Palette of the Place

When I visit a place, certain colors — what I call the “palette of the place” — stay with me. Back home in the studio, I’ll conjure up those colors, mixing and naming them for their locale. There’s a certain blue I call ”Big Sky” for the soft early morning summers in Montana; a deep rustic red for a favorite barn just outside of Cheyenne I call “Red Dirt Girl” after an Emmy Lou Harris song that keeps me company when I’m on the road. When I saw this vintage postcard of the Carefree Inn I wanted to bring the palette of the place forward. ”Where sun marks time“ read the postcard caption. I thought of a sundial, of weekends, and of 52 “slices” that together represent a full year of sunshine in one of my favorite corners of the country.

What’s the palette of your place?