Today I will be exploring the meaning and feeling of a particular color that has inspired me. My writing is a story about each piece and how it was created.

I have intensely studied color theory and facilitated workshops on the aspects of color and how it affects our lives. Feeling the vastness of color vibration in nature makes me want to capture the essence and beauty on canvas. Nature is always a starting point for me and it is a delight to consider where the inspiration comes from. Being highly inspired by the complete color palette of a rainbow, I have included a photo from a family property in Montana.

Today I will be exploring the color Indigo and the work that I have created using this beautiful color. I have also included photos from my gardens in Pennsylvania which show my love of the color Indigo.  

Broadly, blue is the color of trust, honesty, logic and reason. It is the color of the mind, affecting us mentally. Intense, dark blue stimulates clear thought.

Indigo is a combination of a dark blue and violet and it contains the attributes of both colors.

It is a powerful and dignified color that conveys deep sincerity and integrity. While a true blue communicates with others, indigo looks toward inner vision. It represents inner contemplation and self-reflection, a color for quiet contemplation. 

An Indigo painting would be very suitable for an office space where quiet contemplation is needed for writing. Indigo also supports communication, either written or spoken, it represents knowledge and intuition so it is also a good color for a space where groups gather for inspiration. It is a color of wisdom.

You can see the depth of the color indigo in the painting shown here, which is also on the website. It was inspired by the exploration of the inner vision into the color indigo and then brought out onto the canvas using the outer vision, both are components of the color.

Newly added to the website with this blog are three paintings representing the color Indigo.

The first one, “Innocence,” is a 36”x 24” acrylic painting on canvas that was first textured with torn handmade paper which was then glued with archival glue and dried. Then layers of Interference Acrylic paints in hues of blue and purple were added. The reflective nature of the interference acrylic paint leaves a “stain glass” effect adding depth of color and great interest. You can see more of this painting on the website.

The next painting, “Deep”, that was added today is a depiction of the ocean. It was inspired by the feeling of going into the depths, I remember scuba diving and the impression of the dark blue around me.  This little painting, framed in black, is 10” x 12” and was created by blending layers of acrylic which made a beautiful texture and then adding a handmade sculptural paper piece. I will explain the process of making hand-made paper sculptures in a later blog.

Lastly added today we go back to the garden for “A Skewed Symmetry.” This is an 18” x 13”

framed venetian plaster and acrylic painting. The background is a pearl essence acrylic which adds luster to the background for the skewed Indigo butterfly. The butterfly is painted in layers of deep blue and purple fulfilling my love of the beauty and depth of the color.

I hope that you have enjoyed the story of my Inspiration and the journey into the color Indigo. I look forward to sharing what comes next.