Getting close.....

It is a funny thing, but when one is on a road trip and you start seeing colors, you realize twenty nine colors have been prevalent in your life on a daily basis, and you start to search for objects that reflect a certain hue. This must be Florence, the color that is. Or it could be Provence. I had been seeing Chalk Paint™ decorative paint by Annie Sloan everywhere and then when the driving was more bland or the colors more subtle I would still be combining colors or mixing them to create new ones.

The gradation of color in this wall along the highway in Wyoming caught my eye because of the softer tones in Annie's palette that are similar to Old Ochre, Country Grey, Versailles, and Cream. In the middle section, I even see CoCo and French Linen. The color at the top of this wall would be a great one to mix, but right off hand I would need to figure this out. I am guessing a little Scandinavian Pink added to one of the colors above with a mixture of another. The mind never stops thinking about Annie Sloan's beautiful palette.

The drive West from St Louis was long at times but also enjoyable. I can't recall sitting so much since I became a Stockist so it was a little hard to be patient at times and not be doing something every minute. Once we were home and had unloaded the car, I felt I was off and running and have not stopped except to sleep at night. I am narrowing my search down for a retail space and feel I am getting close.

In the interim, I have been taking calls and delivering product. As a reminder for those that use the Quick and Easy Paint Transformations book by Annie Sloan, please remember some of these colors are no longer current. It is best to go to my website Purple Pear Shop to view the 29 colors that are available in the current palette in the U.S. I will keep you posted on my new retail location!

Returning from the heat

Yesterday I returned to Portland to 85 degree temperatures from Alexandria, Virginia where the highs were 104 degrees and high humidity. One lives in air conditioning all the time in the summer in a place that has this kind of heat. I feel so badly for the people there that are still without power. How in the world do they exist in a heat that is so immobilizing? The last day of my visit, my husband and I took a two and a half hour drive to Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson.

We simply could not absorb everything in the small amount of time that we had, but what we did see was memorable as well as conflicting in some ways.

I love perspectives that show angles and lines that are interesting. In this house there were many. I was also surprised by its relatively modest size when you think of the huge chateaus in France and the dimensions of the rooms. Jefferson's home was really cozy and beautifully designed.

Tomorrow on my day off, I will show you some of the colors in the house. I could not take photographs inside, but the memory of the colors are vivid in my mind, and I will find a way to show you what they were and how and why they were used. One of the colors I actually discovered in this flower in the garden. It was a canary yellow that was unmistakably warm and inviting.

Public and Personal Color

Yesterday I boarded a plane from Portland, Oregon and landed in Washington DC last night. It was still very hot and muggy at 10:00 PM, but fortunately my husband did have power where he lives. Since I am not acclimated to hot weather yet (we are still rainy and cool in Portland), I could not imagine sweltering day and night for the next four days. How spoiled I am.

I had to take a small plane to Seattle in order to catch a flight east. As I was working my way down the escalator to the other terminal, I saw this permanent art display. What would we do without public art in terminals that can seem cold and impersonal? And what would we do without color in our lives? Everyday I think about colors and mixing and experimenting with the Chalk Paint™ decorative paint, but what if we only had Old White and Graphite in the palette? Yes, these are great ones to have, but wouldn't we miss all the other colors that give us so much range and beauty?

And what about the blues....Duck Egg, Aubusson, Greek, Louis, Napoleonic, Provence, Old Violet, and Florence? Just the other day, I had a discussion with a customer in my store about the attributes of the blues in Annie's palette, how beautiful they are and lovely to have in your decorating scheme.

Public Art at the Farmer's Market in LA.

LA Farmer's Market, a fun place to sit.

And now I have one more color to put on the paint card, the newest blue, Florence! I guess I want the world to stay full of color so I can visually feast on it and have it at my disposal anytime I would like to play with it. Explore the richness of color around you!