A Jelly Bean Pallette

It's spring blossom time on the west coast! Colour is everywhere...in fact, a riot of colour. Although I could show an array of flower and blossom photos, I'm choosing in this post to show off the repertoire of human-made colour.

I love the funkiness of this oceanside community, where colour is splashed on doors and buildings fearlessly. "What will the neighbours think" is of little importance here. Sometimes I wonder if the plenitude of colour has developed as an antidote to the grey skies of Canada's "wet coast". 

There's another oceanside community, on the other coast, that is also known for its fog-shrouded days and colourful houses -- St. John's, Newfoundland. There are so many colours visible along its streets, that people say St. John's has been painted with a "Jelly Bean Pallette". Perhaps that term could equally be used here in Victoria!

The jumble of colour of Fishermen's Wharf, against the grey skies of a wintry day. A "Jelly Bean Pallette"?

Here are some examples of the bold and striking colours of Fishermen's Wharf. 

Fishermen's Wharf Floating Home. Orange and blue -- complementary colours on the colour wheel!

Another Fishermen's Wharf doorway. Complementary colours continued.

And one more house painted with complementary colours, Fishermen's Wharf

Three primary colours of red, yellow and blue, also at Fishermen's Wharf.

Moving along the shoreline: The muted colours of the sky, seen at Clover Point, are offset by the brilliant chairs.

Here's another example of bright colour to counter drab skies:

Part of a mosaic at South Park Elementary. I liked the promotion of school values, as well as the way the mosaic tiles, created by children, contribute to a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts.

The South Park elementary mosaic, continued.

I've mentioned before the bright reds and yellows of Chinatown which always help cheer up a drab space. Here's an example, again using tile, but smaller size squares: 

I liked the creative way that concrete was dressed up with colourful tile. The photo is from last fall.

And now, back to the Jelly Bean Pallette of house colours. I don't have to walk far to find examples. Here's a few photos I've taken just in the past couple of days, all within a short walk from my apartment.

This house was repainted last fall; no one can recall what colour it was before.

And this house has also been repainted in the last year. It used to be white.

Blue is a frequent theme in houses here, perhaps associated with the setting by the ocean. Note the porous paving to help the ground absorb rainwater (my last post was about rain gardens).

These colours, helped along by the sun theme to the right of the door, create an American South-west adobe feel. 

Oops...One blossom picture snuck in....

A bold statement of colour for this house!

Another house painted in strong blue. Again, note the porous paving. 

This blue house stands adjacent to the green house which follows. Together, they make a striking visual on the street.

This house was green when I first discovered it several years ago, and has been repainted with the contrasting bright trim.

A splash of brilliant yellow against the bold pink

This photo, from last fall, shows what the colour wheel describes are "analogous" -- two colours beside each other on the colour wheel. I liked how the spinning yard decoration (to the right of the stairs) brought together the blues and purples, and how the Little Library, partially seen on the left, has been painted to match.

This is a front window of a care facility on Parry Street. Just as children participated in building the mosaic wall, so have the residents of this facility participated in creating this window.

I will finish my Jelly Bean Pallette tour with an image of a new infill house being built on historic Lewis Street. Ken and I have been interested to follow the progress of this house, as we can see it from our dining room window. Initially the upper fascia was painted in the same magenta as the porch. For some unknown reason, the owners decided it was too much, and covered it over.

The porch at the back of the house is also painted in the bright purple magenta. Note the efforts that have been required to manage drainage on this property. The vacuum truck was here multiple times pumping out the excavation during construction.

There you have it... a quick tour of the funky colours of oceanside James Bay.