Comments on: Neutrality, Part 1

By: bill

bill — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:50:23 +0000

Hooray for gray! Gotta like it, I live in Cleveland. I like to look to he gray skies and seek the nuances that there lie. Unless it’s gray soup, there usually subleties that often will never be repeated. Then the drizzly gray day can bring thoughts of how well Faulkner portrayed that feeling on a piece of paper. and the gray monotone a super contrast to something brighter, the remaining golds of the waning willows in November are like golden lamps. Rick Darke is a realy inspiration for appreciating natures neutrals. I also dig how Dali uses gray infused with other colors.

By: Judy Maier

Judy Maier — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:20:01 +0000

Lovely post my friend. Judy

By: John Marshall

John Marshall — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:54:08 +0000

Regarding grey getting a bad rap: Some of my best memories are of grey, rainy days. An afternoon along Cheyne Walk, Chelsea. An evening in Savannah. Thanks for your artistry in grey.

By: kat White

kat White — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:19:21 +0000

What a creative way to gain design inspiration. I remember reading somewhere a designer’s trick for checking the quality of a designs was to view it in black and white and not color. It was there that you really saw the texture created by light and shadow, much the same as you do with gray.

That’s the wonderful thing about creative process…it’s unique to each individual but we can all learn from each other!–S

By: Alice Joyce

Alice Joyce — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:02:31 +0000

A thread worthy of dialogue, and if I can take even a smidgen of credit for inspiring Miss R to post on the topic, I’ll grab it!

As one who abstained from color for decades – a member of the black clothing brigade – it’s been liberating to consider hue and color in design, in adornment, in every aspect – and that includes grey (or do you say, gray?).

Alice–You say potato…and I say thanks for making me remember how much fun it is to explore color and their names…-S

By: Anne Wareham

Anne Wareham — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:05:54 +0000

This reminds me of how Kaffe Fasset’s knitting opened my eyes to the wonder of subtle grey, greens, browns in the landscape: which he declared as his direct inspiration.

Not being a knitter, I looked him up. Real men knit, indeed. Beautiful patterns and colors. Thanks for the additional inspiration, Anne.–S

By: how it grows

how it grows — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:58:46 +0000

You make grey look colorful!

Phillip–That, for me, was the most interesting part of the exercise!–s

By: mss @ Zanthan Gardens

mss @ Zanthan Gardens — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:06:13 +0000

I love grey--possibly because our winters are quite green in Austin and our summers seared brown. Gray (repackaged sometimes as "silver" just like the tankard) plants are popular here because they are typically drought or heat tolerant. I love them for the contrast against the greens. As you know, designing with foliage colors provides more opportunities for interest in the garden than just flowers. Grey/silver is a wonderful color for moonlit gardens. Interestingly, grey plants seem to be among the most deer resistant here. I am a die hard foliage lover and you are right about gardens giving many opportunities for creative use of color. Robert Dash's garden Madoo in Long Island is an excellent case in point.--S

By: James Golden

James Golden — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:20:20 +0000

I like this. It IS inspiration for a winter garden. Also reminds me of the color swatches in some of Rick Darke’s books.

I’ve seen/heard Rick Darke talk. For some reason, I’ve always taken his books out of the library…none, I’m amazed to say in mine.–S

By: Lynn

Lynn — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:08:03 +0000

I am loving your use of objects other than plants to create mood boards as inspiration for garden design. The blue images were spectacular, and you’ve managed to make grey come alive. I can’t wait to see what you do with the rest of the color wheel. Nothing dull about this post! Lynn

Don’t forget my fashionista roots. I spent 20 years making mood boards forecasting each season. These types of cross disciplinary images are common there. –S