Lately, I've been noticing a shift in my work. It’s subtle, but it’s there. The colors I’m reaching for have softened, a little like the way early morning light stretches across a quiet room.
This change hasn’t happened by accident. I've been taking a portrait painting class, something quite different from my usual focus on abstract work. Portraiture demands a gentler, more nuanced palette — skin tones, after all, aren't bold primaries. They live in a world of muted pinks, soft browns, and gentle blues. Even though my abstract work remains abstract, the influence of those delicate color studies has found its way onto my canvases.
At the same time, big changes are happening in our lives. David and I are in the process of selling our beloved Sarasota home — a place filled with memories and sunshine. Preparing the house for open houses has been a full-time job, and to be honest, it’s exhausting. There are moments I feel stretched thin, pulled in too many directions.
And yet, when I step into my studio, something shifts. Painting has become my anchor. It’s the place where the noise of the outside world falls away. The softer colors I’ve been using — those borrowed from my portrait classes — feel like a warm, soft blanket over my frazzled nerves. Each brushstroke seems to gather my scattered thoughts and stitch them back together.
This experience has made me reflect on how deeply color and emotion intersect in abstract art. In many ways, they are inseparable. Here’s what I’ve been noticing:
1. Color temperature mirrors mood
• Warm colors (reds, oranges, yellows) often feel energetic, passionate, sometimes even chaotic.
• Cool colors (blues, greens, purples) can bring a sense of calm, sadness, or reflection.
• Lately, I've been leaning into the middle: muted peaches, dusty lavenders, and faded teals — colors that feel neither overly loud nor too subdued, but balanced.
2. Saturation amplifies intensity
• Highly saturated colors shout. They demand attention.
• Desaturated colors whisper. They allow space for breath and contemplation.
• Right now, desaturated tones are giving me a quiet place to land.
Upcoming pieces in process from my new LINGER collection.
3. Contrasts spark emotion
• High contrast — light against dark, bold against soft — creates tension and movement.
• Low contrast — soft tones against one another — creates harmony and gentleness.
• As my life feels full of contrast (busy open houses vs. quiet painting sessions), I find myself craving low-contrast combinations on canvas.
4. Color placement tells a story
• A splash of red in an otherwise gray painting might feel like hope, or a burst of anger, depending on where and how it’s placed.
• Grouping similar tones can feel like building community, or creating safe spaces within the work.
• I'm thinking more deliberately now about where colors "live" on the canvas — who their neighbors are, and what conversations they might be having.
If you're looking to explore the intersection of color and emotion in your own work, here are a few exercises that might help:
Exercises for exploring colors and emotions:
• Mood palette practice
Choose an emotion you're feeling today — joy, anxiety, peace, nostalgia — and select 5–7 colors that seem to match it. Make a small abstract piece using only those colors.
• Contrast play
Create two paintings: one using high contrast (bold colors next to each other) and one using low contrast (similar tones together). Notice how your energy shifts between the two.
• Color conversations
On a blank canvas, put down two or three colors side by side. Let them "talk" to each other through blending, layering, or staying separate. See if a story or feeling emerges as you work.
These days, painting feels less like a project and more like a conversation with myself — one where color does most of the talking. In the midst of transitions and goodbyes, it’s a comfort I can always return to.
And for now, that feels like enough.