Behind The Scenes: Hue Matching

I’m often asked to do calligraphy in a specific color to match an existing ink. I love using gouache for this, because it’s so easy (and fun) to mix from just a few basic colors, not to mention that it dries to the most beautiful finish and opacity!

{ Photography by Plurabelle Calligraphy }

Plurabelle in Paris

On Sunday I leave for Paris, where I will spend the month of July in a tiny sixth-floor apartment in the Marais. A long time ago I lived in France for a couple years and to this day I still know no better place to go to focus, gather inspiration, and revitalize my creative energies. Even though it’s only six months along, 2012 has already brought what feels like 6 years worth of developments – some of them exciting, some of them sad. Last month I completed the biggest and most thrilling undertaking of my career (more about that to be revealed here soon!) and now it’s time to recharge, reboot, and refresh with one month of Paris summertime and god-only-knows how many croissants.

In a recent surge of nostalgia, I unearthed (from the depths of my hard drive) the folder of my old Paris photos. Above, clockwise from top left: an example of my favorite neighborhood graffiti artist’s “Amour” tag on a Métro car window; a much younger me at my Marais window; the Vedette de Paris sign, pointing the way to boat rides on the Seine; a picnic at Parc André Citroën.

And if looking through old photos weren’t enough to get me in the spirit, I’ve recently started baking baguettes. Below, my first attempt. While they were actually better than I’d hoped, they were still nothing like the real Paris boulangeries!

Color Inspiration: Cacti

One thing about California that was very new to me when I moved here from the East coast was the abundance of cacti and other succulent plants. I’m absolutely in love with them! This weekend I snapped these photos of cacti along my street and the more I look at them, the more inspired I am by their beautiful, vibrant colors.

{ Photography & Color Palette Design by Plurabelle Calligraphy }

Saturday & Springtime

The courtyard of my building has a number of tall potted plants, all with thin, delicate branches. Yesterday morning my eye was caught by a dark, golf-ball-sized spot high in the limbs of one of them. On further inspection, I realized that it was a hummingbird sitting peacefully atop her nest. No sooner did I walk up close than she flitted away, exposing the remarkably small cradle of woven, compacted twigs, moss, and leaves. I know better than to touch or disturb a bird’s nest, but I was so curious to see the eggs. Well, thank goodness for iPhones and tall friends! My friend reached up and snapped a quick aerial photo and we discovered, to my immense joy, that not only were there eggs (each no larger than a jelly bean), but the nest was insulated with the most beautiful combination of feathers and cottony fluff. (Further research revealed that my new friend is an Anna’s Hummingbird and that the nest is in fact “built of very small twigs, lichen and other mosses, and often lined with downy feathers or animal hair. The nest materials are bound together with spider silk or other sticky materials.”) Just then, mother bird returned with a piece of cotton in her beak and shooed us away. Every time that I’ve passed by since, I have seen her sitting there warming those two eggs. I’m looking forward to watching this little story unfold and maybe – hopefully – seeing the little chicks someday soon.

Color Inspiration: Graffiti Eggplants

{ Photography & Color Palette Design by Plurabelle Calligraphy }

Yesterday while shopping for dinner, I found these beautiful graffiti eggplants and, even though I hadn’t been planning to make anything with eggplant, I just couldn’t resist. Dark purple and red-violet are my favorite colors and these combine every shade under the sun. I feel inspired to design something based on these colors and textures, like maybe sage green envelopes lined with red-violet ink washes done with a wide, dry brush to create the effect of the uneven stripes. We shall see!