Apples Colour Scheme and Creative Invitations
Apples are one of those things that really say September.
I am finding that getting outside and paying attention to what is going on in nature helps me to be much more aware of cycles and seasons. Apple blossoms appear in the spring, then as summer rounds the corner and starts to lean towards autumn, the fruit begins to ripen.
Although September might be the name of the month, in its early days it’s still summer, with plenty of sunshine and warm days. Yet the light is more golden and early mornings hold a crispness in the air. Wherever you live, there are probably blackberries. Here, I also notice hawthorn berries, rosehips and rowans. Plants that were flowers earlier in the year are now seed heads, some fluffy, some spiky, some, like poppies, look like little bald heads wearing crowns.
Apples seem to be filled with that golden light. It’s hard to imagine one without the other. Everything about an apple speaks of that moment when summer ripens into autumn, the colours of the skin and inside, the sweetness, even the smell.
Sometimes our brains link memories to what we are noticing. I remember walking to pick my eldest up from school, with my now 17 year old on the buggy board and his younger brother in the seat. My youngest wasn’t born then. On the way, there was a tiny field with some apple trees in it, and there were often rabbits there too.
Another memory I have is of my dad wanting to eat apples in the autumn, particularly russets. There must be a memory tied to them from his own childhood, though I donβt know what it is.
My neighbour has an apple tree that dangles over her fence onto the street. The apples hanging from the branches hold everything about shift from summer to autumn.
The other day, I stopped to admire them, and it was then that I realised how pretty the colours are. Greens fading in to yellow, and what I thought was red was actually pink.
I’ve made colour schemes for autumn before, but I think early autumn has its own, before October and November bring the deeper browns, oranges, and reds. For now, there are still plenty of greens, although faded now compared to the greens of midsummer, some browns and yellows, and the colours of the hedgerows, and of course, the apples.
Here is a colour scheme I have created for September, inspired by my neighbour’s apples.
If you would like a PDF version of it with the hex codes as well, pop your email address into the form below and I’ll send it to you. It also includes hex codes so you can use the colours in digital projects too.
Creative Invitations
In case you’re new here, a creative invitation is a gentle, open ended prompt to inspire joyful exploration. There is no pressure, expectation, or right way to go about it. The outcomes don’t need to be perfect, polished, or even finished.
Here are some ways you might like to explore the apple colour scheme (or apples themselves).
Match the colours in the colour scheme with fabric, thread, paint or coloured pencil. You might find this is enough in itself, but if you want to take it further, you could piece together scraps of fabric, sew a little abstract embroidery using your favourite stitches, or colour little squares or splotches with paint or pencil.
Go out for a walk, and see where else you can find apple like colours.
List your favourite apple recipes and make one or two.
Try drawing or painting an apple. You already have the colours! Or if that feels like too much, colour or paint some circles using paint or coloured pencil.
Cut an apple in half. Notice the shape of the seeds, and the colour of the flesh against the colour of the skin.
Try printing with your apple halves.
Doodle using apple colours and see what unfolds.
