Not today, Beige!

OK, let me say this right off the bat before Beige Nation comes for me: There is nothing wrong with a neutral palette. Really. Beige has its place. Gray can be gorgeous. Taupe? Sure, whatever. But gimme color!

But not here.
Not today.
Not in this post.

Because this post is all about color. Hot, juicy, Muse-seducing COLOR.

Nothing—and I mean NOTHING—gets my muse’s attention faster than a color combo that screams: “Hey babe… you up?”

Color is her love language.

Sorry Beige. You’re too polite. Too quiet. Too “I have a meeting later.”

When it comes to color, my muse is into the bad boys.

The bold. The brash. The “you shouldn’t go together but OH DAMN YOU DO” kind of colors. The ones your art teacher warned you about. The ones that flirt shamelessly across the color wheel and cause a scene in public.

The orange incident.

I toss an orange peel on the counter because cleaning up immediately is way way too adult for me. It lands next to a rogue lemon from last week’s grocery run (also not put away, also a win).

Holy crap! That orange next to that yellow–shivers down my creative spine. This is not the first time I’ve been seduced by citrus. And I know it’s not the last.

I’m easy that way.

Later that day, I’m chopping an onion and questioning my life choices—mostly the one where I cook things that make me cry. Lucille pops in. Lucille, BTW, is what a I call my muse. Long story maybe I’ll share some day. But not now. “STOP!!! Look at that!”

The onion skin—the translucent purple-meets-rose-meets-what-even-is-that-shade onion skin begs for my attention. I ignore the burning eyeballs and snap some pics.

But that’s not enough for Lucille. Whatcha need here now is some blue.

I happen to know where the perfect blue is. Right next to the sofa where I work out (liar liar–where I intend to workout some day) Perfect blue in the shape of a 10 pound medicine ball currently covered in dog hair. I wipe the dog hair off and set it on the counter.

And everything shifts.

That’s how color works.

Color isn’t just… color. It’s story. It’s energy. It’s emotion with no words. It’s what pulls the Muse in, flips her hair (red, BTW), and hands her a beer.

She doesn’t care if it’s a still life or a pile of kitchen scraps. If the colors sing, she’s there. Because let’s be real: the best palettes aren’t planned. They’re discovered. In the leftovers. The mess. The random things you don’t toss right away.

🎨 This Week’s Creative Prompt: Color, of Course

Create a color palette that makes you feel something. Not something pretty—something real. Something spicy.
Try colors that don’t “go” together. Make them go anyway. Maybe yellow ocher with fluorescent anything. Let it be uncomfortable. That’s where the magic happens.

If you need help, Canva has a whole section about color . It’s free so check it out.

Share Your Color Crushes

Tag me @SLPorter_FineArt on Instagram or find me on Facebook at SLPorterFineArt. Use the hashtag #courtingthemuse so I can see (and swoon over) your palettes.

And hey—what colors are seducing your Muse lately? Tell me in the comments. I wanna know the combos that make you gasp.