The Joys of Red – And a Special Announcement!

It is an undeniable fact that colors can be felt.

Blue is cool and icy and should never be painted on bathroom walls lest we feel cold while indisposed. The soothing warm light of yellow draws us to a cushioned window seat with a good book when the sun pours through. Green is crisp and lush and beckons a walk in the park in an April rain. Royalty and wise elderly women own the rights to purple.

But oh……the reds! Nothing can compare.

From warm orangy red to bluish violety tones, red brings home the Oscar, brings home the bacon, the brass ring, the Publishing Clearinghouse sweepstakes, a pirate’s treasure, the Grand Prix, and Olympic gold medal. Notice-me-stand-out-red cars welcome more speeding tickets than any other colored vehicle. Red-haired people get attention. Soft ripe strawberries dribble juice down to our elbows leaving dark, tell-tale stains.

I could go on. 1,370-carat Neelanjali ruby, rust, blood, birds, foxes, clothes, lobsters, tomatoes, raspberry jello, soda pop, lipstick, maraschino cherries in a tequila sunrise, Elton John’s shoes, Elton John’s piano, sunsets, fire trucks, brick walls, flags, and endless items around the world are dazzling-eye-popping shades of red. The color red can make us mad and see red, feel red-hot hot, ecstatically happy, or maybe not so much if covered with a poison ivy rosy rash.

Though blue is a close second, red is my all-time all-around go-to rapturously perfect pigment on my palette. From bright vermilion to dusky crimson and multitudes in-between, this pigment is my drug of choice as the samples below plainly show. All I need is an excuse; a scarf, a Deruta vase, a handful of grapes, scatterings of persimmons, amaryllis, an Asian tapestry, a paintbrush, and canvas, and I’m under the hypnotizing spell of red.

Sizzling Red Wins a First Place Blue Ribbon

With all of this delightful red in mind, I’m excited to share that for a second time, my piece Deruta Delivery has won a prize in a major national exhibit. It has taken first prize in fact! It will be on view at the American Artists Professional League Members Exhibit, taking place Feb. 25 to Apr. 8, 2022. I’m pleased as ruby-red punch, and I believe this vibrant hue has played a role. I like to think it’s because of the dazzle. Do you agree?

 

The Second Time Around

As you may know, for the most part, I prefer natural earth pigments, but I have used synthetic modern colors also. The examples here show varieties of paint brands and colors, all in red tones.

My favorites are natural cinnabar, vermilion, cadmium red light and dark, alizarin crimson, various carmines, all shades of red iron oxides, and I often add azo orange for a real punch.

The trick as an artist is to find what inspires you, and then to allow it to bloom and weave itself into the work, continuously adding both joy and beauty to the process. Here are some examples of my other pieces using red tones.