Devine Color's Blog

Color Destination: You had me at Qigong

I recently did a clients home and she mentioned that a room she had downstairs was a Qigong room. I said, "are you kidding, Qigong?...I love Qigong." I felt like I was Jennifer Aniston in Office Space when she says she loves Kung Fu.  Yes, I do Qigong and love it. I do color and love it. This was new construction. I will be posting "after" pictures later. In the meantime, here is how the color story goes...

At the end of the day, she was beside herself with great Chi.

Devine Color Monthly Magazine: Vol 2 2012

 

I was utterly inspired by the idea that we are marching ahead in 2012 with colors that embrace a desire for making our dreams come true and turning our disadvantages into opportunities. We want to be light enough to fly and bright enough to shine. As we head into spring, trend is floral,  tangerine, tribal, not as much trivial as it is light-hearted. For more go to Devine Color Magazine.

My Interview with Little Collector: thoughts about color, art, and decor for children!

Check out my interview with littlecollector.com. This is me, in my favorite dress and shoes!

LC: Your approach to color is much more full-bodied and intuitive than simply what colors work on a wall with a given set of furniture. What goes on in your mind when you're developing a new color?

G-Confidence! Devine Color is like an artist crayon box with colors that coordinate and compliment. Each paint color is crafted and tempered as a background (or stage color) so anyone can fill in their blank wall spaces without the fear of making mistakes. Knowing you have perfect colors to work with allows you to experiment and create environments that are both personal yet universally beautiful; like a great piece of art.

LC: What are your top design tips for kids rooms - particularly how would you suggest that parents use color to create spaces that kids can grow into and grow up in creatively?

G-We all know paint is a great way to transition taste through time. As any parent will tell you, parenting is a process of letting go. I tell expecting parents to paint their baby’s room what they would want for their baby because at this point, the baby is an extension of them. I tell parents of young children to paint the room what the child instinctually chooses because at this point, parents want the child to express itself.  I tell parents of teens to let the teen experiment and to think of them as tenants because at this point, parents doubt the child can make any rational decision about color. Children grow up and move to dorm rooms, apartments, or rental houses they can’t paint. They share homes with others and have to color compromise. Their bedrooms at home are a perfect place for kids to play with color and build confidence about what they love before they go out into the world. My two daughters painted their bedrooms (themselves) before they went to college. The new colors represented a new sense of adulthood.

LC: Your line of sparkle paint is so fantastic! Where did that inspiration come from?

G-Who doesn’t want a little sparkle in their life? I looked towards metallic trends in fabrics, leathers, and accessories along with fantasy. Whether you love Harry Potter or Harry Winston, Devine Silver or Gold Dust adds a sense of whimsy or elegance to paint. The more packets you add to a gallon of Devine paint, the more fantasy or glam; stunning when you use it to highlight stencil designs or stripes. 

LC: Your trend-proof color collections are perfect for adults but what would you advise parents whose kids want their room to be hot pink?

G-Devine has hot pinks, as a matter of fact “perfect” trend-proof hot pinks. But, if we don’t have the hot pink a kid wants, let me be the first one to say that we can have it custom made in the look of our sheens, to make it look like luxurious liquid fabric on walls.

LC: The paint may set the stage but do you have any favorite furnishings or accessories for kids spaces?
G-I love baby/toddler shoes. I put my both my daughters first shoes in shadow box frames and hung them on walls.

LC: All Devine paints are part of a handmade artist palette. What one painting from art history would you hang in your own home if you could?

G-I love this question and what it revealed to me about me! It must be my Spanish heritage and love for clever self-expression that makes me want an entire home full of Joan Miro. As hard as it is to choose, Dog in Front Of The Sun.

 

  

Because art said so....

It feels so good to surrender to shapes, colors, and brush strokes when you are confident about why you are surrendering. When I give advice about paint color "because I said so", is not the kind of confidence my clients are looking for. They are looking for someone to help them see what they can't see, but can't help feel. This room has lots of light. It’s open and the art, accessories, and wood colors are rich and demanding. The before wall color is not wrong…it’s just not enough to satisfy the need! What need? This room needs a wall color to become a verticle mirror that will reflect and transform lots of light into lots of beautiful color to meet the demand of rich colors in the floor, art, rugs... ect. Here are the choices I see changing the space from what you see to what you feel...

BEFORE­:

OPTION A: Devine Almond/Date/Manzanita

OPTION B: Devine Mocha/Roast

OPTION C: Devine Swell/Pool

OPTION D: Devine Koala/Breeze

What does your art say?

On with their Royal Heads!

The wedding of Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton has given the world a moment to take a deep breath of gratitude for embodying something we desperately need during these times:

as·pi·ra·tion: strong desire, longing or aim; ambition

For one whole day, we took our minds off what's wrong on the world and looked toward what is  right: connection, good will, true love, individuality, reliability, hope and ... hats! For some people, it was all about the dress. For me? It was all about the HATS! Wow, do I feel the need to start wearing a:

fas·ci·na·tor: a scarf of crochet or lace worn as a head covering by women

Except that facinators have come a long way—now they are described as head decorations! And let me tell you, after wearing the facinators Ashley made for us to watch the Royal Wedding in, I am now desperatly looking to find new opportunities to "decorate" myself again.I loved having a whimsical burst of color on my head!                                 

                                                                                                 

Ashley made ours out of paper plates, twigs, tissue and plastic flowers. Nevertheless, I felt  royally and properly complete from head to toe!

The only legit excuse our country gives women to wear hats or facinators is the Kentucky Derby. 

 

But that event has hats competing with horses, if you know what I mean! I believe a new generation of 30-somethings will begin to bravely wear them, to small cocktail parties at first, then ... seemingly out of nowhere (but you read it first here), they will go public in restaurants, and yes, weddings. I plan to be one of them. Thank you, England!

Check out KC's: Fashion Success that Goes to Your Head!     

                                                           

Watching Color Ripen

I couldn't resist passing this story on. Forget turning water into wine, how about stones!

While others saw ten acres of the Walla Walla Valley’s worst farmland, Christophe Baron saw only enormous potential. The terroir reminded him of the cobblestones of the southern Rhone valley and Châteuneuf-du-Pape in his native France. “I almost fell on my derrière when I saw those stones,” he says. “And I’ve been living the dream ever since.” Christophe Baron.

He called the venture Cayuse Vineyards, after a Native American tribe whose name was derived from the French word “cailloux”—which means “stones.” In the decade since, it has grown to seven vineyards, soon to be eight, encompassing more than 55 acres.

MOMA inspiration...

Going to MOMA is really exciting.  Viewing art while traveling is a huge priority for me. I consider this an essential part of my creative process. Lets face it, NYC holds some of the most amazing art collections in the world. Art museums are where artist, designers, philosophers, creators, and communicators go to explore visions of those who came before them and gain a perspective that will hopefully spark ideas of their own. Big names draw a crowd and so do their influences. How many things in your life have you seen with a hint of Monet? There are hundres of patterns, fabrics, and color palettes that could be atributed to his visual experiments and creativity. Art is the gift that keeps on giving. A clear example of this was when I stumbled upon Louise Nevelson's piece called SKY CATHEDRAL.

 

I had just a few months earlier marveled over the new Anthropology Catalogue, not only for their terrific clothing and accessories, but also for their fantastic conceptual display ideas. I even took a picture, thinking maybe I would try to do something like this for an exterior wall that could use a very cool sculpture. There it was, the idea, in its original 1958 inception.

You can imagine an entire furniture line designed based of the piece below. Check out the amazing furniture makers I found called The Hopper Tables and Chairs.

There are so many  things that remind you of what you've felt, experienced or thought of at any given time in your life. I remember my grandmother telling me she would break my fingers if I picked up the phone to call "him"...I think Roy Lichtenstein knew what she meant.

 

 

 

 

The Show Must Go On...

Being a role model to my kids is my greatest joy. On a recent PR trip, I got to bring one of my children to NYC. Mia got to see first hand how professionals put together a Satellite Media Tour (SMT), where TV morning shows (and also blog sites) line up, one after the other, to record interviews (in this case, Cynthia Rowley and I talking about a fabulous Devine Color palette she curated inspired by her fall fashion line) via satellite. Mia met smart, knowedgable, and dedicated people; including public relations experts, producers, cameramen, and even my makeup artist, Janet Flores, who not only made me look amazing, but also took the time to teach Mia a few hair tricks:

 

But that was only part of this adventure. I wanted her to experience more a taking-your-daughter-to-work day. She got to experience the way I go about gathering inspiration and information. I kept her running up and down the streets of NYC looking for inspirational stories that influence and help me create color narratives and products (see my previous blog Colorful Humor Rules On Broadway about creative influence). Sun, rain, snow and an amazing rainbow of bright spring colors set the stage for this adventure. Side streets carts were full of bright scarves and bright umbrellas; display windows were in full bloom!

It seems that bright color is no longer waiting to be invited to the "party;" rather, it is the "party" to be at. We bought bright umbrellas and vibrant scarfs (10 @ $5.00 a piece...who could resist?)!  We looked like two bright red tulips among a sea of yellow cabs. Devine Flamingo, Iguana, Pistachio Lime Beans, Berry Chili Beans, Birch, and so many others variations of our paint colors were everywhere.  A real show stopper was Lisa Perry's WOW... check our her website!

 
These colors spread out as far as we could see, even on sweets. Bakeries are following suit by dressing up their pastries to match and coordinate with our new found color appetites...seriously!

My next blog will be about MOMA, The Museum of Modern Art. When it comes to inspiration, it is one of the richest, most inspiring resources in the world. Art connects our human experience through a subconcious language that speaks to us in personal ways. This photograph, from an art exhibit about Modern Kitchens in the 1950's, captured the essence of my time together with my daughter, showing her that you don't have to be certain about what you do, you just have to love it and put your heart into it! The rest will follow...

Colorful Humor Rules On Broadway

Creativity is a cycle, it generates and regenerates, taking different forms, and shapes. I always look for  mutations of creativity; the sweet spot where the miracle of, "eternity on earth," happens; when one artist inpires another to create new visions, purposes, even new movements (Impressionism, anyone?).

I once walked into a house in Portland, Oregon to have the door opened by Danny Glover - the very same actor who starred in great films like "The Color Purple," "The Royal Tenenbaums," and ALL of the "Lethal Weapon" movies (which we own and watch frequently). I was shocked! What was Danny Glover doing living in Portland? Well, he and his girlfriend at the time owned a home that needed color, and as it turned out, they loved Devine Color paints!

After talking about kids, all four "Lethal Weapon" movies, and of course, color, he wrote a sweet note to take home for my kids. It said, "Always remember that when you are standing tall, you are standing on the shoulders of those who came before you."

He knew about creativity and sweet spots, and about passing the torch, or however you want to look at it.

What Happens Now That Elizabeth Taylor Is Gone?

 

Regardless of her incredible talent, kindness and generosity, my grandmother always said that no man could resist Elizabeth Taylor’s violet eyes. Once a man looked directly into them, it was as if they had looked into the eyes of Medusa; but instead of being turned into stone when they looked into her eyes, these mortal men of her generation were quickly turned into hopeless husbands—frozen under her spell. It was as if the “gods” had gifted Elizabeth Taylor with her own special hue. This was a powerful and magical metaphor in my life. Elizabeth Taylor was not a mere human; she had a “special color” all to herself. I was being interviewed with Cynthia Rowley on live television about a Devine Color palette she had curated when both of us found out that Elizabeth Taylor had passed away.  We took a long pause before we could even reply. The first thing I thought to myself, “Does anyone else have violet colored eyes? Is this magical eye hue now extinct?”

If the eyes are the windows to the soul, Elizabeth’s were just as unique, rare, and independent as her acting roles and love stories. She always expressed her violet sense-of-self through colorful jewels and fashions.

You can’t help think of shades of violet blue (Devine Skyline), gold (Devine Le Pot d’Or), crystal (Devine Pique), emerald green (Devine Juniper), ruby red (Devine Paprika), and charcoal black (Devine Piping), when you think of Elizabeth’s iconic look and fashion legacy. If you are in the mood to paint, put some of that irresistible Liz Taylor color sense on your walls and watch everything else in your home fall under that same spell.