Neutral on the Subject
Is it weird that I think about colors so much?
Since it has been on my mind I see examples everywhere of the topic of the day or moment in my head. So check this out.
Does it get much more neutrual than this?
I’m sure you know what that is even though there’s practically no context. It’s a patch of concrete. And it’s raining today so it’s some dry concrete and some wet concrete. And a blotch of old, dried tar. This is what I’m talking about. This is the kind of thing I’m trying to see and capture these days. Real, every day colors all around us.
Asphalt pavement. Wet asphalt pavement. Wet asphalt pavement under street lights at dusk. Concrete. Bricks. Tree bark. Wood. Faded denim jeans. Sun faded comforters. Off-white walls in shadow and dirty carpets. Real stuff.
Hold on a sec. Let me get some kind of palette from this photo. Before doing the Kuler thing, I’m seeing some warm colors. Some greenish hue near the top. The hint of sky reflecting on the left near the crack there but directly to the right of that the color’s kind of warm. Maybe because of the light coming from inside the building through the glass window. By the way, I’m not saying this would make a good painting. But I do have to wonder what it would look like if I tried to capture it.
Adobe Kuler Generated Palette
Do those count as earth tones? I guess it’s kind of earthy. Concrete is made from rocks and dirt after all.
It’s interesting to me that the tar stain that I instinctively think of as black — because it’s tar — is actually quite blue even in the center of its mass. And it’s not nearly as dark as the darkest color in the sidewalk crack.
Or better yet. Here I adjusted the points to where I think I see the most color.
A more colorful palette.
You’d never think that a slab of pavement on a dreary day could have so much character. Drab character. A drab slab. Full of muted color.
Missile Mill: Painting & Photography 
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