I just wanted to say thank you for the picture of the paint covered girl celebrating Holi…that led me on a wonderfully enjoyable journey of colour looking up all about Holi…

In fact this whole post caused many delightful blog wanders and researches…

When I moved to Los Angeles I was absolutely struck by all the bold colors on the street — bright clothing often with patterns and lots of sparkly bling, bright awnings, bright signage, bright billboards, bright shop windows, bright trim colors, flashy cars, lots of flowers, noisy people and music on the street and in cars, decorative lighting, crazy architecture, brilliant sky and ocean, even the boldly painted taco wagons and the little food carts full of fresh tropical fruits with wild sun umbrellas, and on and on, a surprise around every corner saying: “Look at ME!” … Maybe the set designers and all the different cultural influences have melded together to create such a rich,sensory-stimulating scene?

When I moved to Portland, I was struck by the stillness and lack visual energy. Barely any discordant color — predictable brick,stone or tasteful beige buildings, industrial look of an older city, clothes tend to be muted or neutrals or just dark…. such a contrast. I suppose the light (or lack of it) has something to do with it, too, but there is just a whole nother visual vibe going on here.

Fascinating.

And speaking of noticing the colours in the places we travel to – it’s amazing to notice how the light changes and interacts with the natural colours of a place.

When I’ve been overseas and returned to Australia (and other Aussies have mentioned this to me as well) there’s a kind of saturated, crispness to everything. The blue in the sky casts its magic over everything.

I’m sure each country, or continent at least, has its own special colour cast