The Chameleon has turned One, and he’s having a party. A Colour Party! And YOU are invited!
The Chameleon had a birthday on the 26th April and wanted a party. But just like my kids, he has had to wait until a more opportune moment for his celebrations….. And just like my kids, the waiting has just made him all the more excited! 🙂
Will you come and wish the Chameleon a Happy Birthday and join in the fun?The games are more “Show and Tell” than “Pass the Parcel”, but everyone’s a winner, because the prize is colour inspiration!
Colour Inspiration Tuesday: The next Colour in the 2018 Monthly Color Challenge is Orange.
This year at Clever Chameleon, the colour of the month is defined as our monthly focus colour in Jen Shaffer’s Monthly Color Challenge and blog hop. And with April nearly here, our thoughts are now turning to orange.
Orange is the colour of many things that I value very highly. Orange is associated with enthusiasm and fascination. Also, determination and encouragement, creativity, success, health and freedom. If that is not enough, orange symbolises balance and enjoyment too. That is one impressive list. By rights, orange should be my favourite colour! (But it’s not……)
In exploring my 31 Day Quilt Inspiration series, I am having a lot of fun making colour boards from my own happy snaps. I am primarily choosing pictures that mean something to me, and while I try not to pick the really blurry ones, I am deliberately not getting hung up about technical perfection either.
And you can do this too. But what do you do when a picture you like doesn’t convey the colours that you remember (accurately or otherwise)?!
Finding Quilt Inspiration in the Everyday: Day 20
As I was going through pictures I took in Vanuatu on our last work trip, I found a photo with colours and a story that I liked….. Or at least colours I thought I liked!
Frangipanis – a sweet gift from my young daughter in Vanuatu
On the first Sunday that we were in Vanuatu, Paul took our daughter to the local church while my son and I, who were feeling a little poorly, stayed home. On her return, my lovely daughter gave me two frangipanis that she had picked. They were already looking a little worse for wear, but they still looked pretty in a bowl I found in the cupboard. So I took a quick photo.
When I found this photo among our snaps, I felt happy because I remembered how my daughter had brought me the flowers. And I remembered how sweet the blooms looked in the little bowl of water, despite their slight rough handling. So I thought: “I will make a pretty colours board”.
Only, when I tried, I discovered something. The colours that I remember, and the colours that I thought I could see in the photo, just aren’t there! This is what’s really there:
The actual frangipani colours present in the hastily taken photo.
It is funny how the brain interprets things. It plays tricks on you! Sees things that are not there. Colours are a prime example of this, and it can be tricky to get your head around actual colours vs perceived colours. This is in part because colours in real life are affected by lighting and shadows. Our brains and eyes compensate for light levels better than my camera does on “automatic”.
Furthermore, the brain uses colour shifts to confer three dimensions, form and texture onto 2D images. So often we don’t consciously acknowledge colour change across an object. We see it as shape. This is a powerful tool to use when drawing an image, but a tough adversary when trying to deconstruct one. At least, I find it tricky sometimes.
How was I inspired to find a set of frangipani colours that I can use?
I don’t want to make a project in the colours that are actually in the frangipani photo. They are dull and uninteresting to me. I want to make colours like I think I see. Like this:
These are the colours I remember, and the colours I saw until I started analysing the photo!
As you can see from the board above, the colours I perceive are much purer tones than the shades that are actually in the photo. My colour list and the frangipani photo do not belong together.
So, the easiest fix in this situation is to simply choose the brighter, lighter hues and tints of the real colours. But if you do not feel confident extending your inspiration so far from the source, there is another way. Edit your photos with one of the many software packages that allow you to change the exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows and saturation etc of your picture. You don’t need to buy an editor. Tech Radar has kindly provided you a summary of the best free photo editors currently available in 2017 . My husband and I have been fans of GIMP for many years, the program that made the top of Tech Radar’s list. But for a quick edit, a simple program like Preview can do the trick too.
Adjusting colours using Preview’s Adjust Color function
Once you have the effect you want, you can pick out the colours from your happier happy snap. 🙂 Oh joy!
The colour board from my digitally altered photo is very close to the original vision I had from my memories.
And there you have it…. another tool under your belt for using your everyday experiences as quilt inspiration.
See you for more fun tomorrow!
P.S. Do you remember how I said I thought that pineapples were stalking me? Well, it’s possible that they are not after me specifically…. it’s possible that they are methodically turning all quilters into their minions….. hahahaha just being silly, but now I have your attention back, I want to tell you that I just found a really nice post about a pineapple art quilt at Pretty Piney. The pineapples insist you take a look….. 🙂
Colour Inspiration Tuesday: Colour resources for your next eye-catching quilt design
“Halo” and “Welkam” to my second Vanuatu edition of Colour Inspiration Tuesday! Actually it is a combined Colour Inspiration Tuesday and Everyday Quilt Inspiration post. Like last week’s regular slots, this post was largely pre-written in Australia due to uncertainty about how much time and internet I would have for blogging here in Vanuatu. But I have added some extra material to make this post also fit the 31 Days writing challenge I am doing. I hope it gels ok.
“Halo” and “Welkam” is pretty much the extent of my knowledge of the Bislama language. And “Tangkyu tumas” (Thank you very much). But thankfully English usually suffices here, the Vanuatu scenery is beautiful, and this week, the weather is superb. Just like today’s quilt inspiration colour board, Silhouettes at Sunset.
Colour Inspiration Tuesday: Silhouettes at Sunset
The “Silhouettes at Sunset” colour scheme is purple, orange, peach, grey, aqua, teal and super dark teal. Isn’t it amazing how the form of a dark silhouette brings out the colours in a sunset? This contrast is something that we should be aiming for in our quilt fabric choices too….. that is if you are after a bold, brilliant effect. (I am fully cognisant that sometimes subtle and low volume is the right choice for a quilt too…. I just personally usually prefer bright.) And isn’t it nice to be reminded that silhouettes don’t have to be black… any high contrast will be effective, in this case a dark shade of teal.
Silhouettes at Sunset evokes thoughts of warm tropical evenings and beach holidays. Perfect to celebrate a trip to Vanuatu, even if it is for work. Would you like to know more about the humanitarian telecommunications side of our family’s pursuits? When things get back to normal I would love to tell you more.
Anyway, back to the task at hand…. It strikes me that “Silhouettes at Sunset” is very much like the love child of “Sunset Wall” and “Another World Blue”. Two colour schemes from earlier editions of Colour Inspiration Tuesday.
So for my Colour Inspiration Tuesday quilt imaginings this week I have decided to see what happens when we colour the Cat on a Wall quilt design with the Silhouettes at Sunset colour scheme. Here is the original design in both parent colour ways.
And here are my new colourings. I also added in an eighth colour from the sunset photo – a rose pink. I only meant to do one re-colouring of Cat on a Wall, but I had to amuse myself on the plane to Vanuatu somehow!
Which do you prefer? One of the new ones or one of the originals? Or would you choose a completely different colour scheme for this quilt? Please tell in the comments below. 🙂
Credit
I really appreciate the talented photographers who generously donate their art to the world without strings attached. Today’s such photos are from Unsplash.com. Unsplash is a collection of free, high resolution, “do what you want with” photos. Credit is not demanded but I give it anyway in thanks. Today’s featured photographer is Aldain Austria. Be sure to check out his collection of photos on Unsplash.
I hope you will tell me which your preferred colours are….
Before I go though, I had better add in some everyday quilt inspiration. This one is easy – there have been many “sunset and silhouettes” moments in my life that I have thought at the time would make great art. We are fortunate in Adelaide to get lots of great sunsets over the gulf.I distinctly remember one such moment when I was heavily pregnant with my second child. I was sitting on the beach, watching my husband and eldest daughter (2 years at the time) jump the wavelets, silhouetted against the setting sun. That is a moment that would definitely be quilt-worthy.
Anyway, here are some more recent silhouettes at sunset. These were taken the second night we arrived here in Port Vila.
Ships in harbour at sunset, Port VilaEnjoying the warm tropical waters.
And to finish off – your everyday colour inspiration board…..
See you for more Everyday Quilt Inspiration fun tomorrow. In the meantime, if you haven’t been following along, you can find the start of this series here.
P.S. On a completely different topic, I must tell you, the Art with Fabric blog hop is ON! It started yesterday (although that might still be today in your time zone…..) Anyway, my post on the hop is not until Friday 13, but there is a huge lineup ahead of me. Visit Tweety Loves Quilting to see the blog hop from the very beginning.
Here’s a sneak preview of my art piece…. it’s called “Remember to thank the Cleaner (Shrimp)”. It’s art with gratitude. 🙂
Now, I realise that calling today’s Everyday Quilt Inspiration slot “everyday” might be a little far fetched…… There are only a handful of the people in the world who can genuinely call watching Mt Yasur erupt an everyday experience. But, if you can walk away from an active but relatively friendly volcano and not be inspired in some way, then you are a hard nut to crack! And inspired I was! So today we are exploring volcanoes.
Finding Quilt Inspiration in the Everyday: Day 7
Yesterday’s adventure started with a fly-over of Mt Yasur on the way to Tanna Island. This is what Mt Yasur looks like from the air. We did get to see lava in the crater as we banked over, but photos were difficult from the tail end of the little Cessna Air Taxi.
Mt Yasur, Vanuatu
The landscape around Mt Yasur is often described as lunar. It certainly feels like nothing else I have ever experienced. It is surreal leaving footprints in the fine grey ash.
Mt Yasur volcano in daylight
When you get to the top of the volcano, you are greeted by plumes of smoke and steam, smells of sulphur, and lots of noise. But not a lot of visible lava activity. It was nerve-racking to begin with…. the path around the top was not particularly wide, and the sudden noises from the volcano set off my flight responses continuously. In addition to the threatening bangs and rumbles, I’d just trekked through a field of cooled lava bombs. At some point it dawned on me that sometimes the volcano is not friendly. Indeed, yesterday the volcano was at it’s maximum activity allowed before the tours are cancelled.
Thankfully, when the volcano gets too overwhelming, the view in the opposite direction is spectacular too.
How was I inspired by the Mt Yasur Volcano?
As the sun set, the colours of the lava became visible. Imagine our excitement when we first saw the volcano’s heart.
First glimpses of Mt. Yasur’s molten lava colours as the sun sets.
By the end of the evening, when it was truly dark, the show was spectacular. I forgot to be afraid. Pure awe took over.
Mt Yasur volcano after dark.
I could have watched this beast for hours. It was absolutely mesmerising.
I took a lot of photos. Many were rubbish. It is hard to photograph an unpredictable volcano with whirly-whirlies spiting dust and stones at you. But there are a few shots that I will treasure forever.
And there are a few more that are not brilliant from a photography perspective, but the colours are amazing. One of my favourite photos is the one from the colour board at the top of this post. The focus is slightly off, but the mood is phenomenal. Have you ever considered that a photograph does not have to be technically brilliant to be a great source of inspiration? Especially if you are after colours!
The colours in this shot are amazing. This is one of those occasions where I am was tempted to make a mood board with a lot more than seven colours.
A Mount Yasur Quilt in the offing?
Colour boards are all I have time for today, but there is an actual quilt idea percolating in my head from yesterday’s experiences. I think a real volcano can warrant two days of quilt inspiration, don’t you? I will try to get my idea down “on paper” for tomorrow’s Everyday Quilt Inspiration spot. If not, I will surprise you with something else. 🙂
What about you? Do you use your photographs for craft colour inspiration? Are you able to look past the subject matter and/or your photography skills to see the colours? You might be surprised at what you find in your happy snaps if you look at them with a different mindset. Why not try putting a few photos through a free online program like Canva’s Palette Generator just for fun? But beware….. it’s addictive!
You can also find lots more 31 day series on all sorts of topics at the Write 31 Days website here. A great way to get a feel for lots of bloggers you may not have noticed before. Thanks for coming by!
31 Days of Finding Quilt Inspiration in Real Life
And there you have it…. another tool under your belt for using your everyday experiences as quilt inspiration.
P.S. Do you remember how I said 
Here’s a sneak preview of my art piece…. it’s called “Remember to thank the Cleaner (Shrimp)”. It’s art with gratitude. 🙂
