For the Fun of It - my favorite colo(u)rs

an eternal kid question

I would say one of the questions I get most often at readings and workshops is not “who are your inspirations” or “how do I become an artist”, but a lot of “what is your favorite color”?

Kids of a certain age are obsessed with favorites. I think maybe it’s because they’re trying to show their own personality, and create connection. I remember one zoom visit where the students asked me only a series of “what is your favorite…” questions (including my favorite fruit, vegetable, and animal).

I do have a favorite color- a sort of bluey-teal-cyan. I think of Oliver Sacks’ search for “true indigo” (a color he saw on a drug trip that made him think of heaven). It’s also the color in my icon, and one of the main colors in the branding of my website (where I use modern primaries).

But more often, I think of favorite color combinations or color schemes, and how they play together.

One of my early favorites has been a teal or warm leaning blues with a warm red.

I recently rediscovered this light pink with a dark blue green (I generally prefer yellowy greens so this surprised me!)

I also like chartreuse and pink, as a sort of acid nightmare. Or watermelon.

It’s been a trend in interior decorating for too long, but I love grey/graphite with a sharp cool yellow!

Pulling out colors to mix and match and see how they feel together is a type of play that I’m hoping to do more often. Whether it’s through swatches in my sketchbook or making squares to mix and match, hunting for unexpected combinations is a little like a treasure hunt.

I don’t think I have the strongest sense of color- I’m still trying to play with a more varied color palette. I have a few things that I’ve been playing with

These color cubes are fun to pull out and play with. I like that there’s photos on the other side so I can see where they come from. I’d love to see these but with illustrations!

I have a set of color paddles, used to teach kids about color mixing. Sometimes it’s fun to see how the whole world looks in magenta.

Do you have a favorite color combination?

ok love u bye