Colors in México

On my first visit to Los Cabos what struck me most was the color. Coming from New York City in the winter, I was overwhelmed by the colors of this area; it was everywhere and it was vibrant. The sky was a beautiful cerulean blue, the water of the Sea of Cortez was an incredible wash of phalo blue and viridian green; the desert and granite mountains were a rich mix of alizarin crimson, burnt umber, and yellow ochre. The color I saw all around me was right off of my watercolor palette left back in my studio apartment, I could squeeze the colors of Los Cabos right out of the tube, they are so pure. The color around me that first week was inspiring and continues to inspire me and it is so interesting now after 4 years of living here that every artist on vacation that comes into the gallery mentions to me their new found love of color and inspiration.

To me Mexico is color and there is nowhere in the world that I have been where color is so ingrained in the psyche of the culture. The colors range from natural earth tones to fuchsia and electric blue. There are no rules to the colors in this country and I love that. When people compliment me on the color I chose to paint the outside of my gallery, I joke that only in Mexico could I have a giant purple building with mustard yellow trim and it look classy. I know I couldn’t get away with that in New York City! Everything in this country, the food, folk art, textiles, buildings, and costume is an explosion of the rainbow. Even the sunsets do not stick to the customary red, orange, and yellow palette.