Week 30 - The Palace of Knossos

Powder Blue, Saffron, Cadet Blue & Sky Blue

I’m currently teaching at my art retreat on the beautiful island of Bali and in September I’m looking forward to do the same in Hydra, Greece.

There were two cancellations for the second Hydra retreat which takes place from 27 September to 5 October. Why don’t you join us for some creative time in this ancient and inspiring place?

The theme this month is Ocean, and I’ve chosen colours from a fresco of dolphins, discovered during excavations of The Palace of Knossos on the Greek island of Crete.

This is one of the most significant archaeological sites of the ancient Minoan civilisation and is often referred to as Europe’s oldest city.

The fresco is one of many, created by skilled artists by applying natural pigments onto wet plaster to ensure that the colours become an integral part of the wall. It was located in an area known as Queen's Megaron above a large, limestone-lined bath.

The frescos are dated from the late Minoan period of around 1500 BCE, so that makes it over 3,500 years old.

If you visit Crete, you’ll see replicas of the freso in the palace as the original fragments are now in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum.

The palace itself is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and was the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization. It’s linked to various Greek myths including the story of King Minos, the Minotaur and the labyrinth designed by Daedalus.

Read more about The Palace of Knossos here and here and watch a short documentary here.

“The Dolphin Freso”, pigment on wet plaster, artists unknown, ~ 1,500 BCE (image source).

Colour Combination

The colours for this weeks prompt are Powder Blue, Saffron, Cadet Blue & Sky Blue. Use the #coloricombo colours along with any neutral light and dark colour to create an artwork in any medium and style. 

July’s theme is “Ocean”. You can use this as topic and create in any way as you wish, using the week’s colours in any medium and style.

I love to see what you do with the coloricombo colours. If you'd like to share your work, please tag #coloricombo and #estemacleod on social media. You're also welcome to post in the private Facebook group Creative Prompts.

Fabulous Fish

Keeping with this month’s theme, Fabulous Fish is one of six mini courses available at a 25% discount until the end of July. All courses have one year’s access from registration.

Use code SUMMER25 at checkout. Here’s the full list of qualifying mini courses:

• Creative Circle

• Fabulous Fish

• Four Seasons

• Imaginary Butterflies

• Sunset Trees

• Let’s Paint Cats

Paid Coloricombo subscribers get a 40% discount, please see below for your exclusive code.