Very excited as my second colouring book is now ' in stock'. Feel like its much more grown up than my "A is for Australia." Artwork more professional and consistent, the perforations are slightly different and the weight of the paper slightly better. I think I will tweak the artwork for "A is for Australia" before reprint. Constantly learning new things! All good. You can look at some of the internal pages if you go to www.colourmeart.com/uk   

Orange . The laughing Colour.

So as we watch the leaves turning orange as Autumn creeps in and the spicey pumpkin soup recipes are hunted out, there is a lot of orange around us at this time of year.

Orange is a secondary colour. It is the combination of red and yellow. It's a hot colour but not as agressive as red.
 Kandinsky said " Orange is red brought nearer to humanity by yellow".

People who like orange are said to be thoughtful and sincere. It stands for joy, sunshine, enthusiasm, facination, happiness, success and stimulation. Its the laughing colour.

Buddist monks wear saffron orange robes. In China and Japan it is the colour of happiness and love. The American Indians use it as the colour of kinship. It's a positive colour, the colour of harvest, strength and endurance. Your orange Chakra is just below your navel. Said you be your creative centre.
Orange is a great colour to promote food and toys as it jumps out from the shelf  without the garrishness of red.
Orange food is great to both stimulate appetite but also keep nasty cancers at bay.  Citrus fruits,carrots, pumpkin are all great for our digestion but it's the power of the paw paw that is seriously under exposed! If you have someone you love in your life sick with cancer, I highly recommend you look into papaya power!
Have a great orange day!

Meaning of Green

I love this photo. It really sums up my next colour, green.

 Its peaceful, restful, uplifting. It signifies balance, honesty, harmony and a refreshing sense of well being. Green is the colour we associate with words like durability and renewal and fertility. Its the colour of self respect and unconditional love.

Green is the most restful colour on ones eyes. Its the world's most favourite colour after blue. In colour therapy its the colour used to relax a mind. If the colour wheel was a PH scale it would be bang in the middle.

 Green really stands for nature. If you think about it almost all of nature has some element of green in it. Politically it is always associated with environmental issues which is logical. In Asia the green stone of Jade is sacred. In Ireland , St Patrick's day is always associated with the colour green. Its the colour of Christmas ( coupled with its opposite red of course) and the ' go ' colour for traffic lights . In business if you get the 'green light ' for an idea or project its only positive go go go!! If you have a green thumb in the garden, you are a 'natural' gardener. We talk of the American dollar being the ' green back', ' greener pastures' being richer than what we have. Deep greens indicate old money, racing green, speed with style whereas olive green is the ultimate colour of peace.

However green does get some negative press too. How about green with jealousy ' the green eyed monster' as Shakespeare referred to this deadly sin. It is also a colour we can associate with sickness. We talk about someone turning green when they are about to vomit. But maybe that is more Chartreuse yellowy greens in the palette as eating green vegetables is always a healthy option!

Whether you like green or not, it has to be considered the oldest colour of life really. Its our natural back drop and makes you feel calmer even if you don't realise it does. Next time you are at the park or in the garden with the kids , get them to spot how many different kinds of greens they can see.  You would be amazed and I think its always good for them to appreciate the colours of their surroundings.