Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Colors in Combination

That's when they really sing...I think. And actually quite a few others do as well. The painter Josef Albers spent his life painting colors in combination and writing about it.
I think I go through phases of love with a particular pairing. For a while I couldn't get enough of orange and pale purple. Then it was chartreuse and purple. After that I abandoned purple in favor of turquoise and enjoyed it at various times alongside chocolate brown, red, and orange.
Well, I have a new color passion: yellow and gray.


It might be a case of "which came first?" because I've been noticing gray and yellow pairings in my work lately and I'm not quite sure whether they preceded my awareness of this color combination in the world around me.


The funny thing is I'm not a huge fan of yellow as a stand alone color and probably less so of gray. But, I just love them together.
What about you? What color duets do you think sing better together?

19 comments:

Joyce said...

Now that you point it out, yellow and gray are a wonderful pair. I have been noticing brown and blue together lately. I may have to dye some fabric and make something with those colors soon.

Sarah and Jack said...

Oddly enough, yellow and gray would have been my current choice too. Someone sent that combo for our quilting bee, and it is wonderful together.

Kristin L said...

I've never met a purple and green combo I didn't like, although I one rarely sees those two colors in my work. I'm in love with orange and neutrals right now. I am also in love with your monochromatic hexagons!

Andi said...

I love pairings that scream and clash ... like red and pink. Or orange and pink. (or just about anything with pink really, let's face it)
Andi :-)

Amy said...

I noticed pink and brown a few years ago (pink peonies in a vase up against our brown living room walls) and am still in love with it!

JungleGirl said...

absolutely love the NAME of your blog... you're so rebellious.. fun!

froghair said...

I was recently alerted that the combination of red and aqua is absolutely phenomenal, and now I see it everywhere. I love it and can't get enough of it.

Michaela said...

This is so funny. i was just talking about this color combo with the friend of mine yesterday. I seen a local election sign in those colors and really like it. Those two together are great.

Candied Fabrics said...

I too love yellow & gray right now. Brown & blue are also big faves of mine! Also, chartreuse and...almost anything! Chartreuse is the new neutral - for me at least ;-)

Malissa said...

You're so right. A color is only as good as its relationship to what's right next door. I go through phases of color combos. When I was leaving grad school and saying goodbye to a lot of people (teachers, peers, my therapy patients) for some reason I had to make everything in red and sky blue/aqua. I call it my "goodbye" colors, now.

Sharon said...

I tend to make a lot of miniature pineapple quilts in greens and purples. I've made five or six so far and I know there is at least one more in me.

Right now, I'm working on a blue and orange art quilt.

I love the photo of the yellow fruit. I don't know what it is, but I love it. Do you ever sell your photos in your etsy shop? Looking at this posting has me wanting to make a yellow and grey quilt now! Thanks for the inspiration. If I actually make it, I'll be sure to let you know when I post a picture on my blog.

ilovebabyquilts said...

I keep a very sharp eye on fabric happenings and i've been saying for months that silver grey with a color is the new brown with a color. Remember when everything was brown and blue, or brown and pink? Well now it's grey. I think you started noticing it because of all the fabrics that started coming out with the combo.

ilovebabyquilts said...

By the way, I didn't mean it to sound like you are jumping on a bandwagon. I love your nature photos in this post, I never noticed the combo in the natural world so thanks!

lucy said...

yellows and grey's are my personal fave during spring and summer. But, i love many combos of bright colours!

Amy in Austin said...

Malka, I found your blog after seeing your article in the new QA issue. Wow! Love the grandmother's flower garden in yellows. It's very soft and pretty.

I, too, am in the Austin area (north) and work in fiber as well as other things. I'm glad I found your blog!

Amanda Jean said...

i just love blue and green. and blue and grey. but i'm not a fan of blue by itself. i love that pop of blue binding on the pillow.

Kathryn Laughton said...

Chocolate and lime green. Dark grey and orange and cream. Silver and Burgundy. Oh, yes, oh yes.

Zarina said...

Its amazing how gray can go with any color and jazz it up. I have combined both orange and gray as per Crazy Mom Quilt and it looks great. Will keep this combination in mind for my future projects.

Unknown said...

Pink and brown is my favourite:)