CED April Theme: Color
March 25th, 2009
ced color
The *totally optional* theme for the Creative Every Day Challenge in April will be Color!
How can you use this theme in your creations? Well, you could use the previous themes to help you brainstorm by getting playful and writing all the ways you could intepret the theme. Or perhaps you will dream something up?
If you need some suggestions, I will be posting about the theme throughout the month. Here are a few ideas to get you started. You could:
- *Capture the color around you in photographs.
- *Limit the color schemes in an art piece.
- *Try using a color you don't usually use.
- *Add a splash of color to your wardrobe.
- *Bring color into your space with flowers or artwork.
- *Learn about the psychology of color.
How to use the CED themes:
If you're feeling creatively stuck or blocked at any point during the month, use the theme as a source of inspiration to get you moving.
Using the theme is entirely optional for CED participants. Use it if it inspires you, ignore it if it doesn't. I'll be sharing posts throughout the month around the theme (among other things) to get you thinking about how to incorporate it into your life. I'd love to hear how you use the theme in your creative world.
Feel free to focus on the theme in your creative activities for the entire month or as much as you'd like.
And have fun with it!
“I try to apply colors like words that shape poems, like notes that shape music.”
~Joan Miro
Spanish Surrealist Painter and Sculptor, 1893-1983
p.s. I jumped into playing with the theme a bit early in the painting above. I loved playing around with bold, rich colors in an abstract way. This is only a snippit of it, but I think I see a mermaid in it (can't help myself!), so perhaps I'll bring her out later.
34 Responses
How timely, this theme ~ just in time for spring … the blossoming of crocuses, tulips … and of cherry blossoms. This will be fun ~ I love colour.
Unbeknownst to me, I got an early start on the colour theme, too, today. On my daily trek to find some good shots for my ‘project 365,’ I stumbled upon some beautiful, vibrant colours.
Love the snippet.
Posted by: tinkerbell the bipolar faery | Mar 25, 2009 at 3:38 am |
Awesome theme! This will fit in perfectly with the next set of paintings I’m planning to do, where I will get to play with wonderful splashes of bold, vibrant color! I think I may use it as an excuse to finally read up some more on color psychology, too.
Posted by: Julie Behm | Mar 25, 2009 at 3:57 am |
Hmm. Your totally optional themes are often quite confrontational for me. Ideas I am avoiding or think don’t apply to me… and yet, they usually end up being valid.
Here, I think I already focus on color a lot. Color is one of the elements I use to give meaning to the Flying Girl theme… but then, I think I could be more experimental with color, trying new unfamiliar color schemes or allowing color to lead me in other ways.
I wonder how else in my life this will pop up.
Posted by: rowena | Mar 25, 2009 at 9:15 am |
Hehehe this one’ll be easy for me, because I *adore* color and love making vibrant things. The yarn I just got for a blanket I want to knit is eye-poppingly brilliant and I’m having a hard time not making all my art journal pages rainbow-hued. LOL!
Posted by: Cyberdelia | Mar 25, 2009 at 10:30 am |
The idea of using bright color with a photo is enticing! Thank you for it….and I see the tail of a mermaid in your snippit also ~:O)
Posted by: Rose Ann | Mar 25, 2009 at 11:02 am |
How funny that I just ordered books to help me learn sumi-e, black and white drawing, where the rest of my life is so bountiful with colour.
I cannot wait to see where all this goes in the coming month.
Thank you for the inspiration.
Posted by: knittingjourneyman | Mar 25, 2009 at 11:43 am |
Hi Leah
I, too, love colour!
I try to embrace all colours…but one thing I have not tried is to use a limited colour scheme…hmmm…
I also do photography…and the spring flowers should be coming up soon…might be another snow dump yet…but the flowers aren’t far off!
Thank you Leah!
Love your play with colour!
Posted by: Tamara Campbell | Mar 25, 2009 at 11:59 am |
Moon collector speaks to my inner love of the moon.
BUT COLOR RULES!
Posted by: Margarete Handy | Mar 25, 2009 at 3:29 pm |
whoee! color! I love color–and outside my window are trees–covered in pink pink blooms! a bright blotch of welcome spring color–among the surrounding cement grey…
and on my blog I just posted a very colorful post about Kente cloth from Ghana…
Posted by: aurora fox | Mar 25, 2009 at 4:10 pm |
How fun! So far, all the totally optional themes have been wonderful–right up my alley! I’ve been doing more than I’ve been posting. Color sounds like fun.
Thinking of color, I painted a series of related colors on a clayboard and am studying them to see what I would do with them.
There’s a book, which may be out of print, and I can’t think of the name of it, though I own it, about working with kids and elderly people in nursing homes using the theme of color to write poetry–if I think of it, I’ll come back–or maybe you already know it–I used the book in writing workshops and people responded very well to it.
They did free writes starting with a color of their choice or one assigned to them. Then made the free writes into one or more poems. Some were totally terrific.
Posted by: Mary Stebbins Taitt | Mar 25, 2009 at 6:40 pm |
You’re doing good work–your art and blogging both!
Posted by: Mary Stebbins Taitt | Mar 25, 2009 at 6:41 pm |
Great theme idea, Leah! Especially for Springtime!
Hope your week is going great.
XOXO,
Em
Posted by: Emily Carson | Mar 25, 2009 at 6:57 pm |
Hi! I’m new to the blogging world and I would like to be a CED participant. The reason I started blogging was to share my art and enjoy the art of others, but I’m stuck in a rut! I’m looking for inspiration and the courage to even share my artistic side! Please add me to your list. Thanks!
Posted by: Annette | Mar 25, 2009 at 7:05 pm |
I love this theme! I love make colorful art journals. I’ll try to make some pages to post here. Thank you for your inspiration!
Posted by: Renata Pacheco | Mar 25, 2009 at 8:04 pm |
Ah, color. Right down my alley. Perhaps I’ll even get something in this month! =]
Posted by: tammy vitale | Mar 25, 2009 at 9:02 pm |
I highly recommend the book, “Color: A Natural History of the Palette” by Victoria Finlay and have been telling everybody about it lately…
http://www.amazon.com/Color-Natural-History-Victoria-Finlay/dp/0812971426
It really got me thinking about the stories, symbols and significance we put on color. Plus I just love a good travel book. I’ve been wanting to blog about it for some time, but it is just so rich that I don’t even know where to start!!
Posted by: peggy | Mar 26, 2009 at 8:59 am |
Oh Colour – looks like be playing along (unofficially) again.
I’ve just bought Jane Davies’ “Collage with Color” to inspire some making of coloured papers.
Posted by: Caroline | Mar 26, 2009 at 9:25 am |
Perfect, Leah! The purple skirt I’m wearing someone once compared to a light bulb, so yes I love color. I’m going to take the challenge to focus on a limited palette- probably only three colors and see how far it goes. Oh, and yes, don’t you just love color psychology!
Posted by: Shayla | Mar 26, 2009 at 9:36 am |
haha. it’s already popped up. I painted a very bright Flying Girl last night. Usually my colors are muted. I add Titan Buff to all my colors, but last night I wanted it all bright.
It’s exciting to go off in new color directions. I was getting a little bored, anyway.
But it’s still dreamy. Aww, I guess my FGs are always kind of dreamy.
Posted by: rowena | Mar 26, 2009 at 1:59 pm |
This is a fun theme. In recent years I’ve been playing with color in different ways and really embracing bold colors like never before.
I’ll have fun exploring this theme some more.
Have a colorFULL day!
xoxo
k
Posted by: Kathryn – Collage Diva | Mar 26, 2009 at 3:28 pm |
oh, what a great theme….i just ordered a new Daniel Smith watercolor triad, so hopefully it will be in for the 1st! Yay!
Posted by: Mitzi | Mar 26, 2009 at 4:35 pm |
Oh color!! I can do that one. Alas my paint is packed up for the move.
Posted by: Andie | Mar 28, 2009 at 10:11 am |
Yes!!! Yes!!! YESSSSS!!! I love this theme!!! Ideas are popping, dancing, and bursting in my mind right as I write this…I gotta run to the studio and start!!! Yay for Creative Everyday!! Lots of love to you Leah!!!
Peace & Love.
Posted by: Connie | Mar 29, 2009 at 4:47 pm |
Love the theme — and what a range of emotions you can portray! I’m starting with HAPPINESS, ’cause that’s what I want to share with others.
Hugs,
Nancy
Posted by: Nancy | Mar 30, 2009 at 10:56 am |
Great theme, especially at this time of the year! As a matter of fact, as I was looking back at the last photographs I posted on my blog I noticed there has been a lack of colors lately – or should I consider “dark” to be a color too?? Anyway, I was planning on introducing a little more color in my pictures… and everything else – what a nice coincidence!!
Posted by: Pascale | Mar 31, 2009 at 3:16 pm |
Yes!!! awesome theme!!!!
yesterday I was playing about this theme in my art journal!!!
kisses, Gil
Posted by: Gil Jussara | Apr 2, 2009 at 6:00 pm |
Excellent Ideas! I especially like the idea of limiting your color palette, because I do try to do that in my art. Using a few bold colors in different values throughout a painting can make it much stronger than a painting of many colors, but all the same value. This theme will certainly push me to develop this further. Thanks, Leah!
Posted by: Christine | Apr 6, 2009 at 1:09 pm |
Hi, here my contribution:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36305585@N08/3419481312/in/pool-creativeeveryday2008
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36305585@N08/3419481398/in/pool-creativeeveryday2008
let me know what do you thinking about,ok?
kisses
Gil
Posted by: Gil Jussara | Apr 6, 2009 at 5:53 pm |
I have been trying to be very colorful in my ATC’s this month. You can see my latest on my blog!!
Posted by: Deana hager | Apr 7, 2009 at 4:16 pm |
Color is essential to my painting process. I often start with a color in mind before I do anything else. I mine my childhood, special places, clothes that I wore, and toys that I played with. Sometimes I choose a color that I know will get a rise out of other people, like pink! I actually love pink.
Posted by: Adria | Apr 9, 2009 at 9:19 am |
I like the April theme….I’m always feeling rushed and never have enough quality time to work on a project! But enough of my whining. I did come up with a word that embodied the theme of color in my mind: Confetti, and that is what I journaled about.
Posted by: Eileen Honey | Apr 12, 2009 at 10:20 am |
I just joined in this year’s challenge and absolutely love the theme for this month! One of my favorite creative activities is mixing color – in polymer clay, in paint, in beadwork. I had created some citrus cane beads – lemon, orange, grapefruit and lime – in polymer clay and this month would be the perfect time to create something with these vibrantly colored components.
Posted by: Karen | Apr 13, 2009 at 9:36 am |
Just joined! And posted a brand new painting of mine for April’s theme. Color is such a mood thing for me…some days it swings wildly from vibrant and expressive and other days I couldn’t be more subdued and “earthy” if I tried. To create this much much color I have to be in a very uplifted and spirited mood, which I was….
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33366983@N05/3488035995/in/pool-creativeeveryday2008
Thanks for the challenge!
–Mone’
Posted by: Mone’ Musel | Apr 30, 2009 at 9:32 am |
Awesome challenge – I have been blogging my participation:
http://rhiannonstr-daydreams.blogspot.com/
I can’t tell you how much fun I am having with this.
Posted by: Rhiannon | Apr 30, 2009 at 2:26 pm |