It is almost 10 years since I opened my online shop selling hand painted silk scarves. And, it is nearly 30 years since I first learnt to paint silk. You might think that when somebody spends hours designing and painting creative pieces they would remember them all, but that isn’t so. Even the creative process when practiced routinely over many years does not see every design endeavour being slotted into the memory bank.
I realised this the other day when sorting and clearing packets of old photographs. I spotted a long-forgotten colleague wearing . . . , and I looked again closely, yes, wearing one of my scarves. I had utterly forgotten I’d ever painted it. It was definitely made before my move to Germany and the subsequent purchase of my large stainless steel steamer on a visit to Cologne. I have no recall of painting the silk, let alone steaming it although that must have been done in mother’s old pressure cooker.
So much happens to humans on a daily basis, that much trivia is automatically dumped, but it has genuinely surprised me that I have painted and entirely forgotten some of my early work. Mind you that’s all changed. Since the invention of and the easy access to digital photography, together with the requirement for my shop to have images of my scarves, there now exists a visual record of every scarf and other pieces of silk I’ve painted over the last decade.
And, as you may have noticed from these photos, that although the expression has changed, there has been a favourite colour which has often featured over the years. Interestingly, despite it being an awkward colour to accurately photograph, I have found myself returning to a palette featuring turquoise over and over again. And, I expect there will be more to come in the future.
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Agnes Ashe 
Turquoise is an optimistic colour at every time of year. Warming and cheering in the winter, it chimes well with sunny skies, blustery days – everything really. No wonder it works for you.
Yes, I totally agree with your analysis. I use it in place of yellows as I think it’s more wearable for most people in our northern light especially during winter.
Yes, yellow’s hard for many people to wear – I’m one.
Me too now I am mostly a very pasty white.
Apparently, according to my Googling (and who are WE to question ITS authority) Turquoise:
1. helps with clear thinking and decision-making
2. is a good color to aid concentration and clarity of thought for public speakers as it calms the nervous system, gives control over speech and expression, and builds confidence.
3. Encourages inner healing through its ability to enhance empathy and caring.
And so on. So, all in all, turquoise is a good guy in the colour palette, and why, whenever I see your photos of beautiful scarves featuring this colour, I take a deep breath of relaxation.
Well, I have never thought of Googling colours. How very interesting. I knew from general talk on interiors that pale blues were thought calming and good for bedrooms, but I don’t think I’ve seen turquoise mentioned, perhaps it’s thought too much ‘colour’ for a room. I do have one wall that catches northern light in my office that is a warm duck egg blue heading towards a soft turquoise (the rest of the office is pale green) and I often find myself gazing at it when thinking. I do think it is the loveliest colour in my rather colourful house. Now, I feel I know why after reading your comment, thank you. You learn something new every day!