Colour in our surroundings

Maybe it’s the winter, or that I am a sucker easily influenced by brilliant publicity campaigns (i.e., Kate Spade’s use of Tumblr and Pinterest), but brilliant colours seem to cheer me up like nothing these days. I look at the dull and grey skyscrapers in downtown Toronto and all I can think of is how they could be massively improved by adding a dash of colour. I keep on wearing my favourite necklace over and over again and my wandering eyes crave bright colours so badly that they are continuously scanning their surroundings to see where a spash of pink, orange, turquoise, yellow, green or bright blue may lie.

About a couple of years ago, UK hardware store Homebase created an amazing campaign at Carlisle train station. Adding colour to the stairs and bridge above the platforms was only an element of the campaign, though I think it was the best part.

You can see the entire TV commercial here:

The Rainbow Holsteiner stairs in Wuppertal (Germany) are another brilliant example of where colour has improved an otherwise dull surrounding. They’re a creation by artist professor Hort Glasker and the work is called Scala. The (German) words on the stairs describe the relationship between human beings.

Naturally, I couldn’t help myself and painted my own version in casein and marker pen:

Here’s another example of Glasker’s work, this one entitled Campo Santo:

Painting roads in bright colours also works:

NOTE: The source of the Carlisle station pictures is vickitequila’s photostream on Flickr, the image of the Rainbow Holsteiner stairs and that of Campo Santo are from Horst Glasker’s website, and the source for the final image is from {inside} the loop. Unfortunately I don’t know the author of this picture or where it was taken.

Les Demoiselles de Rochefort

I seriously cannot get enough of Pinterest, nor of Kate Spade tumblr. Below is another GORGEOUS image I pinned. Unfortunately in this case I don’t know who the author is but the street looks like somewhere in Spain.

And as soon as I pinned it I knew I wanted to do this:

Umbrellas, 60s vibe, hmmm… Initially reminded me of Jacques Demy’s Les Parapluies de Cherbourg!

But then I remembered that, as much as I liked the film, I wouldn’t say it bursts out colour and happiness. And so, another Jacques Demy film I love came to mind, which is all colour, joy and just FUN really: Les Demoiselles de Rochefort.

It’s the story of  a pair of artistic twin sisters, born in the sign of Gemini, who live Rochefort. The film takes place over the course of a weekend when the fair comes to town. The wonderful music composed by Michel Legrand with Jacques Demy’s lyrics can linger in your head for hours, thus making you extremely happy and bubbly during that time. It’s like a happy pill! The colourful design throughout the film, cinematography and choreography just add to this burst of sheer joy of the senses.

The cast is also top notch: Catherine Deneuve and her sister Francoise Dorleac (who tragically died in car accident shortly after completing the film) play the twins. Gene Kelly (who was 55 when he played Andy in the film and is still incredibly young and athletic and overwhelmingly attractive), George Chakiris (who can forget him as Bernardo in West Side Story?) and Grover Dale bring a foreign element to an overall French cast.

I could talk about the film for aaaaaaaaaaaaages but it’s best you watch it – and later on agree with me, of course 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOTE: The picture of the umbrellas above was taken from Kate Spade Tumblr, via one of my Pinterest boards. The poster of Les Parapluies de Cherbourg is via Cinephiliaque  and the images of Les Demoiselles de Rochefort are via Lark About.

Kate Spade

It’s fair to say that until this past weekend, 2012 hadn’t had the most artsy of starts for me. I was very little inspired and the thought of drawing, yet alone painting, was just daunting. When I tried to overcome this, well, let’s just say I recycled a lot of paper. ANYWAY, through the beauty of Pinterest I discovered the wonderful Kate Spade Tumblr! At first I thought it was this lovely tumblr with inspiring pictures of all things pretty and colourful and divine, but then I found out there is ACTUALLY a brand behind it! And they do clothes, and accessories and everything and it BLEW ME AWAY.

One of my favourite adverts on TV – Sony Bravia – encapsulates how I see Kate Spade: over a backdrop of New York City (because Kate Spade is VERY NYC), colourful rabbits made of Plasticine (simple yet incredibly effective, like KS’s lines), jump around, covering the city in bright colours (colour being a staple in KS) and with the brilliant, happy and somewhat nostalgic tune by the Stones playing in the background (KS is very 1960s inspired).

This is one of the MANY pictures I’ve seen on Kate Spade tumblr. Taken by Tim Walker, the idea is a simple yet brilliantly colourful one: balloons coming out of windows. LOVES IT. Loves it soo much I did my own version of it:

I am now obviously addicted to Kate Spade tumblr and have discovered other tumblrs along the way. My addiction to colour and how it can make the ordinary fun and cheerful and inspiring has only just begun!

NOTE: The photograph by Tim Walker was taken from Suz and the city, via one of my Pinterest boards.