Thursday, March 3, 2011

Color Palette Blog Walk 2



I recently discovered a really interesting blog that focuses primarily on color and when Brandi invited people to participate in a color palette blog walk, I jumped at the chance!


We were challenged to consider what inspires us, photograph that inspiration and come up with an accompanying color palette.

So what inspires me?

Truthfully, everything!

But my biggest inspiration is my surroundings as a year round resident of Mackinac Island. It's easy to focus on the big, obvious things: Grand Hotel, Arch Rock, Round Island Lighthouse, etc. But for those who slow down and look a little closer, there's so much more, some man made, some natural. I decided to focus on the natural progression of change throughout the year, starting with winter:



Winter colors are subtle and well worn, like this lingering leave cradling the snow. The sky is our most changeable feature, sometimes a soft blue, sometimes brilliant blue and sometimes a sullen grey.



Spring brings pastels, soft pinks, blues, purples with small touches of bright yellow - all against that same subtle background of greys and beige. Even the greens are subdued, soft and in the background.



Summer comes in a absolute blaze of color - is there anything more stunning the blue of a morning glory? The mauve vines are the unexpected "pop" that really makes this palette work.

One palette is just not enough for summer, summer's colors become even more intense as the season progresses, preparing us for autumn.



Fall is my favorite time of year; I rejoice in being surrounded by the ever changing kaleidoscope colors of autumn in Northern Michigan - fiery bright at first, gradually muting until once again winter has arrived.

From my palettes, you may have figured out what my favorite color is: a bright, poison green. I use it frequently in my work, and wear it often, both in modern and period clothing.

A good example, an inspiration image:



The resulting mixed media piece:


The walk isn't over, stroll on over and visit the other participants for today:

Friday, March 4th

Rachel at Balanced Crafts

Wren at Each Day

Kelly at Mackin Art - You are here!

10 comments:

  1. Love your winter palette, such soft and dreamy colours, not cold at all. I like how you used photos of different seasons. Such a pity that your favourite colour is so hard to find in winter.

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  2. these are lovely! I love the brights in the lilly pads palette! gorgeous!

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  3. Gorgeous photos and palettes! You kind of did something like me... only you have so many more, and i like yours better.. ha ha... beautiful!! Fall is one of my favorite times of year since moving to the east coast... you should check out my old "Fall Foliage" posts! I have a lot of photos full of gorgeous fall color!

    Thanks for being in the color palette blog walk... your palettes are so lovely!!

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  4. Kelly, these are amazing! Nature provides continuous inspiration through every season, doesn't it? It's just a matter of looking around. I especially love your winter palette at the top - the soft colors are so soothing to me right now!

    Thanks so much for playing along this week!

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  5. I want to cover the walls of my house in the colors from the first palette. So soothing and inviting.

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  6. Gorgeous colors in these photos! and they bring me back to all the wonderful nature I played in as a child near Lake Huron.

    :-)
    Kristy
    Simply Shiny Blog

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  7. You did a lovely job with your palettes. The first one is my favorite! Gorgeous!

    *wave*

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  8. Very nice photos and palettes. I love what you did with an inspiration photo and the mixed media piece you made. Thank you.

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  9. Kelly, your photos and palettes are gorgeous. I love how you set each one out a little differently too. Thanks for including a photo of an inspiration piece, I see you love that beautiful bright green.

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