The Magic of Colour

How colour inspires.

Driving on a frosty autumn morning, I glance at the pastel blue sky as it blends smoothly with the orange sunrise. The colours of nature immediately take hold and I feel inspired.

I was very fortunate to be raised in Africa and I connected with nature from an early age. My view of life opened up and wherever I lived afterwards, I always felt I belonged. The colours became a guide in self-expression.

She sensed them straight away, two shafts of coloured light, one violet and the other indigo, wormed their way out of the white. She lifted her arms and like snakes, they slipped through the air towards her. She breathed a sigh of relief as she watched them gracefully dance around her body. 

I would describe my childhood as golden and the colours that stood out were yellow, orange, green and blue. As an adolescent, I went to the darker side, trying to find my independent anarchist self. I made a personal statement with the colours of purple, emerald, crimson and black. As I got older, the earthy tones came out and I mellowed with brown, olive and rich red.

A shaft of blue light appeared from the white and moved like running water down a brook, closely followed by the gliding glow of green; its haunting whistle could be heard all around. 

I never used to think I was very spiritual until I started to look at the world from the point of view of a writer. I started to see what I’d long forgotten and I remembered what it was like to be a child running in the golden landscape of Africa. I cringed and also laughed at once being an awkward teenager, thinking no one understood me.

I saw the magic of the colours again.

The spellbinding, rich autumn colours of yellow, red and oranges mixed with the earth tones. The cool sparkling blend of winter’s blue, purple and white, with fairy lights shining brightly. The enchantment of spring’s light-green buds and bright yellow dandelions that the bees love, followed by the fantastical summer, with its burst of all the rainbow colours, all at once.

Why wouldn’t you feel inspired by nature’s ever-changing artwork.

Yellow flashed out of the white light with the excitement of a swarm of glittering bees. She jumped to join yellow, but it teased her by quickly moving from one place to the next. Orange firmly intercepted yellow’s innocent mischief and both colours tumbled in the air together.

The magic of colour has followed me throughout my life and has also influenced my writing. I’m working on book two in a fantasy series called Guardian of the Hidden Realm and book one is out now. I use the seven colours for the magical aspect of the story. Each colour has specific traits and emotions and this helps to shape and develop the characters.

She whispered its name, ‘Red!’

All the other colours followed as she raced towards it. Red streaked across the room like a bird of fire and she could not catch it. Why can’t it be like the others? She dashed, she jumped and she tried to reach for it, but every time she tried, red shot forwards as though it was light years ahead. 

Finally, she gave up. ‘Red please!’ 

Suddenly, red stopped and hovered in mid-air. It seemed to stare right at her, its sound was an electronic crackle. It grew bright, like a red star, and then vanished from sight.

There is also energy within nature and the colours are a part of this too. I’m probably sounding more like a tree hugger dirt worshipper than my adolescent teen self would care for me to admit. My younger child doesn’t care and is hugger trees and eating dirt with me.

Like Rose North in my book, if I trust myself when water flows, I hear the colour blue. I touch grass without looking at it and see green. Yellow gives me confidence in my endeavours and the orange awakens my creativity. When I walk in the woods filled with indigo and violet wildflowers, I know what I’m doing and which path to follow. The red in the rising and setting sun warms the red-brown soil and I feel the secure ground beneath my feet.

So if we can see, feel, hear and touch the colours, then I really think we should dance with them too. Life would be pretty dull without dancing and colour.

Thank you for reading.

Little Juedrop 💚

If this resonates with you, then please leave a comment and tell me how colours affect you.

For further information about my book, The Darkness of the Crimson Light, click here.