Daily Archives: September 28, 2017

Purple, the Ultimate Complementary Color for Autumn

Posted by Kerry McFall, September 28, 2017

If Orange is the color of the Season – then purple is my Go To complementary color.  That’s mostly because it seems to be Mother Nature’s Go To color as well.  Purple asters, both wild and tame, lurk at every roadside and flower bed.  Purple fall crocus appear out of nowhere in early fall, without benefit of leaves (how do they that?!)  Berries ripen into purplish globes, even tomatoes come in purple!

sketch of bamboo and purple tomatoes

“Purple Tomatoes”, mixed media by Kerry McFall

Wild asters show up in this primarily black and white scheme, so tiny you can barely see them in the background, more lavender than purple:

white ink sketch on black paper of milkweed pods and sees

“Plant It and They Will Come”, mixed media by Kerry McFall

Domesticated asters are showier, and they provided the perfect offset to the “Delicata” squash my neighbor Carolyn grew this year.  Okay, so banana yellow isn’t exactly orange, but the flesh inside IS orange, so close enough for the guys I hang around with.  Now there’s an oldie but goodie expression… my guy doesn’t even like squash, come to think of it… but he’ll eat it if I bake it with enough maple sugar and butter.  But anyway, the purple complements the background, which is my very orangey wooden table top.

Yellow squash and purple flowers

“Delicata Squash and Asters”, mixed media by Kerry McFall

Photo by Kerry McFall, still life arrangement with squash and asters in a Botswana sweet grass basket

In the autumn, I’m pretty sure autumn is my favorite season!  Then again, I love it when McMenamin’s has a big fire on the hearth in the Winter, with rich hot clam chowder, snow on the firs… fickle, that’s me!  You can probably tell I have trouble sticking with any given artistic style or layout, too.  I should probably do something about that.  Maybe.