Spring Orange

 

 

As I paint spring blossoms I am thinking about the color orange and how different it looks in the spring and fall.  Orange in the springtime is fresh and light and paper thin.  You see it in Narcissus and sometimes tulips and here, in my azalea.  It can be almost transparent and has a delicate quality easy to spoil.    In painting spring orange, I have to hold myself back.  Stop messing about.  Too much paint and the dreaded 'muddy look' sets in.

 

But fall orange is another matter.  Fall orange is a vivid leaf color.  If you see it in petals, it is on a sturdy, bold plant like a chrysanthemum or a late blooming marigold or zinnia.  It is loud and holds its own in the landscape.  It shouts, "Hey look at me!",  especially when the backdrop is a bright blue, cloudless sky.  The contrast is so vibrant you have to stop what you are doing and take a good long look.  You can't overdo it painting a fall shade of orange.

 

This spring blooming azalea, on the other hand, cheerily greets passersby, though shuns center stage.  It might get a nod or a quick mention, "How pretty!".  It gracefully bows and nods in the breeze, and adds to the spring palette of sweetness and light.  Remember back to April?  When the forest looked like Bambi just passed through?  That is the orange I'm trying to capture. 

 

Color memory is a marvel.