Show off colours

Cristina showed me the water colours she had done when she was in Denmark over Christmas. A river was in soft gray and rushes lining the banks were in shades of beige, the same colour combination as the clothing she wore. “These are the colours I grew up with,” she said and added that sometimes she found the bright colours of the south of France unsettling.
We talked about the importance of colour and the influence it has on our individual art forms, our moods and our lives.

Anyone who knows me well knows that colour is important to me. I see matches where others don’t: I revel when I am surrounded by dusty roses and soft blues.

Later in the day I took a walk and thought about what Cristina had said. Strong colours were all around, the red of the English telephone booth outside a restaurant, the blue sky, dark green palms and even a delicate colour like yellow, comes in sun-strength on flowering trees. Although the houses tend to be pastel, everything around them is vibrant like the railings to matching the sky and this tree of the photo I snapped. I thinkit is mimosa, but don’t quote me on it.

It is true, here the colours show off their pigment with a pride and a complete disregard for the subtle. I can live with a flamboyant environment, but am equally glad that the world has room for the greys and beiges.