Complementary

 

My best memories are of color.

It is summer. I am two. My mother sets me in the red laundry basket on the lawn while she does what she needs to do without chasing a toddler around. The sun makes the lattices glow, and lush green grass shows in every slatted square.

I am six, and my favorite dress is bright green with an orange paisley-print bodice.

I am ten, gathering straw to make my tabletop scarecrow for the 4-H Arama. The straw-stack shines golden against the deep blue October sky.

I am a teenager riding the bus on winter afternoons. The snowdrifts in the borrow pit curve like vanilla soft-serve, cradling purple shadows. The stubble-fields, blown bare, glow yellow against the scratched blue and white of the Rocky Mountains.

Two years ago, I tried watercolor on clay-surface board, and all my memories of vibrant color came flooding back. I use Ampersand’s Aquabord (TM) panels. The color goes on buttery, and can be lifted almost back to white. Best of all — the Masonite backing board prevents buckling or tearing.

Say!  This post turned into a commercial!

Color me surprised.