We were hiking on a country road this week and found ourselves between banks of ripe raspberries on either side. Free sun-warmed raspberries always taste the best and we did them justice. Although fresh raspberries rarely make it into a bowl, I do insist on keeping a dedicated bramble patch in our own garden too. The dry heat has finished most of the raspberries here but I dedicated time today to watering the blackberries; they are heading up nicely and now need only to fill out. Surely heaven reserves a special place for the genius who developed the thornless variety. Sadly they only ripen when summer is winding down so their flavour contains a tinge of farewell.
Raspberry is equally appealing as a colour. I mix it from alizarin crimson with a touch of ultramarine blue and a hint of white. It always feels sensuous, special, hot. Watercolour has a higher key version called "Opera," an inspired name if there ever was one; it is a permanent colour, despite its reputation of being "fugitive." Clothing in Schiaparelli (pronounced"skaparelly") pink also catches my eye. Elsa Schiaparelli went so far as to stage a hunger strike to escape from the convent her desperate parents had sent her to ; as a Parisian couturiere in the 30's she invented women's divided skirts (thank you) and teamed up with Salvador Dali (we forgive you). The hot pink which bears her name remains a favourite of many, even if it appears only as a hot "pop" in a cooler setting.
I was drawn to these waterlilies for that very reason. While the deep pinks cover very little of the total area of the paintings, their placements play a major role in directing the eye of the viewer through the blues and greens.
Now it's back to the garden while there is still enough light to see who ripened today!
Raspberry is equally appealing as a colour. I mix it from alizarin crimson with a touch of ultramarine blue and a hint of white. It always feels sensuous, special, hot. Watercolour has a higher key version called "Opera," an inspired name if there ever was one; it is a permanent colour, despite its reputation of being "fugitive." Clothing in Schiaparelli (pronounced"skaparelly") pink also catches my eye. Elsa Schiaparelli went so far as to stage a hunger strike to escape from the convent her desperate parents had sent her to ; as a Parisian couturiere in the 30's she invented women's divided skirts (thank you) and teamed up with Salvador Dali (we forgive you). The hot pink which bears her name remains a favourite of many, even if it appears only as a hot "pop" in a cooler setting.
I was drawn to these waterlilies for that very reason. While the deep pinks cover very little of the total area of the paintings, their placements play a major role in directing the eye of the viewer through the blues and greens.
Now it's back to the garden while there is still enough light to see who ripened today!
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