If you’ve been following this journey for some time now, you’ve probably realised colour – it’s power and it’s potential – is something I’m very passionate about. I love colour; there is definitely something about it that energises me. However the extent of my experience with colour is probably dressing myself, doing my make up and choosing what colour nails I’m going to have done. Whilst I feel extremely confident of colour when I am the subject, there are some aspects of working with colour that terrify me.

If you asked me to design a colour scheme for a room, I’d probably freeze. If I have to do put together any graphic design work I’ll play it safe because I can’t say I trust my eye completely.

I’ve realised that I can love colour, but need to gain more colour confidence. It’s one thing to know something gives you energy and that you may have some talent in an area, but that’s not enough to truly succeed – in my opinion anyway. Many successful people are naturally talented but all the greats are known for investing time to practice and develop their craft.

How do you practice colour?

This is the question I started asking myself. I asked a good friend of mine for her opinion and we decided that it may be a good idea to give painting a try. I do a lot of design work with real life inspiration and then I translate my ideas onto a screen, however to really get a handle on colour composition and combinations, my thinking is that I ought to go back to basics. Five colours – white, black, red, blue and yellow. I want to learn how to make a colour warmer or cooler.

I want to be able to look at a colour and have an idea of how I might re-create it from a combination of the five colours I outlined above. Most importantly, I want to get more confident about how different colours work side by side. I figure the more time I spend with colour, the more comfortable I will be with it full stop.

It was my birthday last week and I asked for a painting ‘starter kit.’ I headed over to Cowling & Wilcox in Shoreditch, where I explained what I was trying to do and was advised on what to get to start. I got a few brushes, some heavy paper (250/300 gsm), an easel/board looking device (you can tell I’m still a novice), a mixing palette and some Gouache paints. I opted for Gouache in the end because I’ve been told that they’re opaque and I can layer the colours on top of one another.

Don’t expect a Picasso…it’s not coming

I don’t plan on painting ‘pictures’ or anything to share. I really plan on painting colour combinations and playing with compositions. As I said earlier the idea is to get more comfortable around colour. I’ve spoken a lot about the challenges of having to go slow and steady, but I think this a great way for me to spend my time as I’m waiting for the manufacturing process to start up again. Plus, it just sounds fun – which is very important.

Maybe I’ll share what I learn about compositions and combinations here. Maybe I’ll even post some of my work one day. I’m really excited that I’ve taken this step to become more confident around colour and I can’t wait to see this confidence manifest in different areas of my work and personal life.