Whenever I give my speech, “The Art Of Looking Like Yourself ,” I’m often asked, “why are there are so many names for each season?” The reason is hard to explain to the uninitiated, because unless you do Personal Color Analysis in the Caygill system, you won’t speak the same language; there’s no common currency for understanding my answer. But …
Jewel Tone Summer – Beautiful Irina
It’s the first day of December, but my mind is not on autumn. Before me is a woman who perfectly exemplifies the sub-type, Jewel Tone Summer. These vision boards focus on Neo-Victorian, Victorian, and Steampunk historical periods for her aesthetic direction: two are aspirational, the others more practical. It can be helpful for clients to be able to reference …
The Iridescent Summer – They Are Not All Alike
Some time ago, this beautiful young woman came to my studio by way of her sister, Paige. The blog post about Paige, a Mermaid Summer is here. Brooke tagged along and enjoyed watching the process so much she decide to have her colors done as well. The challenge here was that the Brooke looked so much like her sister Paige, and …
The Autumn Spirit: Susanne Caygill and David Leffel
My favorite autumnal painter, David Leffel, is a master teacher and painter. His ability to arrange simple objects, then paint the light is legend. All of his paintings, like any good painting, are about the same subject: light. I only met him once… yet, I know him. I studied with one of his students, Greg Drinkwine, and spent hours at …
The Exquisite Nature Of The Mermaid Summer
Here is a Mermaid Summer. She has warm and cool color vibrations which create the iridescent quality so typical of this seasonal subtype. There is something quietly remarkable about her. She is not “siren” like or dangerously alluring like the women in the Waterhouse painting “Ulysses Returns” (detail below). Quietly charismatic and enchanting is how I think of her. She …
The Sandy Spring
Here is a beauty type that exemplifies the most commonly admired aesthetic in the U.S. and particularly in the city where she resides, Los Angeles. Natural blonde hair, blue/green eyes, golden tan skin typifies the “California girl” all the way. She leads a sporty life, walking her dogs along the beach before work in a doctor’s office. Luckily, some …
The Lush Elegance Of A Tropical Winter
After weeks of Summer and Autumn clients, I was fascinated by this Winter woman’s appearance and presence. As a set designer, and visual person, she knows herself visually already. She has the energy and the visual hallmarks of a true Winter. The feeling I get from her: an air of serenity, sureness, and containment. I use the analogy of the …
The English Summer Gentleman
The English Summer Gentleman Here is the classic Jewel Tone palette for a gentleman. He has Alizarin Crimson based skin tone for which I had to paint custom swatches before understanding his skin tone. Very cool coloring with warm Burnt Umber based hair and eyes. So cool skin, relatively dark, warm eyes and hair. His vibe is true to the …
The Pewter Autumn
One of the great pleasures of my work is getting to meet extraordinarily wonderful people. My client that I’m showcasing here is a Pewter Autumn that holds the intention to empower others. And she does that like all great teachers quite effortlessly. She just shows up and the energy in the room shifts to match her unshakeable groundedness and calm …
The Visual Language Of Color Analysis Part 2: The Exotic Winter
Beauty follows form and in the case of Personal Color Analysis, we work from the premise that everyone is unique and when your outward appearance reflects this “core” essence the more you look like yourself. Here is a young, Exotic Winter type who knows who she is. And yet, some of her palette colors expand her beyond who she is …