Oregon photograph by Scott Waite
Notice the colors that stay with you
On a walk, at a market, or while waiting for coffee, choose three colors that belong together to your eye. Look past their names. Is the green dusty or dark? Does the cream lean toward yellow or gray? Make a phone photograph or write a few descriptive words; neither has to be precise.
If you are with someone, each choose a set without comparing until you are home. You may have been in the same place and seen two different palettes.
Make a page of colors
At home, draw three small squares and fill them with pencils, paint, scraps of paper, or written descriptions. Beside each, note where you found it. Then make one small thing: a loose sketch, a fabric pairing, a few lines for a room you might rearrange, or a color study for a future project. Use what you already own.
Notice what you chose
Which color did you make largest? Which one was only an accent? The answer can tell you more about what caught your attention than a polished palette would. Put the page where you can find it when the next project calls for a beginning.
Try it closer to home
You can do this from a window, a bookshelf, or a familiar room. Look again at a place you already know.
Why it works
Small creative acts count. In a University of Otago diary study of more than 650 young adults over 13 days, people felt more positive emotion and a greater sense of flourishing on the day after they did something creative, from cooking and knitting to painting (Greater Good). A page of three colors is enough.
Where to start
- Get a few colored pens with New pens and an open sketchbook.
- Put your palette on stone with Paint a rock.
- Browse centuries of color in Smithsonian Open Access.
I hope this finds you well,
Scott