On a recent walk around the grounds of Brodick Castle on the island, I came across a white rhododendron deep in the forest. As other folk hovered around the beautiful pinks in the full sunshine I spotted the white and went in for a closer look. Finding myself completely alone with the white version tipped me into reflecting of just how underrated white is as a colour. Is it even a colour? In my world the answer is a resounding yes and, more than that, other colours would, at times, fail to shine if they didn’t have white as a contrast.
So I went in search of white through my photos on my phone which took a while! What an illuminating journey that turned out to be as I discovered where and how I had used white in different creative projects.
Top left
A stitched bowl using fragments of fabric left over from other projects
Top middle
As the background for a digital design I then got printed as fabric for a home collection
Top right
Accents on textile shells for a piece of exhibition work
Middle left
As texture to give contrast in a textile art piece
Middle middle
As hints of winter in wee meandering journals
Middle right
To mirror the white of shells using vintage lace and wool tops
Bottom left
White gel pen and wool tops in a sketchbook page looking at ice markings on the beach
Bottom middle
Acrylic ink to create meditation stones for my online store
Bottom right
The perfect background for a recent piece of digital art and the perfect highlight
None of these pieces would have succeeded in my creative mind without the presence of white. White provides a context for much of what I create and yet I have under-valued it. As I run my eye across work where white resides it gives me a calm, quiet space to rest.
I wonder if you have a neglected colour in your world? A colour that you take for granted without realising its significance? In my studio I have a large window and a quick glance out and I can see white flowers in my alpine strawberries in my gravel garden. I can see white daisies in the grass. I can see white blossom about to burst on my hawthorn tree. I feel I have a sudden new appreciation for white and I feel blessed to have noticed it. Now where did I put my sketchbook….? Let’s see where this takes me.
Until next time,
Fiona xx
About the author
I am a mixed media artist living on the Isle of Arran in Scotland. Here on Substack I write free content weekly focusing on seasonal creativity. I also run a paid subscription for folk interested in creating seasonal book arts projects. This coming summer this will be changing to a place for slow creativity inspired by the seasonal shifts. You are most welcome to wander through the seasons with me.
Interesting you talk about white with such enthusiasm. We have, up until this week, had bright sunny days with clouds scudding across the blue sky. Sitting in our conservatory the other morning I was watching the clouds above the trees beyond our fence, I thought then how could one paint or draw the bright whiteness of the cloud as the sun went behind it and suddenly there was only a rim of white light around the edge illuminated still by the sun..it was magical.
White makes everything else look brighter and deeper.