The Artistry of Personal Appearance

You are a masterpiece. When you look in the mirror you see color and shade characteristics that blend together, a composite of color and contrast that defines what we call your Colorscape. To illustrate, lets look at one of my favorite paintings. A work of art created by Monet, an Impressionist painter. The Impressionists focused on the quality of light as part of their composition. They did this through their color choices. The Impressionist painters were masters at combining colors in such a way that everything on the canvas appeared to be bathed in the same light, a light that defined a mood.

The painting above is called The Lily Pond, and is one of a series of paintings created of the Monet Gardens at Giverney. This painting has an overall hazy appearance. Certainly not lacking in color but all the colors are muted. One can imagine the scene in the early morning when the haze has yet to burn off for the day. There is a coolness and a softness. Other Monet works were painted in a sunnier environment, giving bolder characteristics to the color palette.

This painting, another from Monet's garden at Giverny is bolder. The colors are more intense even though the basic subject matter is essentially the same, waterlilies. The quality of the light appears completely different from painting to painting, yet within each painting everything looks as if it is bathed in the same light.

But we are talking about you, your coloring and your Colorscape. This is defined for you, first by your hair color which is the largest part of your coloring. Eye color is also a consideration as well as your skin tone. But they are secondary. Lets say your coloring is soft, muted like the first photo. Perhaps an ash blond. It is important that the rest of your palette be similarly muted.

But perhaps you have dark red hair. The boldness and warmth of your coloring should be reflected in your Colorscape.