Today marks two weeks of living in Tucson. After fourteen days of walking and driving around, I’m embracing the area’s color palette. It’s much softer and quieter than Michigan. It could be the lack of green lawns though. (There are exceptions to color — Barrio Viejo homes are featured elsewhere on my website and that neighborhood has tons of vibrant house colors.)
Tucson’s typical street view is an underwhelming blur of beige. And everything looks parched. But if you stop and look a little closer, you see all the colors: browns, reds, pinks and greens (and the bright blue sky). Lots of earth tones, ranging from the pastel green of an agave plant to the dark rust of industrial fencing.
A few homes and businesses have thrown a random bright (unnatural) hue of an earth tone into the mix. I suppose this house’s painter could argue that green is found in nature as jade.
And the plants! They are so cool and sculptural and beautiful.
Because of all the earth tones, I’m more aware of texture. Gravel, rock, clay, cement, brick, cactus spine, tree bark, etc.
