Michelle Obama, Master Colorist and Me

There is a riot of color issuing forth from the First Lady's closet and I cannot wait to see what she wears next. Say what you will about whether or not it was "appropriate" to wear a cardigan to meet the Queen or whether that balloon skirt was flattering, Michelle Obama is a Master Colorist -- and I as well as my artist friends could not be more ecstatic.

A Collage of Michelle Recent Outfits

A woman's journey through fashion is a life cycle in and of itself. As I look at the bold strokes of Michelle's color sense today I reflect upon Michelle's journey in fashion and color as one that might parallel my own and other women like her.

Behold Matisse

As a young girl, I thought of fashion and color as a means to make myself more attractive to the opposite sex. My grandmother once told me, "Red and yellow, catch a fellow; pink and blue, keep him true." My entire sense of fashion was about sexualization and objectification. I essentially wanted to make myself look pretty for the boys I had crushes on. At camp I would look at Seventeen, Vogue, Cosmo and Bazaar. But when I went to college, I got serious about my studies and great literature and momentarily shunned fashion or looked down upon caring too much about it. This was not just because I didn't have any money to pay for it. It was also due to the culture inside the Ivory Tower -- and I believe many other Ivy League-type schools -- which mostly eschews fashion in exchange for the idea that the main purpose of our bodies is to provide a container for our brains. So while I may have I swooned over the finery described in words during a Proustian night at the Opera, fashion stayed in my head whereas Levi's, a comfortable Gap t-shirt and a cool leather jacket was my uniform.

Obama, Matisse and J. Crew

It is often after women leave the university and enter the workforce that a different sense of fashion emerges and we pick up the magazines again, first for ideas and then reading them with new eyes. I started to become more cognizant of fashion as a language. Navigating the workforce was confining for me at first and my leftover sexy sense of fashion led to unwanted passes. Even though my first job was in the design industry, it was a very macho, male-dominated environment, not unlike Mad Men. There was a need to balance looking creative, smart and tough if you were to be taken seriously. I opted for a reinvention/upgrade of my student self and learned that black boots or heels and a crisp white shirt is better for negotiating a room full of men. I lived in San Francisco. It was often grey and cloudy. And with the exception of an occasional red sweater, most of my wardrobe was black. It was very easy to go shopping. While I only touched color with cool scarves, I had unwittingly become a student of the silhouette. Languages, after all, must be learned one word and one phrase at a time.

Obama, Cezanne, Narcisso Rodriguez

And this is where a lot of us working girls sleep walk well into our late twenties. We're finally earning money and can afford a fabulous shoe. For me, I had moved to Los Angeles and the working girl uniform from San Francisco was no longer cutting it. (The different fashion styles of San Francisco and Los Angeles is a subject in and of itself.) I suddenly no longer saw fashion as a weapon of either sexuality or power in the work place, but rather as a universe of fabric, texture, color just as vibrant as the ones on my palette in the studio. I often dived into one color at a time, learning what works, what makes sense together and what looks best on me. After gaining a certain confidence, women learn to really celebrate themselves and life itself through what they choose to wear. That is what Michelle Obama is doing with color and so much more.

Obama, Matisse

In reality, a woman's journey in color and fashion is a sign of a healthy society. All the most oppressive regimes towards women cover them in black. I don't care what the faux religious excuses of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Afghanistan are. The silence of color in an entire culture is emblematic of the suppression of women's spirit and influence on it's culture. Michelle Obama's use of color and fashion is empowering and enlightening to the women in this country. It is the fashion equivalent of Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass" and awakens in all of us the beauty of life and every day. As an artist, I am doubly appreciative of splashes of chartreuse and yellow, purple and green as fly across my television and computer screen. As an American Woman, I am filled with pride and hope it spreads like a California Wildfire.

***

First Person Artist is a weekly column by artist Kimberly Brooks in which she provides commentary on the creative process, technology and showcases artists' work from around the world. Paintings from Brooks' recent series, "Technicolor Summer", will be on view at the Tarryn Teresa Gallery April 10 in a show curated by Yasmine Mohseni. Come back every Monday for more Kimberly Brooks.

*Follow HuffPostLiving on Twitter and become a fan of Huffington Post Living on Facebook*

Comments

[devadasi]

Beautifully put together post and collage.....thank you! Loved the way you weaved the first lady, fine art, and color therapy into a very interesting art piece.

[jian1312]

I distinctly remember the one dominant color of my childhood in China - gray - before we opened our doors to the world. What we wear and what colors we use is an expression of who we are or who we aspire to be.

The First Lady, who incidentally isn't a poster lady of what the ultimate 'beautiful woman' is according to the fashion industry and media, shows the world that she knows who she is and she's not afraid to express it in how she dresses.

I think that's the most valuable lesson we can take from her. It's a little bit sad (or funny sometimes) to read that J-Crew's website would crash as too many rush to buy whatever she was wearing. But isn't that missing the whole point? I thought the point is to know who you are, what your strength is, and to not be afraid to highlight it; to have your own style, your sense of self. I'd think the last thing the First Lady wants is for every woman to try and imitate her style and to dress like her. There is no ugly woman in the world, we all have our 'assets'; the trick is to find it and to show it off, regardless of what the current fashion or trend or fad is.

[Democrab]

She really is a beautiful, awe inspiring first lady and her colors are so attractive. Nice article, thanks.

[myna]

Ms. Brooks, if you add to this piece for don't forget that smokin' coral-orange dress she wore for their first visit to the White House, when the Bushes still live there.

[Ange-Marie Hancock]

Hi Kimberly - Love the article! We chatted about it a few weeks back @ the Elizabeth Alexander reception and it was definitely worth the wait! Look forward to reading more, AMH

[2morrowKnight]

This is a very, very good piece Ms. Brooks. You weren't on my HUFFPO radar before this one, but you are now!

Just a question: since you're an artist, have you ever thought about illustrating children's books? You have serious artistic perspective.

[seattle music]

When I lived in the Los Angeles (1999 to 2003), black was THE color everyone wore to parties and evening events (the arts and theater crowd, not Hollywood).

Of course, as soon as I figured this out I leaned into wearing head-to-toe hot pink, orange, red, etc. to every event. I stood out so much that people would cross the room to find out who I was and why I was wearing all that COLOR. I was like a flare on a black road in the night.

It amused the heck out of me to draw attention away from younger, prettier women with better figures simply by holding my head up in hot pink and giving no ground to the we-are-wearing-black style-dictators.

Being yourself (I love bright color, especially red paired with orange or fuchsia paired with orange or turquoise paired with lavender) is so much fun that I can imagine Michelle Obama being tempted to say to herself, "Hmmmm...what can I wear that I love and that will also set the fashion critics spluttering?"

Michelle: go ahead and tweak their noses from time to time. You're beautiful and you deserve to have some fun with all this silly hyper-attention.

[eden4barack08]

Love your comment.

[pattibythebay]

Great article about Michelle. I also have enjoyed her use of color in her wardrobe. It has been fun to watch and she handles it all with great aplomb.

[nocoward]

I love bright colours

[Aesthete]

As an watercolor artist who is also descended from a long line of quilt makers, I really appreciated this article.

[propitiousmoment]

Beautiful insights, beautifully expressed.

[Gmoney1]

First Lady Michelle appreciates the colors of and in this world - she's appreciated for her ability to exhibit and understand - from all that she is doing , she has a healthly look at life - love that she also can appreciate foods grown from the good earth - Michelle Rocks -

[apoyo]

As a quilter, I love color. Sometimes colors that "clash" when seen up close become a true color symphony when viewed as part of a whole.

That said, we should not view First Lady Michelle as a canvas.
She is a lovely real human being who dresses as she sees fit.

[mattdonahue]

Other than the fact that the painting (Harlequin) labeled as "Picasso" is actually Cézanne, this is a very interesting article. Finally a unique approach to analyzing Mrs. Obama's clothing choice.

[eden4barack08]

Look again...it's labeled Cezanne.

[24kgold]

I am a artist too and I think that this is the best Article that has been written about Michelle and it fits her perfectly because color displays happiness and confidence which Michelle has. After hearing people in the US down our First Lady all week it is refreshing for someone to write something so beautiful Ms. Kimberly Brooks.

"The silence of color in an entire culture is emblematic of the suppression of women's spirit and influence on it's culture."

So very true!

[Gabrielle De Four]

I second this motion and would like to reiterate Mrs.O's great use of color and contrast. I live in the Caribbean and I'm also an artist. Where I come from and what I do are extensions of myself. Combining color & texture are good ways of non-verbal expression that help you relate to others and them to you. Obviously, from the wide range of both that Mrs.O has she is more in touch with her TRUE self than most of us are.

And I appreciate that very much...