quietly or read. When the administrators came out to call the next person, it was done so calmly and everyone paid attention. 

Conversely, my trip to the DMV was not as pleasant. The office was housed in an older 1960s government-issued building. The colors throughout the waiting area were a disorderly mix of dirty mint greens and grays. Needless to say, the hapless souls waiting for their number to be called looked haggard and weary and the two and a half hours seemed endless People were restless and upset (I couldn't believe my seven-year-old outlasted me in patience. For that I will forever be grateful!).  

I couldn't help but think what a different experience the DMV trip could have been by simply changing the color of the paint and the lighting. I would love the chance to go there with our team and repaint the place in the same soothing peach colors from the Social Security building.

Fourth of July Colors

I love the colors of the Fourth of July. The red, white and blue ring in the start of summer.  I can tell we are getting close to the big day... I’ve seen the kids running around, collecting boxes of sparklers, and teenagers hiding a benign arsenal of bottle rockets, roman candles and whistling dixies.

Our town is gathering fire engines, classic cars, floats, marching bands, horses and, of course, kids dressed in Americana costumes.  They will parade down the main street as they have done for years.  We all come out to cheer them on.

After that, we gather around the pool, recite historic poems, listen to a speech or two and sing a ton of patriotic songs. Then, it’s off to a huge picnic with field games and moving from table to table trying out what everyone is serving up.

Finally, the fireworks let loose.  It’s the best!  Believe it or not, this is scaled down from when I was little.

I give a lot of credit to our founding fathers and mothers, who were incredibly brave.  I try to imagine what it must have been like for them to stand up for all they believed. They were willing to give up their way of life, their homes, and even their lives for a better world for others.  We are the grateful beneficiaries of their sacrifices.

Turkish Delights

By Michèle Coppin

Spring is the time for renewal and this season, new styles are coming from exotic lands such as Turkey.

With a tradition of unique decorative arts, the Turkish culture, formerly the Ottoman Empire (1299-1923), is a treasure trove of divine inspiration. Arts and crafts were molded by its rich history and religion—Islam.

Islamic art varies hugely from Western art, primarily influenced by the Koran. In this Islamic tradition, depicting human form in art is forbidden. Therefore, Turkish or Ottoman art relies on the pure balance of color, line and rhythm in geometric patterns and designs. Rugs, tapestries, glass work, metal sculptures, mosaics and paintings all share similar characteristics of precise detail, harmony and elegance.

Turkey is also known for its famous blue Iznik ceramics, which are decorated with abstract and intricate patterns of floral and fauna designs. Ornamental square, rectangular, hexagonal and triangular tiles still adorn palace walls.

Iznik pottery melds form and function beautifully.

 
The colors used in this art form are blues, viridians, reds and golds. Touches of green pull these colors together and balance the red and the blue perfectly.

                   
      Dazzle 4005-10C            Berry Blush 1004-1A         Salamander 6001-8B

These colors and patterns are becoming more trendy. I have even spotted them in a window display on my street!

If you would like to expand your knowledge of Turkish history and art, I recommend one of my favorite novels, My Name is Red  by Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk.

The book is about the Ottoman Empire and the influence of art. The story follows the murder of a painter in 1591. In each chapter, the perspective and narration changes, even to such unexpected ‘characters’ as a coin, a dog, and even the color red! This beautifully written novel is a true work of art, full of color, history and suspense. Let me know what you think!

Artichoke Colors

By Michèle Coppin

The Artichoke - of delicate heart erect
in its battle-dress builds - it's minimal cupola;
keeps stark - in its scallops of scales
...
So you have it - a vegetable, armed - a profession (call it an artichoke)
whose end is millennial
we taste of that sweetness - dismembering scale after scale
we eat of a halcyon paste
It is green at the artichoke heart.
(excerpt from “Ode to an Artichoke,” by Pablo Neruda)

The glorious artichoke is the large unopened flower bud of a plant belonging to the thistle family. It originated from Southern Europe, around the Mediterranean, and there is evidence of artichokes being cultivated in Naples in the ninth century.

Castroville, California is the artichoke capital of the U.S. In 1948, it crowned its first artichoke queen, a little known starlet named Marilyn Monroe.  In her honor, the Norma Jean cocktail was created, containing Cynar (the bitter artichoke liqueur), gin, lemon juice, sugar, crushed ice and mint leaves, a delicious and refreshing sundowner.

Low in calories and nutrient rich, artichokes are an excellent source of fiber and vitamin C, and also rich in foliate, magnesium and antioxidants. My favorite artichoke recipe is simply boiled with a little lemon juice. The leaves are removed one by one and dipped in hollandaise sauce, vinaigrette, melted butter or more lemon juice. The heart is eaten after removing the inedible hairy choke.

The beauty of this long process is that you can admire the vegetable at each stage of undress, like an interactive kinetic art piece. The artful artichoke transforms with each step, from its coarse outer purple leaves lined with silver, to tender moss green leaves edged with delicate pink, each one unique and delicious.

Indeed, the colors of the artichoke span many tones and shades of green, purples and pinks that blend together naturally and can be a great source of inspiration.

                                  
 Lyndhurst Castle Sand 5008-1C       Lyndhurst Celadon Green 5004-1B
                       
                                 
                                   Pale Orchid 1003-6C

Color of the Week - Summer Rapture

Last week's Color of the Week was Summer Rapture. Fresh, crisp, light and airy, Summer Rapture captures the moment as we move from spring to summer. Try this cool, breezy color in a kitchen, entryway, family room or even an outdoor space. It would look great with accents of navy and a crisp white like Anthem White. This color reminds me of summer porches with white wicker, rattan and grass cloth flooring.

                                         
              Summer Rapture 6002-5A                    Anthem White 7006-24

   

Cheerful Effects of Yellow

By Michèle Coppin

Vincent Van Gogh once said, "How wonderful yellow is. It stands for the sun." For Vincent, yellow represented happiness, love and hope. Many of his paintings have an abundance of yellow. He was fascinated with color and its effects, often experimenting with different ranges of tone, like in his famous Sunflower painting.

  

Completed in 1887, this painting was eventually sold in 1987 at an auction at Christie's in London for a record $39,921,750!

Indeed, yellow is cheerful, warm and uplifting, which is why I love this yellow house:

In a drab city street, this yellow stands as a celebration to light, an ode to color, a testimony to the owner’s cheerful composition, and happiness. It also seems to be contagious, as the neighbors’ color choice for their curtains and window flower boxes are becoming more daring.

They have also painted their tiny courtyard yellow, decorating it with Mexican tiles and plants.

Wedding Colors Part II

By Michèle Coppin

In Monday’s post I explored the role that color played in weddings throughout the ages. As I mentioned, in the last few years, colors for weddings tended to lean towards soft shades of pinks, greens and lilacs. Although soft pastel color schemes are always in fashion, experts agree that bright, bold colors and even exotic combinations are the new trend.

Here are the hottest wedding colors for 2009:

Red and Orange: vibrant, fun and exotic.

Red and Pink: exiting combination mixing romance and passion.

Red and Yellow: Modern and hip

Orange: Elegant and radiant with shades of peach and ivory.

[Courtesy of Kim Fuller Photography]

Yellow and Turquoise: Summery and tropical.

 
Green and Yellow: Fresh and young.

Green and Lavender: Soft and sensual



Brown and Pink: Elegant and sensual  - one of 2009's hottest combinations.



I also questioned wedding photographer Kim Fuller for some additional insight. She noted:
 
"Purple is in! The jewel tones seem to be back in fashion this year for bridesmaid dresses. It makes for great photos, especially when you add a bold-colored flower to really make the color pop. Brown and pewter are still popular for the Fall, with a touch of orange or pink as an accent.  Both color palettes go well with most skin types, which is nice."



For more photos and ideas, please check out Kim Fuller Photography’s website.

Wedding Colors Part I

By Michèle Coppin

White has long been accepted as the traditional color of the wedding dress, but wedding gowns were not always white. Roman brides favored yellow, and in the Middle Ages in Europe, brides wore red and grooms wore bright and colored outfits.

Middle Eastern brides wore a blue ribbon tied to their gowns since blue symbolized purity in their culture. The tradition of ribbon trims extended to Europe in the mid 1500's, when love knots, which symbolize the wedding knot, were tied to the bride's dress. The ribbons were multicolored with a different meaning for each color. Some represented virtue and good fortune, and others fertility. The color green represented fidelity. 

Colored wedding gowns were very common. There is an old poem about how the color of the gown will influence the bride’s future:

Married in White, you will have chosen all right. Married in Grey, you will go far away. Married in Black, you will wish yourself back. Married in Red, you will wish yourself dead. Married in Blue, you will always be true. Married in Pearl, you'll live in a whirl. Married in Green, ashamed to be seen. Married in Yellow, ashamed of the fellow. Married in Brown, you'll live out of town. Married in Pink, your spirits will sink.

It was Queen Victoria who made white fashionable in 1840 when she married Prince Albert of Saxe in a gleaming white gown, setting the tone for generations. White then became the color that denoted purity and virginity.

Gowns this season however reflect the long tradition of color. With touches of pastels or splashes of vibrant color, brides can make their own fashion statements while linking their wedding to centuries of celebration of love and color (and don’t forget to give the groom some color too). Check out Wednesday’s post to read more about popular wedding colors this season!

Color of the Week - Enchanted Evening

Last week's Color of the Week was Enchanted Evening, and it is perfectly named. This color captures the tone in the sky after sunset as the cool of the evening begins to breeze in. It's a bit magical to sit outside this time of year with friends as you take it all in for a peaceful moment. I would imagine this as a beautiful color for a bedroom. It's a medium tone color so if you have a large room, try it on an accent wall. For smaller spaces, you could paint the entire room. Try it with Belle Grove Buff, Waverly's Khaki, and Laura Ashley's Imperial Yellow.

                                           
               Enchanted Evening 4003-8A              Belle Grove Buff 3006-10B

                                          
                  Waverly's Khaki 380001            Laura Ashley's Imperial Yellow 815