When I think of the color yellow, these words come to mind . . . happiness, optimism, creativity, energy, sunshine, warmth. And names like amber, goldenrod, marigold, lemon, butter, corn, honey, mustard, straw, canary, saffron, citrine, yellow ochre.
Yellow says spring, summer and fall to me.
In the spring and summer, there are so many pretty yellow flowers. Daffodils, tulips, crocus, daisies, marigolds, asters, and of course the perennial favorite . . . dandelions. I have lots of those. haha.
Besides the unwanted dandelions, I don't actually have yellow flowers in my own garden so I went looking elsewhere for these photos. Here are just a few. Lemon yellow to yellow-orange flowers . . .
Spring is also the time of Easter eggs and egg yolks . . . have you ever seen a double yolk?
As I began my color search, I didn't think I had much yellow in my house. But the more I looked, the more I found. Lemon dishes make an appearance during the summer months.
And there's this sweet yellow porcelain rose and china teacup that belonged to my mother.
In the fall, yellow makes a stronger statement in my house as I bring out sunflower dishes and quilts . .
I have always heard quilters say a little yellow goes a long way and it's true in terms of yellow's ability to grab your attention. You really don't need a lot. But I happen to like the idea of yellow quilts. I have a mostly yellow Kaffe quilt that I use in the spring-summer months.
I have pulled these yellows to make a baby quilt based on this idea.
And then there's this lemony group for a new design. I didn't get to this summer. Maybe next.
Yellow is considered to be the single color that gets our attention the quickest. In other words, people notice yellow first, especially in their peripheral vision. That's why yellow is the universal color of caution. Road signs. Hazard lights. School buses. Taxis. We are supposed to notice these things.
Yellow is considered to be the single color that gets our attention the quickest. In other words, people notice yellow first, especially in their peripheral vision. That's why yellow is the universal color of caution. Road signs. Hazard lights. School buses. Taxis. We are supposed to notice these things.
How about this funny hazard sign we saw over the weekend. Look closely and you'll see a large rock smack in the middle of the road. Wouldn't want to run into that.
My strongest association with Yellow is most definitely fall.
Here's what we saw . . .
I love the bright yellow glow as sunlight filters through the leaves . . .
The silhouette of dark branches against the yellows that range from golden to chartreuse . . .
I found yellow in unexpected places like this bright lemon yellow building that looks like an old schoolhouse. It almost seemed fluorescent amidst the fall yellow landscape.
Even the rocks in the stream had a golden hue. Hmmm . . . maybe there's still a little real gold to be found in them there hills.
What child doesn't color the sun yellow? Bright yellow sunshine and soft yellow moonlight.
Even the clouds can have a pretty yellow glow . . .
Of course yellow also has it's negative connotations. Things like cowardice, sickness, even madness. But I much prefer the positive, happy side of yellow don't you?
Since this post has more than covered my daughter's challenge to include a leaf photo for every color in my sereies, I'll leave you instead with this final image. Both my daughter and husband's use of yellow in their art. Emily's huge painting of our old kitty and Justin's "Say Cheese" sculpture which is currently in Napa CA. Emily has her own essay on yellow which you can find here.
When I started this color series, my intention was to really look for the color in my own personal world. To see the color around me in my house, my environment and my experiences. For that reason I've chosen to use my own photos rather than rely on the abundance of beautiful photos and color schemes available through sites like Pinterest and Design Seeds. These sites are wonderful places for inspiration on color but I want my series to be personal . . . representative of the color I see around me. You can see all my other color stories under the Color Inspiration tab at the top of my blog. If you'd like to see additional beautiful color images, you can follow my Pinterest color boards here. Just look for the specific color boards or my color scheme board.
I challenge you to look around your home, your neighborhood, your work and really see the colors in your world. Go look for some Yellow in your life. Thanks for reading.
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