AUTUMN WEARS HER COLORS WELL

 

 

By Um Yaqoob

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo:  Jim DeLillo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                               

 

 

Autumn arrives almost overnight and the landscape transforms into a banquet of colors. Leaves turn not only tens of shades of brown but yellow, orange, red, purple.  Pumpkins and squash add their warm notes.  The sun casts a different light, mixing new colors.  Deep greens of moss and forest merge with earth and clay to add to the most dramatic of all seasonal palettes.  The many tones and hues call to mind exotic spices, Crayola crayons, Indian corn.

 

The colors of fall are deep, muted, complex and warm.  Few of the colors are pure; they are gray-greens, creams, orange-yellows, reddish browns.  They are shades that only the Grand Artist can create.  No artificial pigment can approach the subtleties of richness.

 

Whether described in words, sampled in a swatch of fabric or paint, or portrayed in a photo, the colors of autumn challenge the mind’s eye as well as the physical eye to define them precisely, which they can never do.

 

BLACK

 

  

Black:  a color singularly devoid of any light whatsoever.

 

 

GRAYS and NEUTRALS

 

Photo by author

 

   Oyster:  grayish-white

Photo by author

                    Pewter:  a bluish gray

 

                       

 

  Charcoal:  a dark gray

 

 

 

                            Slate:  a dark purplish gray

 

Photo: Carmen Cordelia /carmenart.net

 

        Smoke:  a : a pale blue b : any of the       colors of smoke

 

                   Granite:  a tone of gray

 

 

 

      Stone:  the color of slate or

    granite

 

                           Sand:  a light grayish brown to            

                    yellowish gray

 

 

   Shell:  a yellowish gray color

 

                               Champagne:  a pale orange

                             yellow to light grayish yellowish  

                             brown

 

               

 

 

         Pearl:  a nearly neutral slightly

       bluish medium gray

 

                Eggshell:  a pale yellowish-white color 

 

 

                                Photo: Marcus Buckner

 

Ivory:  a variable color    

        averaging a pale yellow

 

               Canvas Blazer  Forest beige:  Eddie Bauer beige

 

 Beige:  a : a variable color averaging light grayish yellowish brown b : a pale to grayish yellow

 

 

               Vanilla: a rich yellowish white[4]

 

   Oatmeal: grayish-yellow[

 

Eyelet Taupe

Photo: Rubber Dream/www.rubberdream.com

 

                           Taupe (greige):  a brownish gray

 

                                  Photo:  Ivan Raszl

 

 Camel: a light yellowish brown 

 

 

                 Almond:  a pale tan to light brown

 

 

 

 

 

BROWNS and RUSSETS

 

 

 Brown:  a mixture of the different primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) [6]

 

 

     

    Chocolate:  a brownish gray

 

    Coffee:  darker shades of   
       brown to deep brown

 

 

 

Photo: Olga Shelego

     Wheat:  a light yellow

 

      Straw: the color of straw

 

       Tan: a light yellowish brown

 

 

      Caramel:  A moderate yellow

     brown

 

 

     Walnut: a moderate reddish brown

Photo:  Lee Adcock

           Tortoise:  tan or brown[7]

 

 

      Butterscotch: a moderate    

     yellowish brown

 

       Russet: 1 : coarse homespun,

      usually reddish brown cloth 2 : a  

      strong brown

 

    Rust:  a strong reddish brown

 

     Bronze: a moderate yellowish brown

Photo:  Ricardo Colombo/akarco@gmail.com

           Raw sienna:  brownish yellow

 

Photo: Advaith Siddharthan

 Burnt sienna:  orange red or reddish brown

 

 

      Chestnut:  a grayish to reddish

     brown

 

 

 Brick:  a moderate reddish brown

 Auburn:  a reddish brown color

     Copper: a common reddish metallic

   element that is ductile and malleable and

   is one of the best conductors of heat and

   electricity

 

Photo:  Supreet Vaid

 

  Henna:  a reddish brown dye obtained from leaves of the henna plant and used especially on hair

  Cedar:  red-brown[8]

 

 

     Cinnamon:  a light yellowish brown

 

Photo: Alan Cole/http://www.pixelwave.co.uk

 

        Raw umber:  an olive brown[9]

 

Photo:  Christopher Rayan/www.elastixgrafix.com

  burntumber150.JPG (8524 bytes) Burnt umber:  deep reddish chocolate

  brown[10]

YELLOWS and ORANGES

 

           

 

   Maize:  a light yellow to moderate

  orange yellow

 

 Gold:  a variable color averaging deep yellow

 

 

 Goldenrod:  any of numerous chiefly N. American composite biennial or perennial plants (especially of the genus Solidago) with alternate leaves and heads of small yellow or sometimes white flowers often clustered in panicles

 

Photo by author

 

 Brass: an alloy consisting essentially of copper and zinc in variable proportions

 

 Mustard:  a dark to moderate yellow

 Ochre:  an earthy usually red or yellow and often impure iron ore used as a pigment

 

 

         Curry:  a condiment consisting of

        several pungent ground spices (as

        cayenne pepper, fenugreek, and

        turmeric)

 

 

 Honey:    yellowish, brownish, golden

 

 Pumpkin: yellowish orange to orange

  yellow

 

   Salmon:  a moderate, light, or  
  strong yellowish pink to a moderate

     reddish orange or light orange

 

 

 

     Melon: orange sherbet with a dash of

   peach.[11]

 

        Amber:  a variable color averaging

       a dark orange yellow

 

Photo:  Moonshine Designs

 

 Bittersweet:  a sprawling poisonous weedy nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) with purple flowers and oval reddish orange berries

 

       Paprika:  deep orange[12]

 

 

        Saffron:  a moderate orange to

       orange yellow

 

 

 Burnt orange:  a dark brownish reddish orange

 

 

 

REDS, PINKS and PURPLES

 

 

 

 

          Cherry: a variable color averaging

          a moderate red

 

           Tomato:  strong red

 

         Maple red:  The intense red of

       maple leaves that are backlit by the

       sun[13]

              Coral: a deep pink

 

 

       Crimson: any of several deep

     purplish reds

 

Photo:  Boxelder Farm

 

     Dried, Ground Sumac Sumac:  a tart red-purple spice

     ground from the berries of the Middle

     Eastern sumac shrub[14]

 

 

            Wine:  a dark red

 

30 lb. Bonner Organic Raisin Bulk

 

        Raisin Raisin: plum with brown

        overtones[15]

 

Photo:  Jyn Meyer

 

         Cranberry:  dark red[16]

 

Photo:  Tess' Designer Yarns/

http://home.gwi.net/~tessyarn/new%20page%205.htm

 

 Dusty rose:  a light purple-pink[17]

Photo by author

 

         Dark rose:  a moderate purplish red

 

 Antique pink:  a light brownish pink[18]

 

 

   Maroon:  a dark red

 

 

 Burgundy: a reddish purple color

 

 

Aubergine/eggplant:  a dark grayish or blackish purple

 

 Plum:  a dark reddish purple

 

 

 Mauve:  1 a : a moderate purple, violet, or lilac color b : a strong purple

 

 Mountain purple:  the rich purple of mountains in the distance under an intense blue sky[19] 

 

         Lavender:  a pale purple

 

      Dusty grape: a faded dark violet to

    dark grayish purple

 

 

      Thistle:  a shade of lavender[20]

 

 

 Orchid:  A pale to light purple, from grayish to purplish pink to a strong reddish purple

 

 

 

Periwinkle:  a light purplish blue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GREENS and AQUAS

 

 

     Forest green (pine): A fresh dark

     green

 

 

     Spinach:  dark green

 

 

      Asparagus:  an apple green

     color[21]

 

 

        Moss:  a moderate yellow green to

        grayish or moderate olive or dark

        yellowish green

Photo:  Barbara Schneider

 

      Seaweed:  dark green

 

             Avocado:  a light yellowish green

 

   Olive:  any of several colors  

  resembling that of the unripe fruit of   

  the olive tree that are yellowish green

 

 

         Lettuce:  a medium to dark green

        color[22]

 

 

 

    Pea green:  moderate to dark green

 

               Fern:  a soft, muted green[23]

 

 

 

                Celery:  a pale green

 

       Eucalyptus:  green to gray-green[24]

 

 Sage:  a mint (Salvia officinalis) with grayish green aromatic leaves used especially in flavoring meats

 

 

 

          Seafoam:  a misty green-blue[25]

 

 

 Khaki:  a light yellowish brown

 Verdigris:  a green or greenish blue poisonous pigment resulting from the action of acetic acid on copper and consisting of one or more basic copper acetates

 

 

Photo:  Denilson Vasconcelos

 

  Jade:  a light bluish green

 

              Turquoise:  a light greenish blue

 

 

   Teal:  a dark greenish blue

 

 

 

Color definitions:  Unless otherwise noted, all color definitions are from Merriam-Webster online dictionary (www.m-w.com), The Free Dictionary (www.thefreedictionary.com), Answers.com (www.answers.com) and  Red White And Blue.ORG (redwhiteandblue.org/general/COLORS.HTM)

 


[1] Art History (http://arthistory.about.com/cs/glossaries/g/b_black.htm)

[2] Light and Color in Environmental Design (http://www.fadu.uba.ar/sicyt/color/glossary.htm)

[3] Definition by Um Yaqoob

[4] Definition by Um Yaqoob

[5] Definition by Vladimir Nabokov (http://lib.ru/NABOKOW/Inter02.txt)

[6] Physics Van (http://van.hep.uiuc.edu/van/qa/section/Light_and_Sound/Colors/20021221205818.htm)

[7] Pelotes Island Nature Preserve http:// (pelotes.jea.com)

[8] Roofing Ireland (http://www.roofingireland.com)

[9] RawUmber Art & Design (http://www.rawumber.com/)

[10] R&F Handmade Paints (http://www.rfpaints.com/6-ColorCharts/BurntUmber.htm)

[11] Ruby Lane (http://www.rubylane.com/shops/starlight/item/R447)

[12] Colorcon (http://www.colorcon.com/food/colorants/naturals/lit/paprika/PaprikaColor2008-2.pdf)

[13] Definition by Carole (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/missingbliss/message/7135)

[14] The Epicentre (http://www.theepicentre.com/Market/indivtins.html)

[15] Catalog of Vintage Clothing (http://users.snip.net/~desktop/SIZE1.htm)

[16] Growing Cranberries in New Jersey (http://www.rce.rutgers.edu/burlington/cranberr.htm)

[17] Trocadero (http://www.trocadero.com/tasmark/items/351563/item351563store.html)

[18] Definition by Um Yaqoob

[19] Definition by Lorrie (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/missingbliss/message/7152)

[20] Desktop Publishing:  Lavender (http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/colorselection/p/lavender.htm)

[21] Cdkitchen (http://www.cdkitchen.com/features/glossary/word.php?word=asparagus)

[22] Wish Bone (http://www.wish-bone.com/lettuce.asp?kind=loose-leaf)

[23] Definition by Um Yaqoob

[24] Australiaplants.com (http://www.australiaplants.com/eucalyptus_d_e_f.htm)

[25] Definition by Um Yaqoob