Week 49 - A new theme and an artist from Óbidos, Portugal

Warm Pink, Toast, Biscuit & Elephant Grey

And just like that it’s December. This last month of the year has a theme that’s in keeping with the festive season - “Treats”.

This is the third year of #coloricombo and I’ve been sharing colour prompts (at least) weekly since January 2022 and it’s time for a rethink.

Changes are coming and I’m pondering new ideas and options to keep the prompts and challenges fresh. I love doing research and sharing stories of artists of the past, especially obscure female artists. Inspiring others to be creative is important to me, and #coloricombo has been a wonderful conduit for this. However the reality is that it’s become rather time consuming when you add up this weekly post to the weekly colour mixing and painting demonstrations both shared here as edited videos. Colour fascinates me, so #coloricombo’s main focus will still be on colour combinations, but shifting things a little with space for surprises and new concepts.

Doing live painting sessions is also something I enjoy and I’m looking at how to incorporate these in a practical way in the coming year. I’ll be asking for your input soon, watch this space.

Thank you to everyone who’s been supporting Coloricombo by becoming paid subscribers, I really appreciate it. You can join them here:

November Challenge Winners

The three winners of the #mewvember giveaway are announced at the bottom of the post. Thank you all for taking part and using the colour prompts to create in your own way. Terry Runyan was my co-host this month, and her fabulous Painting Cats book will be given away to one of the participants.

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Whilst researching for artworks to fit the theme of treats I discovered a female artist who came from the medieval town of Óbidos, one of the places we will be visiting as part of my Portuguese art retreat next summer.

I am so excited about going somewhere that’s been on my wishlist for a while. With only European art retreat scheduled for 2025, two thirds of the places have already been booked up. Don’t miss out, this landscape focussed retreat is going to be very special.

Retreat in Portugal

Colours this week are taken from a work by Josefa de Ayala Figueira (1630–1684) who lived in and took her artistic signature from the town of Óbidos, about an hour’s travel from Lisbon.

Josefa is probably the most famous Baroque artist in Portugal, an incredible accolade for a woman back in the 17^th century. Almost all of her work was signed as Josefa de Óbidos (i.e. Josefa from Óbidos).

Josefa was born in Seville in Spain, the daughter of a renowned Portuguese painter, Baltazar Gomes Figueira. After the restoration of Portugal’s independence from Spain, Josefa’s parents returned to Portugal, settling in her father’s town of birth, Óbidos.

Josefa herself remained in Seville under the care of her godfather, the artist Herrera the Elder, where she showed a deep passion for painting, specialising in flowers, fruit and still lifes. She joined her parents in 1648 and produced work as an etcher and of small scenes on copper,

In 1650 she took her vows at the Santa Ana Convent in Coimbra, coinciding with her father’s employment there making an altarpiece. She returned to her her studio in Óbidos, determined to devote herself to art and by 1653 was commissioned to create engravings for the Book of Rules by the University of Coimbra.

During the restoration of Portuguese independence after sixty years of Spanish rule, there was a a rapid expansion in monastic sites and Josefa quickly progressed from engravings and still-life paintings to religious scenes on canvas, eventually becoming a leading practitioner of this genre. Her works can be found in numerous religious sites such as the Alcobaça Monastery and the Jeronimos Monastery in Lisbon.

Josefa never married and was able to support herself through her own successful studio. She ultimately became quite wealthily through her many public commissions and private benefactors.

Around 150 works of art have been attributed to Josefa, making her one of the most prolific Baroque artists in Portugal. Her work is characterised by a meticulous attention to detail, vivid colour palettes and a deeply spiritual tone. Her most significant contributions are altar pieces, devotional images of saints and painting with Marian themes such as Saint Catherine of Alexandria. Many of her still-life paintings are held by the Museu Nacional de Arte in Lisbon whilst her best known portrait of Faustino das Neves is at the Municipal Museum of Óbidos.

You can read more about Josefa here and see her Salvator Mundi work from 1680 here.

“Still life with sweets, flowers and cheese in a basket”, oil on canvas, Josefa de Óbidos, 1678

Colour Combination

The colours for this weeks prompt are Warm Pink, Toast, Biscuit & Elephant Grey. Use the #coloricombo colours along with any neutral light and dark colour to create an artwork in any medium and style. 

December’s theme is “Treats”. 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.

Winners

The winners of #mewvember’s challenge were Charlotte Nieuhaus for Terry’s Painting Cats book and Traci Palermini for the 2025 Esté MacLeod calendar. The giveaway of the QoR Granular watercolour set to a full #coloricombo subscriber goes to Sarah Elliot.

Mini Courses

Would you like to treat yourself to one of my mini courses? Creative Circle has a festive twist and is one of seven courses available at a 25% discount until the end of December. All courses have one year’s access from registration. Use code XMAS25 at checkout.

My brand new mini course, Paper Vases is included and these all make great Xmas gifts.

• Paper Vases

• Let’s Paint Cats

• Creative Circle

• Fabulous Fish

• Four Seasons

• Sunset Trees

• Imaginary Butterflies

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