Today’s Squareathon prompt brings back a childhood memory
Vacation starts today and in that spirit, I embrace time off by chasing rabbits down holes. One of the Squareathon prompts is cerulean, and as I’m wont to do, I googled the word.
It’s a pure blue pigment discovered in 1789 by Swiss chemist Albrecht Höpfner.
It’s particularly valuable for artistic painting because of its hue, permanence, and opaqueness. Artist Berthe Morisot painted the blue coat of the woman in her Summer’s Day, 1879 in cerulean blue.
In its inaugural year, Pantone kicked the COTY (Color Of The Year) selection off with Cerulean, which they actually called the “color of the millennium.” They felt consumers would be seeking inner peace and fulfillment in a time of uncertainty, while also reflecting on the past and looking toward the future. Thus, they chose this calming blue shade that’s reminiscent of the sky.
All interesting facts, but then I read one and it ushered in a significant childhood memory. A defining moment in my love affair with words and art.
Ceruleun Blue on the wrapper of one of my blue Crayola crayons. It was one of the first words I ever noticed. How was it pronounced? What did it mean, exactly?
I remember swatching colors, even though I didn’t know what it was called, with all 64 crayons from the box with the fold top lid and built-in sharpener on the back.
There’s a site called Crayon Collecting, and that was my rabbit hole. I felt like Alice in Wonderland, swirling and twirling and grabbing memories from a mist of dreamy colors.
And with that, I give you two of today’s prompts, cerulean and moon, in a 3”x3” watercolor.
