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When Lynne suggested we start our Colourboration with looking at the colour red, I left the internet café after reading her email and all I could see was the ubiquitous red branding of the too familiar worldwide soft drink everywhere I looked. We were in Macedonia at the time. This was the day that saw us skid in snow on a mountain top and ended with the perfect camping place at Kurbinovo. I fell in love with the village and was suddenly more inspired when I kept spotting reddish things everywhere.

I wanted to make the whole collage a story of that afternoon. The colour of passion, anger and Communism, there are so many shades of red. From almost brown, to orange to close to purple – how far could I go and still create a red collage? In practice though, several of the images were too reddish brown and the overall effect wouldn’t have passed muster as a ‘red’ collage. So this collage now encompasses a range of elements from our short stay in Macedonia.

I also aimed to vary texture and subject matter, while still attempting to illustrate the trip. A market,one of my favourite places, provided rich pickings for the colour red scavenger!

The images are as follows (left to right descending):
Apples in Kurbinovo
The sign at the church key lady’s house, Kurbinovo
The old tractor in the church key lady’s garden, Kurbinovo
A stall at Bitola market
Textile from the Smallest Ethno Museum, Džepčište
Sign, Skopje (sun faded red – one of the most common forms of the colour!)
Our van, of course…
Flowers, Skopje
Radishes, Skopje market (shiny from being sprayed with water)
Carpet shop, Skopje
Sausage stall, Skopje
Wine bar waiter’s T-shirt, back detail, from last year’s wine festival in Skopje

Now  I wonder what reds Lynne saw in Devon and elsewhere?