by Pastor Audrey
One of the most surprising things I have observed as I’ve been learning to paint with watercolor is which color I seem to use the most. I would have expected that I would us the color I like the most, probably green. Instead, the paint wells in my palette show that the color I use the most is yellow. How curious!
In session 2 of Painting as a Spiritual Practice last week, the theme was color. After we’d created our own color wheels using only the primary colors of red, yellow, and blue, I led us is a time of meditation and reflection. I invited us to name all 6 colors on our color wheel. Not “red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.” Rather, I invited us to name the emotion we associate with each color. For yellow, I wrote words like “happy” and “chipper.” Not exactly how I would describe myself. Could this be something I want more of in my life? Perhaps…
To get the color I like most, green, you mix yellow and blue. The blue in my palette is quite strong, so I don’t use much of it compared to the yellow. The yellow, even though I don’t use it much by itself, is critical to the color I like the most. How interesting…
What might it mean that a color I don’t exactly gravitate toward on its own is critical for the creation of a color I really like?
How does this help us better understand and appreciate our lives as a part of a community, with a full array of color, variety, and difference in our palettes?