Perhaps there is a name for the tendency to find the names of colors as appealing as the colors themselves. Some kind of synesthesia-type disorder. I don’t know. I just know that ever since I was a child I have loved the names of colors, in some cases more than the colors themselves. Pink, for instance.
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In this week’s collage, colors arrive on the banks. This is, after all, the second to last collage in this particular series, which is super awesome and incredibly surprising, and I think it is time the banks of my sad specter and lonely fish king saw spring.

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You’ll perhaps notice that in the above I have flawlessly merged an older version of my fish king with the sweatered man. It is nice to see that in later life he becomes an artist.
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Color Field Prompt:

Step One: Flip through your magazine and find as many word-colors as you can; this may be more difficult than it would seem. Aim for at least 5. Feel free to grab some verbs & adjectives (such as “exotic,” “striking,” or “light”) as you go.

Step Two: Look into Color Field Paintings. Check out Sean Scully and Barnett Newman; Kenneth Noland and Helen Frankenthaler; Anne Truitt and the unforgettable Alma Thomas. You know what? Let’s give Alma one more link, since it is hard enough to be a woman on this list of painters but it is damn near impossible to be an African American woman: image search.

Step Two Point Five: Really look at them. Color field painting is not something you “get” or “don’t get.” I will not tolerate that attitude. If you don’t get it, you need to spend more time with it. Ok. So, I’m totally serious. Look at it until you understand. I bet one of these artists is really going to speak to you (this will be your inspiration, see below).

Step Three: It is time to make a poem. You have your words, you have your inspiration, and if you’ve looked at the paintings enough, you have your structure. Make a poem that pays the right amount of homage to color field painting.

Step Three Point Five: Now that you understand what you are doing, feel free to go back to your magazine and grab some more colors/adjectives/verbs.

Step Four: Arrangement is Everything. Your final creation does not have to make sense to anyone but you. But throw your reader a bone by dedicating your poem to the artist.

Speaking of incredible artists…  do yourself a favor. Take a moment to explore the stunning paintings of my dear friend, (artist and musician) Jennifer Runck, at jenniferrunck.com. If none of the above inspired you, I am positive her work will.