Saturday 3 March 2012

Seeing Red


I love red. The grandkid's French description of me included 'aime la couleur rouge' and she was not talking about makeup. I wear a lot of red and notice it. Mind you, red is a colour made to be noticed: stop lights and stop signs, lipstick, warning labels, all of these things are red. So are Santa, sunsets and cinnamon hearts. 


The problem is, what red?
The soil and rocks in Utah and Colorado are described as red. So is a lot of brick, but it is really an orangey, um, brick colour. 
Autumn leaves are also sung about as red, but, again, a lot of them are shaded with enough yellow to make them bronze and orange. 
My elder daughter's hair is described as red, but it is really a gorgeous copper colour when the sun shines on it. My father-in-law was nicknamed 'Red' for similar hair, but his was truly a carrot top.

The red I love has no tinge of yellow or blue - it's right down the centre of the spectrum. Alizarin crimson or rose madder, not vermilion or scarlet. The red of roses and raspberries. The red of blood.

I will consider other reds, especially if they decorate a canoe. 
The YD, spring canoeing.
 Or a tulip. 

 Or a geranium seen against green leaves.

I'll take every shade and tone of red in a sunset's fleeting glory. 
Sunset from Vancouver Island.
 
This week my husband brought me home roses, deep red and perfect.

 I have them in a white vase and admire them as they slowly unfurl into velvet wonder.  As for other velvet wonders, what could top this?
Little Stuff, Age 8 months.
I will say that roses are easier to photograph.

8 comments:

  1. Wonderful! I do like red, too. I don't wear it often, but I love to have a bit of red in a photo. And I loved seeing/reading your exploration of the color.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like red too. And I also like Red Rock Country even if it isn't really red.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Red is a confidant, cheerful and leadership colour! Good for you. That probably describes your character.
    The only red that I can wear is the blue/red... crimson kind. Scarlets and orange/reds make me look washed out.
    The main thing is knowing which one suits us, isn't it?
    Love your daughter's hair. I used to long for red hair when I was young and resorted to the bottle (dye not alcohol). My niece was born with just the right colour of red hair! Lucky thing.
    Maggie X

    Nuts in May

    ReplyDelete
  4. Red has been my favorite color for...forever! My kitchen has red and white checked tiles on the floor and bright red countertops with black and white Holstein cows as accents. Like you, my eye notices red immediately in everything. I also have a fondness for its baby sister, pink, when red is too brassy. And I love its grandmother, burgundy, which is the main color in my livingroom. Lovely photos--you have a sharp eye with just the right amount of sentimentality.

    ReplyDelete
  5. the deepest reddest, red is the most beautiful. I myself am a blue person.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mary, I love all these pictures especially that 1st one w/ the umbrella. Lovely. Orange is that colour for me. Or brown. I don't know if I could rhapsodize on those colours, though, as nicely as you've do so for red. Now I want to eat some raspberries, or maybe pop a handful of them in a glass of champagne in the sunshine & then shoot the scene before I drink it down.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Red is my favorite color. All shades of it, but especially the red that is SO red, it qualifies as scarlet.

    This past winter, my coat was old and worn out so I bought a new one and rather than get my usual black, I got a red one. Nearly everyday I wore it, someone complimented me on it. If you're going to splash out, red is the way to do it.

    ReplyDelete