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 Margie’s Muse
by Margie Deeb
Warm Up to Orange
The chill outside escorts autumn, so I naturally turn to the orange, the warmest hue on the color wheel, to get cozy. We find it all around us now, in Halloween decorations, pumpkins, fall leaves and flowers.
Orange: hearty, lively, and warm. A pat on the back, an arm around our shoulders, a gregarious and social beckoning: “Come on in and sit by the fire!” From the softest peach and coral tints, to deep siennas and brawny umbers, orange’s personality is friendly and welcoming. Throughout the world, rich, tawny, red-orange conveys the earthy comfort of hearth and home: terra cotta clay earthenware, Moorish tiles, adobe homes of the Southwest, and kilim rugs of Turkey.
I’ve found it perplexing that so many people have an intense dislike of orange in our culture. Its the friendliest of hues. Maybe its a bit frightening with its sensual nature: dancing flames of fire; flamboyant autumn leaves; shimmering, slippery goldfish. Ambika Wauters describes it as “a laughing color... which stimulates appetite for the good things in life and increases an interest in sexuality as well as a desire for abundance. It can also stimulate a sense of creativity, playfulness, and fun.”
Orange is a food color — think of all the orange colored fruits, vegetables, and spices, cooked on an orange hearth over orange flames. It nourishes. It stimulates our appetite and aids our digestion.
Its outgoing nature can be functional as well as fun. Strident, highly visible orange, glowing like neon, is used internationally to designate areas of danger. Advertising takes advantage of orange’s attention-grabbing nature. In her book Color Harmony, Bride Whelan writes “Orange along with its color wheel neighbors is frequently used in fast-food restaurants because it projects an inviting message of good food at a friendly price.”
Want to draw instant attention to your latest creation? A deft and robust splash of orange declares “Look at me!”
Orange also represents strength and endurance. Yet with reduced intensity, it relaxes into resonant earth tones. Orange darkened with touches of black or blue becomes brown.
On the spectrum between bright yellow and hot red, orange draws warmth from both. It simmers as the hottest color on the wheel. Balance orange’s warmth with shades of cool blue. Combine vigorous vermilion with blue-green to suggest an exotic, Middle-eastern flavor. This balance of warmth and coolness abounds in Native American jewelry, so abundant in turquoise, coral and carnelian.
Orange tints, which suggest a quiet luxury laced with romance, flatter skin tones. Elegant apricot, salmon, and peach are slightly restrained and less zealous in their warmth than bright orange. Sprinkle one of these lighter tints with pearl and dark gold metallic accents for an upscale and sensuous palette.
To keep pastel palettes from being overly sweet, use pale orange rather than pink, as a dominant color. Blazing, sun-bright, pure orange conveys youthful vitality. Accents of these bright shades pack a lively punch.
If you’ve shunned orange its time to get to know a new friend. Answer its invitation — sit by the fire!
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