21 June 2012

In search of orange

The groupings of photos above were brought together for a challenge proposed by two US-based artists, Jennifer Coyne Qudeen and Julie Booth. Every third Thursday of the month they are inviting others to post between one and five images focusing on a single color. Working their way through the spectrum, the challenge has been dubbed ROY B GIV (an acronym for red/orange/yellow/blue/green/indigo/violet). As an extra incentive, Jennifer & Julie are both offering prizes on their blogs; click the links from their names to have a look.

My original plan was to gather some of my favorite orange things from around the house—an enormous Italian-English dictionary, a raw silk pillow, a Florentine linen napkin from one of my grandmothers, a trio of favorite orange-spined books by architect/writer Witold Rybcznski, an orange woven tray, etc. But when I went back to look at Jennifer & Julie's photos for RED, I realized their shots featured subjects that seemed to be more spontaneous (as opposed to premeditated), so I rethought my original approach. Florence feels like an oven at the moment, so wandering around town in search of orange things hasn't been very appealing this week; instead, I took a trip down Nostalgia Lane (via iPhoto, the photo application where my images are organized). Some pictures feature Florence, others I shot in Venice, and those of the produce were taken at home.

Orange is actually my favorite color, though eggplant-y & plum-y shades of purple run a close second, as well as deeper shades of red/wine/burgundy. As my maternal grandmother always used to say, "We like dirty colors, don't we?", so many of my photos tend to lean more toward the terracotta/rusty side of orange. I've always wondered if the prevalence of terracotta roof tiles is one reason I feel so at home in Florencethey are everywhere you look, including the beautiful Cupola that towers above the rest of the city.

I had forgotten that the limit was supposed to be five photos (I ended up with four groups of four), but the important thing for me was simply the 'taking inspiration' part of the challenge. Because they were culled from photos shot without prejudice to color, those I chose include a variety of other colors that naturally fell within the frame, but I do love the impact of Jennifer's compositions in this post's photos, as they clearly pay tribute to RED. I will try to keep in mind 'YELLOW' over the next few weeks so that July's images might be a bit more deliberate (though I do have a collection of yellow-dominant photos already in mind...we'll see). In any case, as always, it has been fun to follow the process and see where it led.

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{If you'd like to participate in futureor even todayplease see the guidelines here, which include leaving a link to your photos on Jennifer and/or Julie's blogs.}



8 comments:

  1. Hi Lisa-
    I am just popping over here and am AMAZED at these glorious orange photos!!! Thanks so much for posting them and for passing the word along to others. I was once in Florence (when I was about the age of my 21 year old son)...I have very fond memories of my trip there.
    Julie

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  2. Oh! What a glorious trip through Florence! I've never been, but after viewing your photos have added to my "must visit" list.

    It's brutally hot here in Connecticut this week too. I hope you're inside, staying nice and cool...or perhaps in a pool...or under a huge umbrella [orange, of course].

    Thank you for joining the search for Roy. Don't worry about the 5 pics limit - I went over it myself this time. Hope you join us again next month for yellow!

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  3. Hot, hot, hot!... just what I needed in the middle of winter here. Great images and a little Florentine nostalgia for me.

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  4. To the three J's (!) - Thank you all for stopping by for a look...I'm glad you enjoyed the orange 'alla Fiorentina' (with a little Venetian orange mixed in too). I love how the (sun)light enhances the Florentine shades of terracotta & rust, and the way the water often reflects these colors too.

    I hope you get to visit Florence some day, Jennifer - it sounds as though you travel quite a lot, so one day...and I know you would find inspiration for your fabrics.

    Julie & Jo: I'm glad the photos brought back good memories of visiting Florence! And Jo, I hope the winter compensates for the wet summer you had down under, i.e. is not too grey & damp...

    - Lisa

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  5. Beautiful warm and earthy orange images Lisa - but then Florence was made to reflect Orange wasn't it? I remember the golden light...thanks for such a lovely visit!

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    1. Yes, it's definitely true that Florence and Orange go together. I think this is why autumn is Florence's most flattering season (though I must say that I love this city at any time of year!).

      - Lisa

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  6. Hi Lisa-
    Congrats! You are the winner of the Roy G Biv fabric. You have a choice between the Red Cats (printed uncooked wheat flour paste resist) or the Oranges (nature printing and printing with a hot glue and adhesive foam block). Please leave me a comment either here or on my blog to let me know which you prefer. I will also need a mailing address...not sure you have my email address to send it to me...let me know--Julie

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    1. I'm thrilled! (and have left a comment on your blog)...

      - Lisa

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