Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Colorful Language

I love reading color adjectives, whether in a novel, describing a ball gown, or in a magazine, hyping the latest lipgloss colors. But rather than green, or even dark green, or rich green, pale green, I'd much, much rather read celery, pine, or lime. Instead of red: crimson, vermillion, ruby, or scarlet. I have a particular fondness for colors named for fruits: watermelon, tangerine, lemon, cranberry, apricot... Or gemstones, precious or semi-precious: turquoise, garnet, ruby, emerald, sapphire, onyx, lapis... Or colors pulled from nature: fern, marigold, lilac, lavender, copper... And offered up in groups of two or three, they are all the more enticing.

So I am even more delighted than I can say with my recent purchase The Gentle Art of Domesticity by Jane Brocket. Recommended by Deanna Raybourn, and thoroughly supported by my husband (who believes I could benefit from a tad more domesticity), the book is not only a fascinating look at one woman's romance with a life domestic but a color explosion as well. Gorgeous pictures on every page of all things domestic: cupcakes (featured with delightful regularity, frosted in every color imaginable), quilts, knitting, flowers, artwork, tea cozies, fruit, embroidery...it goes on and on. And not only does Jane Brocket use color in her domestic pursuits, she uses it quite eloquently in her descriptions as well. Every page has me wanting to make a cupcake and frost it in a wild, out-of-the-ordinary color just to bring one more spot of color into my own little version of domesticity.

4 comments:

Stephanie J said...

I'm glad someone else feels the same way that I do about colors! I've always been a fan of anything other than the usual "yellow" or "green." One of my personal favorites is puce! Have you ever gone to look at the Wikipedia list of colors? It's one of my favorite references.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colors

I added the same book to my "future purchases" list but I have yet to go out and get it. After reading this it's probably going to be my next book splurge!

Michael Rigg said...

Great post. Like an azure glint of diamond between passing gunmetal storm clouds! ;-)

Unknown said...

all those food-related colors have now made me hungry. sigh.

Anonymous said...

I love color names too! It's the main reason I read catalogues. Wouldn't it be fun to be the one who has to come up with the names for new lipsticks, nail polishes, and sweaters? Even the names that are really out there are still fun.