Color Buzz

The Colors of Food

By Michele Coppin

The color of fruits and vegetables can be as beautiful as the color of flowers. The color combinations and variations are endless as they grow, ripen and mature.  Fruits and vegetables have actually been inspiring artists for centuries. “Food portraits” are known as “still lifes.”

Jan Van Huysum, Still Life with Fruit
Oil on copper, 1720
Rijhsmuseum, Amsterdam

These delicious palettes herald the presence of nutrients. Color indicates the ingredients we need for good health. For example:

REDS are packed with vitamins (A C), protect your heart, maintain good blood pressure, and help to protect against some cancers.

GREENS are packed with vitamins (A,C,B,K), provide a source of iron, and boost your immune system.

YELLOW and ORANGE are packed with vitamins (C and B) that keep you eyes strong, boost your immune system and promote glowing skin.

WHITE, such as cheese and yogurt, is packed with calcium.

Some of my favorites in both appearance and taste are asparagus, baby artichokes, fresh garlic, cheese and bread. A glass of red wine would complement this tableau nicely…

Greens speak of youth, nature, fresh starts and cool mornings. Purples, dark reds and burgundy suggest the end of summer, setting sun, heat, and royalty. These opposites however make a very elegant color combination.

 

                                                   
Tropical foliage 6002 – 6C                               Garden Fresh 6008 – 7C

                                                

Hotel St Francis Sangre de Christo 1010 – 6    Accent Frosty Berry 1003 – 1B

 

Clashing Colors

By Michele Coppin

Combining colors that match is a safe choice. They tend to create soothing and serene effects that are easy to live with. However, MSN’s “Lifestyle” segment on June 17^th featured colors that typically clash, yet make a major statement brimming with elegance and energy.

Indeed, actress Reese Witherspoon was spotted wearing a hot pink and red dress with matching red sandals. This may not be the ideal combination for a room, but for an evening out, it is sure to be noticed.

Red, White and Blue

Fourth of July is a swell of activity in our town. The day starts off with Paul Revere riding through the streets warning us of the oncoming Brits. The children dress in patriotic costumes and the rest of us wave red, white and blue as classic cars and fire engines line up and parade down the main street. We have a ceremony with the naming of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and a releasing of pigeons – one for each colony (Although I’m not sure how the Founding Fathers fit this into their own celebration). We have an afternoon of tournaments and pool games, and after all this we head up to the top of a hill where everyone gathers for a town-size picnic complete with games and fireworks. It’s a great event. Generations come back for it - my immediate family, my grandmother, mother, sisters and their families, cousins, etc., are all together. Everyone is in some version of our country’s colors. I always panic because I usually can’t wear them, but for the love of the 4^th and all that it stands for, who am I to not get out a red dress?

 

 

What do colors symbolize?

By Michele Coppin

Historically, mankind has given symbolic value to colors. As societies developed, colors came to represent different concepts and served multiple functions. They emphasized certain meanings within an image, indicated status, expressed identity, etc. Of course, these meanings are very different depending on the culture they belong to.

Here are some examples of the meanings of various colors from Western European societies.

White: From the birth of the new moon, often associated with birth, purity, cleanliness. Brides wear white to symbolize innocence and purity.

Black: Mourning, death, earth, seriousness, submission. Priests wear black to signify submission to God.

Red: the most emotional color, red signifies passion and love. Hearts are always red, but red also symbolizes blood, fighting and ardor.

Yellow: Warmth, sun, happiness, gold. Yellow also symbolizes cowardice, betrayal and hatred.

Orange: Warmth, wealth.

Green: Calming and refreshing, it is the color of spring and youth. (Walt Disney dressed Peter Pan in green. As the little boy who wouldn’t grow up, the eternal youth wears a tunic reminiscent of foliage. Green also symbolizes envy. 

Blue: The color of the sky and the ocean. Blue symbolizes sincerity, loyalty, peacefulness and tranquility. Blue also connotes melancholy, sadness and isolation. Picasso’s “Blue Period” began shortly after he moved from Barcelona to Paris. He was poor, depressed and cold. From 1900 to 1904, he primarily painted thin, elongated figures in variations of blue. When his work began to sell and his spirits lifted, his palette shifted to Pink.   

The Tragedy, 1903
Picasso
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

Purple: The color of royalty. Purple connotes luxury, wealth, power and dignity.

In Antiquity, purple was derived from a rare sea snail so expensive (even more than gold), it became a symbol of royalty as only the very wealthy could afford it.

The Byzantine emperor Justinian I appears clad in a purple cape in this 6^th century mosaic from the San Vitale Basilica in  Ravenna, Italy.

Exterior Color

         

When painting the exterior of your house, you should always consider the color surrounding your home. Do you have nature around you? Then, you might want to consider two different directions:

      1) To blend in with the surroundings. One great color that harmonizes with most landscapes is Valspar Dakota Trail. It has enough green and brown in it to harmonize with the great outdoors.

      2) The opposite direction is to use a red like Eddie Bower’s Cabin Red. This will set your home beautifully against its setting.

When picking a trim color, keep in mind the size of your home. Larger homes should have a lower contrast between trim and main color. You do this so the home won’t feel chopped up. For smaller homes, especially cottage style homes, you can have more fun because the trim-to-main-surface ratio is smaller. If you want a small house to look larger though, keep trim and main color closely related.

                                              
                                            Dakota Trail 6008-3B

In Celebration of Asian Heritage Month

Color is alive and rich throughout Asia. From the deep intense saffron robes of Buddhist monks to the soft nature driven colors of Japan. China is so closely identified with red, but there are also the whites and blues from the culture’s ancient porcelain. In southern Asia, the color really heats up with the gorgeous silks dyed in colors that put the rainbow to shame. Japan has drawn from the colors of the elements to create a sophisticated traditional palette, but in the past several decades, they’ve been serving up a fun and raucous color extravaganza through their pop culture. The colors were traditionally derived from spices, flowers, shells, minerals, and plants and animals of the region. The possibilities of incorporating an Asian-theme are truly endless! Have you done it?

A More Sophisticated Kitchen

This blog is written by Beehive Studios designer Megan Leblond.

I met with Julie on an overcast Monday morning.  Her smiling face, a sweet white poodle named Grace, and a steaming cup of coffee greeted me at the door.

Julie is a proud parent of two college graduates.  With the kids now out of the house, Julie was looking to welcome a new look into her home. While updating her kitchen and creating a more sophisticated look, she expressed interest in downplaying her cabinets which are currently a white-washed pine. Excited to showcase her new contemporary tile floor laid on the diagonal, Julie also wanted to steer far from the mauve and blue tints she once used in the kitchen and living room. 

Julie described a nice, rich, red kitchen as her ideal new space. However, she was having trouble selecting a specific red -- some seemed too bright a pink, and others, too close to the mauve she was eliminating.  She also mentioned a light green or gold as considerations. 

And the envelope, please...

The winner is definitely RED! Last night’s red carpet delivered a gorgeous array of elegant color block gowns, but red, especially deep lipstick red, made the biggest splash. Anne Hathaway looked glamorous in a single shoulder strap gown by Marchesa. Katherine Heigl was draped in an Escada column gown, again with a single shoulder strap. Heidi Klum charmed us in a beautifully sculpted gown by John Galliano Haute Couture. Ruby Dee was absolutely vibrant in her Kevan Hall gown. We can’t leave out adorable Miley Ray Cyrus in her very grown-up red Valentino number. The red was definitely classic - the color you wear to stun, sparkle and shine. Alongside red was a great supply of classic black. One gorgeous stand-out color was seen on Cate Blanchett. Her beautiful empire waist dress was by Dries van Noten. It had an exquisite color which danced between navy and deep purple. You can go to Oscar.com to check out all of the fashions yourself.

Dramatic Transitioning

Let’s say you follow your embolden heart and go for a color with lots of richness and depth. Now what? How do you transition from one deep vibrant room to a more subtle one? First, find a soft color that complements and supports the stronger color. Usually what works is taking a light version of the bold color’s complementary tone. For example, if you have a dining room that is painted in Valspar Crimson Glow, you could have an adjoining room painted in Homestead Resort Parlor Sage. This would give you a pleasing contrast that wouldn’t compete with the dining room’s vibrant walls. The reds in the crimson color bring out the green in the sage. Isn’t it great to see this kind of teamwork?

                                           
          Crimson Glow 2011-5            Homestead Resort Parlor Sage 6006-5B