Sensational Color Pro Kate Smith's Online Color Journal

Stephen Colbert, Letitia Baldrige and Me

Kate Smith — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:44:43 +0000

I was honored to be asked to contribute to the silent auction that will benefit the Sibley Memorial Hospital Foundation The event is tomorrow night and I’m sure it will be a great success.

Of course even more fun than being asked to be included was for me to see the other fabulous contributions that have something up for the bidding tomorrow evening. Here’s a clip of my offering plus comments on at least two I’d like to win…

Disclaimer: Okay so I wasn’t really listed ahead of Stephen Colbert or Letitia Baldridgre. What you see above is my own fantasy Photoshop mashup but you can see the original listing with all of the fabulous contributions here…

Colorful Halloween Tricks, Treats and Trendsy

Kate Smith — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:07:29 +0000

Halloween Happenings seem to have started last night and are sure to go on all weekend. I won’t be donning a costume this year but it is still fun to bring some sensational spookiness home and Julie gave me some great ideas this week on Live in Full Color on just how to do that.

My favorite was the Spookatini but Julie has so many tricks and treats up her sleeve that it took three post to share them all. See ‘ A Few Hallowed Ideas’ Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

Spookatini by ‘It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere: The Global Guide to Fabulous Cocktails‘ author, Colleen Mullaney.

Recipe on Live in Full Color

Kiki grew-up in the “Halloween Capital of the World,” so is it any wonder she is the best when it comes to holiday color? She shared so many different ideas for using this year’s Halloween trend colors that it was difficult even for me to decide which I liked best. See them all ‘Trend Tuesday: Tricks and Treats for a Stylishly Spooky Halloween’.

Happy Halloween!

AKA ‘Goofy Grape’

Kate Smith — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:32:57 +0000

Forget the technical or factory name. Once a color has been dubbed with a moniker by the masses you might as well just go with it.

I was reminded of this as I was searching for something today and came upon Smokin Joe’s comment on the forum board at JalopyJournal.com and it make me smile so I thought I’d share with you.

Ford has always come up with colorful names for their paint. Most of them give you NO idea of what the paint’s supposed to look like. Other factories followed suit. Mopar had some really strange colors for the cudas and challengers back in the 70’s. I tried to get some of the purple from a paint store once for an AAR cuda using the factory paint name and the guy didn’t know what I was after till I told him I wanted “Goofy Grape”.

Pic from http://auto.howstuffworks.com

Welcome Karen Platt: Gardener Extraordinaire

Kate Smith — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:32:43 +0000

I have been a big fan of Karen Platt ever since she ignited gardener’s desire for dark plants with her much acclaimed book, Black Magic and Purple Passion. I believe that she was the catalyst that brought about the black plant phenomenon first in the UK then worldwide.

You can just imagine how thrilled I was when Karen agreed to be a featured contributor to Sensational Color. Karen will be writing articles based on her color book series that represent all colors used in the garden. Each of Karen’s books offers a blueprint on which plants to choose and how to use them and I think we can look forward to her keen insights on how to bring new colors into our gardens.

The first article is Color in the Garden – Black and if you’re like me by the time you finish reading it you’ll want to grab the book or ebook and start thinking about how you might add a little Black Magic to your garden.

Ask Kate: Beige on Beige

Kate Smith — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:22:24 +0000

My latest ‘Ask Kate’ article has been posted on Homefurnishings.com…

Artist Paints Himself in Full Color

Kate Smith — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:26:10 +0000

Julie and I keep our eyes open for the most interesting uses of color for the Best in Color post on Live in Full Color and while I always love what we come up with sometimes something truly astounds me. That is exactly how I felt when Julie shared the Chinese performance artist Liu Bolin who ‘color matches’ himself to the background of his photographs.

The artist says that the photos are not retouched or photoshoped just presented as captured on the film. All I can say is, “Wow!”.

See what Julie has to say and find a link to more photos and a video of Liu Bolin plus our other colorful finds in the post Best in Color on Live in Full Color…

500 Colors That Inspire Creativity

Kate Smith — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:09:09 +0000

We included 500 Colors in our Best of Color on Live in Full Color a few weeks ago and I was tempted to buy a set immediately but decided I really didn’t need to pay for pencils for the next 20 months but I looked at them again the other day and what can I say…

…I couldn’t help myself. I subscribed to 500 Colors and now can’t wait to get my first set of 25 pencils.

Yep, I know it is a bit of an indulgence. And, yes, I agree that I don’t really need more color pencils (I think I already own every color Prismacolor has ever made and then some) but…I wanted them!

Maybe not a great reason to spend money on something you don’t need especially when I’ve been cutting back elsewhere but I like the idea of monthly color inspiration arriving in the mail. Plus I thought that each month I can share my thoughts on the colors that arrive. Stay tuned as the first set will arrive in mid-November.

Is there anyone else out there that took the plunge and ordered a set? I’d love to get your take on each month’s colors.

Ask Kate: Finding the Perfect Kitchen Color

Kate Smith — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:37:29 +0000

Big news! Homefurnishing.com lauches today with my ‘Ask Kate’ column. The first article is titled: ‘Finding the Perfect Kitchen Color…

Please check it out and poke around this new decorating site packed with information I think you’ll find very helpful. I’d love to know what you think.

In Colors Never Seen In Nature

Kate Smith — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:04:36 +0000

Often with a design or color trend I come up with a catchy little phrase to describe it because I like being able to communicate an idea in a way that makes it easy for my audience to remember. I can’t tell you how many times people have told me that they have repeated one of my catch phrases over and over so I know it works.

So for all my color and catch phrase loving friends heres another one for you.

For the latest color trend in animal prints in, “Colors never seen in nature” seems to sum up the trend perfectly. When was the last time your saw a teal spotted cheetah or mauve zebra? Put when you hear that phrase I bet you can imagine exactly what that might look like.

Duralee animal prints in unexpected ‘colors never seen in nature’

While I’m known for my catchy little phrases if you’ve been reading the blog on Color for Your Home you know that Kiki is famous for her very well thought out post on each trend. In this week’s Trend Tuesday post Kiki shares much more than just a catch phrase as she brilliantly shows how the animal print trend is showing up everywhere. Check out ‘What Color Is That Zebra?’…

Now I Get It: Woman Are Heroes

Kate Smith — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:37:49 +0000

How often do we see something and just don’t get it? I discovered that about myself yet again today as I read Julie’s post on Eyes of the World on Paris.

Some time ago I’d seen this image and loved the scale and interesting placement but either didn’t take the time to read more or maybe where I saw it didn’t tell more. I really can’t remember.

As soon as I started reading Julie’s post this image immediately resurfaced in my mind and I realized how much more there was to this than just a large scale photograph cleverly positioned on a staircase.