Sensational Color Pro Kate Smith's Online Color Journal » green

Color Quote of the Day: March 20th

Kate Smith — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 23:05:29 +0000

“If we were to imagine an orange on the blue side or green on the red side or violet on the yellow side, it would give us the same impression as a north wind coming from the southwest.”

Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein

Color Quote of the Day: March 14th

Kate Smith — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 23:05:51 +0000

“For a warm earthy palette, add Raw Umber, Cadmium Red Light, Burnt Umber and Olive Green.”

Lisa Buck-Goldstein

Cottage-Style Yellow, Pink and Green

Kate Smith — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:45:35 +0000

Yesterday I was speaking to Kathy and we had a lively conversation about the yellow, pink and mossy green decorating scheme she was considering for her cottage-style home in Northern California.

It was fun and I thought I might look for something inspiring in that scheme for today’s post but I didn’t really have to seek something out. The color inspiration was waiting for me when I sat down for breakfast.

Although it looks gray in the picture the plate was actually a soft green similar to the color shown below.

Levenger Winter Colors

Kate Smith — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 12:42:39 +0000

I was doing a bit of holiday shopping for my son online at Levenger this morning when I noticed a link in their menu “Winter Colors” and as you can guess I had to click.

I found a grouping of products with the recommendation to “Give the gift of fine leather gear from Levenger this season, or add a splash of festive seasonal color to your own business ensemble.”

A take off on the traditional red and green colors of Christmas the mostly leather items did look appealing but not sure why they chose to call them “Winter Colors” rather than

The Colors of Carolyn Gavin

Kate Smith — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:01:53 +0000

I opened up my email to find this absolutely adorable group of characters on an ad for Licensed Products at Printsource in January. The artwork is by Carolyn Gavin and it simply made me smile.

I like the combination of colors she chose and decided to take a closer look at the palette that has a youthful energy with grown up appeal.

Here are a few more designs by Carolyn Gavin. I think she has an incredible sense of color.

Half Inspired

Kate Smith — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:35:32 +0000

Actually completely inspired but loved the play on words because today’s color scheme inspiration comes from my friend and CMG colleague Paul Half and his blog Half2Know.

I took a section of his blog and created the color palette shown below. I think the colors work great for his blog header but couldn’t you just image this color scheme in an interior of an apartment or knitted into a favorite sweater?

These aren’t the exact colors perhaps but when I paint a landscape I work to capture the feeling of the scene in colors that please me rather than worrying about whether or not they are the exact hues.

My thought process is much the same when I develop a color scheme from something that inspires me and I hope it is your approach as well. No need to worry about getting the colors exactly but rather focus on putting together colors that please you.

And just in case you were wondering here is what the full banner looks like.

Swiss Chard Palette

Kate Smith — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 10:50:03 +0000

I am often inspired to prepare a meal by the color of the ingredients and because I eat fresh, natural and mostly organic foods most of my meals are built around fresh fruits and vegetables.

Recently I have gotten hooked on raw swiss chard. All I do is chop up fresh swiss chard, toss with some Sel Gris (French Grey Salt) and high quality olive oil and enjoy a flavorful salad full of color and nutrients.

In looking at how gorgeous my bowl of chopped greens looked I was reminded how people sometimes

Color Quote of the Day: November 24th

Kate Smith — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 23:05:05 +0000

“The artist who pictures sounds as colours, who feels the difference in microns between one sea green and another… is not attending to what the world considers important.”

Eric Maisel
San Francisco-based Creativity Coach for Writers, Actors, Visual Artists, and Musicians

Occoquan Sunrise

Kate Smith — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 14:52:21 +0000

One of the advantages of getting up and out early is seeing the sunrise. I caught this little glimpse of pink as I was crossing the river this morning and snapped a photo.

I really like how the greenish gray and rust (which I tweaked to more of a taupe)

Olive and Sky Blue Morning

Kate Smith — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:15:00 +0000

I took a little detour around 7am to Fountainhead Park for a few moments outside before starting the day. The entire scene was brown and gray when I first arrived but within less than ten minutes the light changed and revealed a palette of complex neutral blues and greens.
The picture and the palette will give you an idea of the colors but can’t even come close to duplicating what your eye sees when you experience the natural environment directly.

The colors were intriguing, restful and so