Be a color thief!
One of my favorite things to collect is color!
I confess! I steal color where ever I go.
I’m notorious for strolling around the fresh produce department snapping photos of radishes, or bringing home pockets full of colored leaves from a walk around the block. You can find the most beautiful combinations of colors at a fabric store, an art gallery, or the library. One of my favorite places to search for color treasure is an antique book store. The covers are always in softer, more muted shades of blues, reds, greens and browns. And they look so pretty all lined up next to each other. I just know those colors will work well on my canvas.
There are endless treasures to be found on a walk around my neighborhood. Each season brings new colors. Nature always seems to know which colors look best together too! Have you taken a walk outside lately?
I have hundreds of images saved on my computer in a “Color Inspiration” folder. And don’t forget about Pinterest! Ooh, la la!
You don’t have to be afraid of copying other people’s colors. You'll never be accused of copyright infringement if you use colors you’ve seen on fabric or wrapping paper, or even in another artist's work. Color can create a mood, a memory or a story. There are even apps that can help you capture the main colors of something that catches your eye so you can refer to them later when you're standing in your studio waiting for your muse to show up.