Colour Dilemma

It's been a while!
I have been busy working with colour but not managed to find anything extra to say about it so have been quiet here.
But I'm currently working on a piece and have a colour dilemma.

I'm using some gorgeous matte copper Delicas (number 340) which are a very pink, light colour, and decided to pair them with emerald and amethyst rivolis:


Color by COLOURlovers

Then I decided to add in some Olivine to lighten it up:

Color by COLOURlovers

And then some Padparadscha for a contrast, which I felt it needed:

Color by COLOURlovers

I made sure I kept the new colour down to a small amount, as I just wanted it as a hint, but now I'm not sure. It seems quite a bit of a contrast but then maybe the piece did need it? Maybe I need to up the use of the Padparadscha so the small amount doesn't jar?

Fortunately the necklace is constructed in sections, so I can easily take it apart and reconfigure it as I choose, so I might just do some experimenting with that or sleep on it and see how I feel when the whole piece is completed.

Colour in Copenhagen

I as fortunate enough to spend a couple of days in Copenhagen and here are some of the colourful things I saw:


Colourful ceramics for sale

Colourful ceramics in a shop window

More ceramics and jewellery in a shop window

A skull beaded curtain!


Striped chairs in a shop window


A rack of spotty dresses for sale


Even more ceramics


Window display of scarves and jewellery


Cushions and boxes


Scarves and boxes


A pile of cushions

Slippers, scarves and cushions


A swan adorned bench and colourful luggage


Walking up these dark graffiti covered stairs led you to this lovely art gallery







Artwork on display in the gallery


Colourful buildings by the canal

New Pantone colours

Pantone have launched 175 new colours- check them out here

Paper Cuts And Choices

Tonight I took a short course on paper cutting with Suzy Taylor. You can read more about the course on my blog here but I thought I would show you some of the colour options I had when deciding on what backing paper to use.

All of these photos were taken within a couple of minutes on the same setting, with the same lighting conditions etc so I hope you can see just how much a different backing paper changed the look of the paper I used for the design.


This light blue combined well with the dark blue I used but seemed to make the blue more purple looking. I like the calm and co-ordinated look

This light peachy/orange contrasted well with the dark blue and made it 'sing' more

The pink worked well but again made the blue too purple

The soft mauve worked well for a subtle effect but this wasn't the look I was going for. It also made the blue look a lot lighter

Peach made the blue look a lot darker

Orange was a great contrast and I felt showed the blue and the work off really well

Orange/ red was too harsh of a clash for my tastes and it also really lightened the blue

This taupe worked well with the blue but it made it look much lighter. I also felt it seemed to show off the white parts too much. It was strange that one colour could have such an effect


This soft green worked well but made the blue look mauve

Soft yellow worked really well but made the blue look too purple. I loved the look but wanted to preserve the blue colour

Beige made the blue look dark purple and whilst I loved it, it was too subtle for me!

Lime green was a good combination but made the blue look too purple


This yellow was my final decision. As soon as I put the blue on it the piece seemed to really 'sing' and it showed the blue, and the detail off the best. All white parts, which I didn't want showing, seemed to disappear and it made the work look its best.

Colour animations

I love stop-motion films and since coming across this site - We Love Stop Motion - I have an endless supply to watch.
Many of them show great uses of colour and here are some examples:


This advertising film, not in English, all about ceramic tiles. Great use of colour and the language barrier doesn't stop it from being educational.


Time-lapse painting


Organising a book shelf- the colour fun in this is great

Nils Inne Playground from jeremy hugues on Vimeo.

Nils Inne Playground by Jeremy Hugues


Mushroom Tea by Max Martin


How much does this one make you want to play with paint?

Happy New Year 2011 Candy Stopmotion Animation from Joonas Utti on Vimeo.

Fun and colourful firework

There are may more films to watch but these were the most colourful ones I found today to share with you

Surrounded By Colour

Since the recent colour post on my blog I have been taking photos of all the colour that surrounds me.

Fabric paints and pens

The colourful mess that sits behind my laptop. With a pen-pot, Swarovski colour charts, a bauble wreath and an empty jellybean jar. How much more colourful would it be if that were full!

My brooch drawer

Some books and magazines on a shelf behind me

A framed postcard in my bedroom and the bright green tree I can see from the bedroom window

A Day Full OF Colour

A day out today (you can read more about it here) and here are some photos I took as I was out and about.A sign advertising a tempting treat

This plant was so green it looked fake

Unexpected yellow brickwork

Colourful paint work on the facade and window

Silver, black and beige paint combine

Grey, lilac, cream, brown and silver all combin if this soft colour scheme

Dark bluish purple combines well with lime green

The colourful scarf I'm wearing