
I have a kitchen full of food, but I can’t find anything I want to eat.

In painting class, we’re studying color theory. But for me, it’s more than just ‘theory’–it’s passion. Like a manic cook in a kitchen full of delicious ingredients, I blend and stir, exploring endless color combinations. I inhale the fragrant diversity as the colors come to life on my palette.
I mix up a warm red and blue, but instead of the delectable violet I have envisioned, I create a rather flavorless plum. By simply switching to a cool red and blue, I achieve mouth-watering eggplant purple. Add just a dash of Titanium White, and my eggplant morphs into sweet, floral English lavender. A sprinkle of white can take me from tasty, tangy tangerine to fresh pastel cantaloupe, while a pinch of black transforms bright apple red to the dark burgundy of a fine aged wine.
So far, each day in class has been a celebration of the incredible variety in the world of color. I am seeing objects with new-found clarity. That grape isn’t just green, it’s a warm yellow-green with deep indigo and violet shadows. Fruity reds and blues, crisp greens, and starchy whites–I lay out my palette like I’m plating a meal at a five star restaurant. With an abundance of scrumptious colors to choose from, who knows what I’ll cook up next! I can only hope that the critics will give it rave reviews.
A color saturation chart showing some of the many possibilities when mixing orange, blue, black, and white