Red, Please - Book of Me

When people ask me what my favorite color is I usually say red.  (In my heart of hearts red is my favorite color but other colors sometimes tempt me, which explains why I don't always say red.)  I love red in nearly all its tones, tints, and shades.  But red is a powerful color, sometimes an overpowering color if it's the only color.  I was going to use a Mark Rothko painting for this post but it was just too strong.

I don't have a lot of red in my home though it sometimes (well, maybe frequently) appears in tablecloths, pillows, and rugs, but never as wall paint or as the only color on large pieces of furniture or carpets.  And I don't usually wear red. 

Because it's such a strong color I like to see red combined with, oh, let's say, green, my second favorite color.  Not just any green:  greens that are evenly between yellow and blue or leaning toward blue on the color wheel.  I don't think my love of the combination has anything to do with Christmas -- it's just that green energizes red, and vice versa, especially with more green and less red.  Either way, together they are vibrant, happy. 




















To my eyes, red also looks beautiful with tans, greys, browns, and colors in the ivory/cream range.

My third favorite color is cream.  I am cautious to claim cream, though.  If it leans toward lemony yellow, I turn my back.  Several years ago yellow was a color I could barely look at but I'm warming up to yellow, at least the ones toward the golden/orange side of the color wheel.   From butter to afternoon sun....

















And then there's blue.  I'm still working on liking blue....  I know many people think of blue as a restful color but it generally seems depressing to me, especially in its paler versions.  Deep, intense blues that lean just slightly toward green can be beautiful.  The Prussian shades are lovely.

Color and personality?  Some people have hinted (without saying it in so many words) that they think I have a strong personality.  I don't know how that can be when I'm an introvert....  Maybe people who like red do have strong personalities.  Maybe my favorite color will change and one day it will be ... some color other than red.


This is another post in The Book of Me series, created by Julie Goucher of Anglers Rest.

The topic was Favourite Color.  Suggestions for discussion in responding included:  Do you have a favourite colour? and if so why?  Do you like vibrant colours or darker colours?  Do you associate anyone with a particular colour?  If so who and why ?  Does your favourite colour reflect your personality?

Images above top, then left to right:

• "Her First Lesson" on Rawleigh's Good Health Guide and Cookbook, from the Digital Scriptorium and the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University.  Part of American Memory at the Library of Congress. 
• "Tea Table in Garden" by Esther Borough Johnson
• "Geraniums" by Frederick Childe Hassam
• "Reading" by Nicholae Vermont
• "Morning Sun" by Harold Knight

--Nancy.
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