Food fight: A study in Hue
/There’s something intuitive about the relationship between warmer Tones and what we eat.
The colours of Spring and Autumn are found in many of our favourite foods.
And none more so than the purely Warm seasons: True Spring and True Autumn.
One palette captures verdant new growth and fresh cream.
The other is all baked goods and the bountiful harvest.
Hue is the dimension of colour that references temperature.
It pertains to warm, cool or neutral.
True Spring and True Autumn share an equal and extreme expression of warmth.
This relationship makes them somewhat alike.
But only in the context of hue.
Differing levels of chroma and value give these Tones very distinctive personalities.
Today we are going to compare True Spring and True Autumn with the help of some delicious virtual platters.
Before we begin, let’s understand the quality of light influencing today’s feature seasons.
True Spring is the sparkling sun-drenched morning.
The clearer and cleaner the air, the better.
This light is transparent, activated and energetic.
True Autumn is the languid amber afternoon.
Light is syrupy, dense and unhurried.
Perfect for putting the feet up at five o’clock for wine time.
Colour palettes built from yellow light can go in two directions.
Warm, light and bright or warm, dark and soft.
In the morning, young light increases incrementally before our very eyes.
As the sun rises and stretches out its golden rays into every nook and cranny, the world grows lighter and lighter - and therefore brighter and brighter.
The whole day is ahead of us.
In late afternoon we have the opposite effect.
Diminishing sunshine welcomes long, dark shadows.
Colours become muted as depth and softness advance.
We perceive this kind of light as rich and mature, instinctively understanding little daytime remains.
If we think about the quality of morning light, the colour palette we extrapolate will look quite different from that built out of afternoon light.
That’s the disparity in chroma and value at play.
Consider True Spring warmth vs True Autumn warmth:
Time to build two delicious colour palettes using foodie inspiration - and see what happens in the course of comparison.
What kind of foods reflect 9 am light?
Something that captures the spirit of energy and new life.
Fruit salad.
Especially one with a tropical flair.
Plus creamy toppings, a mint garnish - and mimosas.
I’ve lifted out these key colours so we can view them in the abstract.
Here’s a mini palette of what we’ve just seen.
Warm, light and bright.
What does a True Autumn feast look like?
A cheese and charcuterie board.
With wine of course.
And here’s a selection of key colours lifted from this gallery.
Warm, dark and soft.
One platter is fresh, light and juicy with clean, crisp sweetness.
You could eat a ton of it and still feel like a swim afterwards.
Flavours are mild and aromas delicate or floral.
Nothing overwhelms the senses.
The other is heavy, luxurious and decadent with layers of deep flavour.
There are a few fresh things but many are cooked, pickled or aged with plenty of punchy seasoning and woody herbs.
Hearty and satisfying but perhaps also easy to over indulge!
Which of the two would you feel like eating in the morning and which in the afternoon?
Can your eyes taste the difference?
Let’s turn this discussion of yellow-based light and its corresponding colours into something you might wear.
Morning vs afternoon.
Fruit salad vs cheese board.
Here’s True Spring…
…and here’s True Autumn:
So there you have it.
A tasty wander through Warm hue and yellow-based light.
I hope this helps with spotting the difference between two gorgeous and rather appetising seasons.
Now for that five o’clock glass of wine…
