Celebrating Color

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What Are the 5 Phases of Publishing a Book? | Part One

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“Carol, you have written and published a book! Congratulations! How did you do it?”

Writing I Just Want to Paint: Mixing the Colors You Want! has, as many of you know, consumed much of my time and energy the past two years. As I depart the launch phase, I have been reflecting upon the process and I thought I’d share it with you. Some of you might like to hear one author’s insight to becoming an independent book publisher. The latter is sometimes referred to as “Indie.”

Readers of my blog and my book, know that clarity is foremost in my mind when explaining a concept or skill. I believe clarity is key to understanding or learning something new. I also think it is a skill I have worked at developing. Here is my attempt at explaining a complex and time-consuming process.

What are the 5 Phases of Publishing a Book?

Caveat:  I write this article solely from my perspective. I am not a book publishing coach or consultant. I have never seen the process described in phases as I have identified. My book publishing story is about writing a non-fiction book — a how-to art instruction book. I outline the phases I have experienced though many nuances and details of book publishing are skimmed, so consider this an overview.

The Phases are:

  1. Incubating and Conceiving the Idea
  2. Writing
  3. Producing
  4. Marketing
  5. Distributing and Shipping

Even though I have portrayed them as a sequence, publishing a book, like any creative endeavor, is not linear and be a bit mushy with lots of overlap. However, I think these five phases represent a model and provide a good framework to take an aerial view of the  process.color mixing

Phase 1: Incubating and Conceiving the Idea

[Read more…]

Which Colors Are the Most Controversial?

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Are some colors more controversial than others? What do I mean by controversial colors?

I am referring to the colors that cause different, if not opposing, emotional and intellectual responses. Controversial colors evoke both positive and negative reactions either separately or simultaneously.

Which color is the one that comes to mind first when considering its positive and negative impact on viewers?

Most likely the first controversial color to come up is the color red.

Psychologically, red can symbolize love, sensuality, passion, energy and romance, whereas it can also convey hate, war, danger and fear.  For some of us, it is a color of agitation and for others is is more calming and not scary at all. The shape of the color can also have an impact. Hence, a color cannot be isolated when analyzing your perception of it, but needs to be considered within a context. Our life experiences also add to our different perceptions of color.

Fore example, in my painting Crimson Fusion, some viewers would perceive the red as drips of blood, whereas others, like myself, see it as energy breaking through to the next level — as if it is being set free. (I think I need to change the title of this painting, don’t you?)

color theory, controversial colors

The interpretations of this painting have been quite varied and I believe it is because of my use of red. Feel free to look within my portfolio of paintings to see my diverse colors schemes and explore your reactions to them based on the colors used.

The other color I believe is highly controversial is yellow. This may surprise some of you. Yellow is often considered the color of happiness, fun, warmth, the sun and child-like activities. Yet, it is also the color of caution — think of road signs — as well as illness. We love seeing yellow out in nature, but it is the least liked color within our homes and fashion. It can be a jarring color and is not considered calming. (I am referring to the more saturated yellows.) I have been told be gallery owners, that paintings with a lot of yellow in them do not sell as well as paintings with a small amount of yellow or no yellow at all.

What are your thoughts and reactions to the color yellow? What other color do you think is controversial? Orange perhaps? What are the possible positive and negative reactions to orange?

On the flip side of this discussion, which colors are the least controversial? I my opinion these would be blue, green and most purples. I would love to hear your thoughts. Please write them in the comment box below.

If you found this post interesting, please share it with others.

Colorfully and gratefully yours,

Carol

color mixing guide, color theory, color expert

 

What Role Does Color Play in Your Paintings?

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Have you ever wondered what role does color play in your paintings? Or…

What is your relationship with color?

How important is color to your artistic process and what you are trying to visually communicate?

Do you consciously step back and consider the impact your color choices have on you? On your viewers?

Or do you essentially copy the colors before you, such as a landscape, portrait, still life, without giving color much consideration? Or do you choose different colors on purpose from what you see before you? Or any combination thereof?

When starting a painting, do you choose particular colors because of a mood or message you want to communicate? Perhaps you choose the colors as you get further into the painting process and the painting starts to ‘talk’ to you. You then make more strategic color choices.

In my painting “Untethered,” the color red makes a strong statement. Imagine it in a different color and the impact it might have. Interestingly, the interpretations of this painting varies across the board, which is another topic of discussion when it comes to color — we all have personal reactions to different colors.color theory

There are more questions surrounding this yummy and complex topic of color. And there are no right or wrong answers to these questions. However, I believe they are important for painters to ponder periodically. May I suggest that these might be good questions to ask in a small art group or during a critique. [Read more…]

Why are They Called Ugly Sweaters?

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It’s the holiday season and that means it’s ugly sweater season! Have you ever wondered why these sweaters are called ugly? Before you answer this question, do you own one. If so, do you wear it?

For fun, what do you think are the possible reasons why we affectionately refer to these pull-overs as ugly sweaters? Is it the designs or the color or both?

ugly sweaters

Did you know you can buy ornaments that feature ugly sweaters? Fun, eh? I found this one on Zazzle. I bet there’s a Facebook group that features them. I know people like to have ugly sweater parties, but I have never been invited to one. 🙁 Have you? [Read more…]

Have You Experienced Post Creation Depression?

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The title of this blog asks, Have ever experienced post creation depression? It is also called post publication depression or post creation blues or post writing blues or post project depression, and variations thereof. I had never heard of this condition until recently, have you?

Last week my final book files were sent off to the printer in China. YIPPEE!post creation depressionI have been working on I Just Want to Paint: Mixing the Colors You Want! obsessively for over a year. I’m supposed to be doing an Irish jig and jumping for joy?! Shouldn’t I feel exhilarated or have a great sense of accomplishment? Instead, lethargy ruled the day. I was greeted with a big surprise. I had hit an emotional and physical brick wall.

I could barely smile because all I could feel was total exhaustion and depression. To make things worse, I couldn’t figure out why. What is this? Sure, a little let-down made sense, but this was much more debilitating and my body literally hurt. People around me the past few months had heard me complain of being tired and brain dead, but nothing like this.

On the second day of depression, as I was leaving the house (I knew I had to keep moving) for an errand, I said to my husband Bob, “Maybe this is like post-partum blues? Could you look up the symptoms?” When I returned home, he had discovered that there is something called “post creation depression,” and had sent me several links for articles on the subject. [Read more…]