The colours of my life – Part 6/7 – ORANGE

This 7-part series on my blog covers the colours of my life, or more precisely of my childhood memories, a great source of inspiration for my art. You’ll find more posts from that series on this page.

I have to smile when I think about orange… To me this is such a happy colour: the colour of beautiful sunsets, orange juice, clothes from the 1970s and so much more…

Happy orange!

Yes, orange has a happy note for me. When I see photographs of my childhood, there’s so much orange, most of it can be found in items of clothing:
– my fancy overall or “onesie” as a baby to start with
– cute little dresses, jumpers or pullovers
– my mum’s fancy skiing jacket and trousers with the dark blue trimmings as contrast
– the beautiful orange and pineapple themed dress, hand-sewn by my mum, that I wore at the pre-school celebrations, where all the kids were dressed up for a creole dance
– my cool t-shirt from Corsica… or was it my brother’s?

Marvelous suns

How could I mention orange without mentioning the ever-changing orange of numerous sunsets that I’ve always been fascinated by, from my early childhood onwards all the way to the Scottish sunsets as a teenager and incredibly moving sunsets of my adulthood all over the world.

One of the sunsets that I photographed even ended up as the picture of the month for July on the company calendar printed annually by my employer for clients.

I’m also in love with the sunsets and sunrise orange hues that I get to observe on early morning or late night flights. They put me in touch with natural beauty and the fleeting, ephemeral nature of these spectacles often moves me to tears of gratitude (while others on board keep reading the paper or fixing their screens).

Delicious orange(s)

– I’ll always remember how huge and tasty the fresh oranges in Morocco seemed to me – as if I discovered what an orange could really taste like on that trip to Morocco at 12 or 13 years of age! Pure awesomeness
– Orange also invokes Christmas, the season of tangerines and satsumas, with their delicious and bite-sized “zing”-iness as a contrast to the soft sweetness of chocolate pralines
– my “bugs bunny” raw carrot, that my mum used to keep whole when she was making grated carrot and that I would bite happily into while saying “what’s up doc?” Like Mr Bigs Bunny himself
– The comforting orange and yellow plate of mashed carrots and potatoes that was my favorite when I was sick at home and that my mum would bring on a tray
– Pumpkin pie – discovered far too late – fresh from a great baker in Manhattan, Christmas 1997, shared with a medley of friends and loved ones on my first holiday in the amazing city of New York City.
– Frozen (stuffed) oranges, a ice-cream dessert that I would eat at my Pépé’s and tasted like holiday to me
– Orange and cinnamon salad that my grandmother Mimi used to prepare, so easy and tasty
– Freshly pressed orange juice, with pulp, that I love to drink and share with my friends and loved ones over brunch on a Sunday
– Pumpkin soup prepared with love by Martin, my beloved, after having roasted the pumpkin in the oven, seasoned with a spicy masala mix

Then there is the “safety” orange

– the life-saving rings that was on board of all the boats and attached to the pontoons or near the water
– my protective safety jacket for when we went sailing as a family – I was the smallest on board, starting age 4, and safety was a priority, so I got to wear that (not so orange anymore) thing which impaired my moving around on the boat a bit… especially paired with the safety harness
– orange and white cones for roadworks
– the orange outfits of the garbage collection workers and the roadwork workers, all fascinating to the little person I once was – especially as they were moving impressive machinery and pieces of equipment
– The orange or amber traffic light meaning “beware” and “stop” that I was watching for

Last but not least – playful orange

– jumping or shuffling in the crispy fallen leaves in the woods, throwing them with both hands in the air and enjoying their smell on a perfectly mild and sunny autumn day
– splashing around in the water with inflatable orange armbands
– my fantastic doll house, with an orange roof and cool wallpaper, hand made by my dad with love on my eighth Christmas, in 1980, with real electric plugs and fancy furniture
– my brother’s guitare that I was allowed to pluck once in a while, trying the only three chords that I had learned from him
– my orange and white pram for my doll, in which I pushed my orange bear Pintel and doll Cathy who was wearing… an orange dress and orange boots

Happy orange memories!!

And here are some of my paintings where orange features prominently.