Daddy's Christmas Angel

Monday, April 25, 2016

"U" is for Ultramarine Blue Heart #atozchallenge

"Ultramarine Blue Heart" ©Mary Montague Sikes
"U" is for Ultramarine Blue Heart in the A to Z Blog Challenge. This is one of the last six hearts for the large Challenge painting.

We just returned from a week at San Jose del Cabo where the Sea of Cortez and the light of the morning sunrises inspired me. We love to travel, but I discovered that while I could pre-post my paintings for each day while I was gone, it was impossible to visit the blogs of others while we were in Mexico. Also, I got behind in visits before we left just because there was no time for them. I have always enjoyed making new friends during this month, so now I know a vacation in April doesn't work well for me with the Challenge.

When I first started painting, ultramarine blue was one of the essential colors for my oil paint palette. Over the years, while I have gotten away from some of my earlier tubes of paint and I have switched from oils to acrylics, I have always kept bottles and tubes of ultramarine blue close at hand in my studio. It is a cool blue that mixes well with titanium white for pastel shades.

Thinking about the Pacific Ocean water flowing into the Sea of Cortez at the tip of the Baja peninsula, I chose ultramarine blue for my newest heart. It reminds me of the beautiful dark waves that licked the sandy shore. They sounded like multiple hearts beating in synchronicity to remind us of the power and the vulnerability of our planet Earth.

7 comments:

Yolanda Renée said...

Blue is such a lovely color, but maybe not for hearts. :)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I like the subtle blue around it.
No worries about the visits.

D.G. Hudson said...

Ultramarine blue is one of my favorite colours too. Have you ever read the book by Christopher Moore about the colour blue? He's irreverent but I found it an interesting read because he pulls into the story various artists from the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art groups.
Link if you're interested:
http://dghudson.blogspot.ca/2016/04/sacre-bleu-by-christopher-moore-review.html

Notes Along the Way with Mary Montague Sikes said...

Yolanda, I like hearts in most any color, including blue. Thanks for visiting.

Thanks, Alex.

D.G. Hudson, I really enjoyed your review of the Christopher Moore book and now want to read it. Thanks for the link.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Such a pretty color of blue.

Valerie Storey said...

Looking at this heart makes me feel so peaceful. I also love ultramarine and have to have it in all mediums: oil pastel, colored pencil, watercolors, water-soluble pencils, and acrylic. Indispensable! Thank you for sharing with us.

Birgit said...

I Love this color!!!! Love it!! it's my favourite colour...blue and this is so rich as it reminds me of the blues one sees in pictures of Greece.