Green Memories and the Color of Life

Green thumb? Green with envy? Getting the green light? Green around the gills?

There are so many expressions using the word green, it fascinates me. Color is used so frequently in our world to describe things, emotions, actions, ideas; it only seems natural for us all to have favorites.

Yes, I do love just about every color in the rainbow. Even orange and brown have their place. But green is just one of my favorite colors. Probably the favorite of mine, with yellow coming in at a close second.

It didn’t used to be my favorite, but it grew on me. My dad’s favorite color was green. I wrote about memories I had of him recently and I told you about my first hand me down bike, which he so kindly painted in his favorite color, green.

My dad did have a green thumb, as he grew cucumbers for sale then sweet corn, popcorn, tomatoes and melons for the family to enjoy. I did not inherit his green thumb.

When I was in first grade we made thumb print pots out of a ball of clay. Mine was cracked around the edges and poorly glazed with much of the red clay showing through. I glazed it green as a gift for my dad. He kept that little pot next to him where he sat daily and kept small things like paper clips and coins. After he died I reclaimed that little pot, and over the years I think it may have been one of the factors playing into my new found love of the color green. I still have that little pot, though it’s currently wrapped up and stored because I don’t have a safe place to set it without fear of it breaking. I’m okay with that. I know where it is and that’s good enough for me.

As I got older and started to really expand my world view, nature came into play. I started to notice the beauty of the way the flowers, grasses, trees, shrubs and even land worked together to create an artfully painted canvas of color that I couldn’t have imagined in the past. To this day if I’m painting, I prefer to paint nature and flowers. But what really catches my eye is the vivid greens interplaying on the landscape. It fascinates me to see fifteen different colors of green, represented in trees, leaves, blades of grass, everything just melding together in a splendid mesh of greens creating an image I don’t think even the most talented artist could replicate.

Green.

It’s a beautiful color. For me it’s the color of life, it’s the color of strong emotions, it’s the color of memories. Green holds a story for me and I love discovering it every day.

What is your favorite color? Tell me about it and why you love it in the comments below.