I was working on a tablecloth commission. In general I find commissions to be both very exciting and a bit nerve racking. Creating a piece to fit somebody’s vision adds pressure. Plus, they consider me an expert, since I’m the artist. Me, expert? In this case, I got to go to their house and lay out fabric and see how the colors and designs fit in their space which is one of my favorite activities.

I know the red she’s looking for, but I’ve been struggling with how to get there. It also has to play well with chartreuse, the base color.

Here’s what I have discovered:

Barn red- too brown
Red fuchsia- too pink
Basic red- also too pink
Scarlet- too orange
Hot pink- not red
Rust orange- not red
Strongest red- THE WINNER!