It was my last week teaching art to the elementary students at my local school district and I'd invited the children to ask any questions they had.
"Um, I'd like to know... I mean I've always wondered..."
A blush bloomed on Emily's face. The eleven year old coltish beauty was at that awkward not-quite-a-child, not-yet-a-grownup stage.
"What I'm really asking is how do you choose your colors?"
Have you, like Emily, wondered the same thing? Have you struggled choosing a color palette, or wondered where artists get theirs?
I can't vouch for anyone but myself, but for me the best inspirations come from the garden just beyond the studio windows.
There the blueberries ripen gently, suggesting I try shades of indigo and sap green. Columbine and foxglove, sweet peas and basil. Leggy tomatoes, rosy berries and brilliant poppies. It's an endless rainbow of colors so gorgeous it could only have been planned by God himself. Even the weeds are inspiration.
Today I wandered, camera in hand, as I so often do, snapping photos to supply me with enough ideas to last a very long time. But greedy me, I'll be out with the sketchbook or camera, feeding my eyes and my imagination again tomorrow.
The garden beckons me every day, rain or shine, and especially now when it's at its best. Hurrah for a garden full of luscious color palettes and rich with ideas!
