Color Influences

So I've been thinking about color palettes lately. Both for the canvas and for the home.

I just started an oil-painting class a couple weeks ago, something I've not really had much personal experience using. I have always had acrylics on hand, but never oils. I took one art class in high school, and the instructor was less than inspirational. I think I accomplished one painting - of a wall and outlet. Pretty boring stuff, and Mr Hoy didn't give us any help in how to use the paints, composition, or really anything. He was cranky most of the time.

I learned more about the concepts of design in my high school yearbook class. We learned about the Golden Mean, balance and proportion, the value of white space and meeting deadlines (if you don't think deadlines are important to interior design, try missing the installation of those draperies before the Big Party!)

When I was in college, I took a painting class, and we used acrylics. Then, I felt that to be an art major, you had to have burning issues or extreme points-of-view to express to be a legitimate artist. These days, not so much. Who has time to care so much about what others think of your stuff? I like that freedom.

Anyways - color palettes. First I got into a conversation with my friend Philip about full-spectrum colors, then I started this painting class where we don't even have a tube of black amongst our collection of colors. Confirms Philip's perspective.

THEN, I started looking at the latest Vanity Fair magazine. After reading Dominic Dunne's column (always my first stop!), I started noticing the advertisements. And then I was literally swept away by a photo of the set of Sophia Coppola's new movie, Marie Antoinette. I want to see it just for the lush colors! Ohmygod, I they looked so beautiful! What a gorgeous contrast compared to all the heavy browns and neo-70's colors we've been seeing so much of lately. So refreshing!

Of course there's the tiny little issue of the French Revolution...