Weekly Prompt: Red

Weekly Prompt: Red

Feb 08, 2021

As I look out at a rather leaden sky, secretly hoping for snow (just the right amount mind, not too much, but not too little. More aesthetic that treacherous) I thought it might be nice to inject a bit of colour, warmth and celebration into this week’s prompt.

Chinese New Year falls on the 12th February this year and will be the year of the (metal) Ox. The Chinese New Year is based on a lunar calendar rather than the Western Gregorian model so their New Year is dictated by the new moon that rises between January 21st and February 20th and ends 15 days later on the next full moon.

Red is an auspicious colour for the Chinese. It is believed to scare away evil spirits and bad fortune. New, red clothes are often worn as part of the celebrations. New Year decorations such as lanterns are also red, and red packets or envelopes are handed out to younger family members. These packets nearly always contain money, and will tend to be an amount of an even number as that is also thought to be lucky. Cooked lobsters are very popular for family celebrations at this time of year as a brilliant vermillion centrepiece.

Taking the colour red as your prompt this week, you can be inspired by the excitement, tradition and celebration of Chinese New Year. Or you could go down an observational drawing route by setting up some still life studies with tomatoes and peppers. Perhaps you could capture the warmth of a fire or the character of a cheeky Red Squirrel?

You can use any medium in your sketchbook. And don’t forget you can revisit our January Worksheet on colour to get you thinking about your colour combinations.

This is a great article on the history of red and its pigments with lots of images to inspire Red - Wikipedia

The British Museum website is an amazing resource to get lost in. Here’s a link to their Chinese and South Asia gallery China and South Asia | British Museum

If you'd like to know more about the Chinese New Year and what animal you are then this link may be of interest Chinese zodiac (timeanddate.com) (I am, apparently, a tiger!)

I hope that dipping into your red palettes this week will bring some warmth to what is set to be a chilly start to February. As always I look forward to seeing what inspires you.

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