LA Stories I: La Couleur de Santa Monica

LA Stories I: La Couleur de Santa Monica

Having recently visited the “beach town” of Santa Monica, and about to go there again soon, I wanted to remark upon “la couleur” (or, the color!)  I found there, in an effort to discover, locate or identify some specificity: IE…qualities of color which seem. or feel to be specific to this local.  local color, if you will.

I wanted to share some of my findings…or, shall we say, “sightings”, traversing the highways and byways of S.M.

What does this unusual color combination remind You of?  Is it retro? So-Cal? LA? Simply Santa Monica? Beach-ie? I am not sure, but I like it, in fact, I love the fact that these colors, in this combination, on this architecture, exist right here, I mean, there, on the Third Street Promenade, right now.  It’s just, well, fun!  Somehow, to me, there is something surfer-ish about it.  The surfboard de Mondrian?

One of the wildest things I saw on this trip…a “DAD” dumpster. Why DAD? Why teal? DAD may stand for “Dump and Discard”, but who can see the letters “DAD”, and not think of…, Dad.   The white letters  on bright teal/blue-green associate with water, freshness, cleanliness and even purity (my personal take-), an interesting combination for a trash receptacle!  Fun fact,  “The Intercessors of the Lamb, a Roman Catholic lay ecclesiastical movement, wears as its habit a teal scapular, which symbolizes the community’s role as intercessors between heaven (blue) and earth (green).”  — Wikipedia

The 18th Street Coffeehouse…or, is it Cafe (maybe I will check on that when next I am there…) warms and welcomes  with wood, and red, associating with the heart. Needing a place to perch, and ease my walk-weary feets, the cozy, yet vibrant and light-filled  hangout, which I believe is on Broadway near 18th Street, filled me with gratitude, and some nice joe. Bustling with a continuous flow of patrons, no-one seemed to care how long I stayed, slowly sipping my coffee, munching on a bagel, and sorting out the inevitable tangle of maps, lists, brochures and cards which inform the act of travel.

Gradations of green, set off by the complementary red and analogous yellow crane caught my eye,  because one just doesn’t see buildings in this colorway and pattern every day…at least not in the Bay Area. The rather monumental scale, the graphic stripes, the dulled down spring green stripes…is it a LA phenom?  So-Cal? Or, specifically Santa Monica?

I don’t know what this place is…perhaps a preschool, or a daycare center, but I love the whimsy, boldness, and pure audacity  of its color, patterns, and shapes, to say nothing of the marvelous tree gate. Again, those repeating patterns, diamonds suspended by lines from the top of the wall this time, and that sense of being over-sized…big statement, strong combination, even though there are only two colors used, neither intensely bright. This sense of being “larger than life”…is it the influence of mythical Hollywood,  or again…simply Santa Monica?

Maybe I will find out…

Do YOU?  I am looking forward to my next trip “down”, and to sharing more “LA Stories” with You soon!

What do YOU love about the  “La Couleur de Santa Monica”?

If You so choose, please share about it with us here.  We love to hear from You.

Remember, we are all coloring in the shapes of  this thing called Life, together.