Updated May 14, 2019.
ColorSnap is a free on-line service from Sherwin-Williams Paints.
Find an image URL you like and enter it in the box, click and you’ll get back a set of color chips matched to Sherwin-Williams paints.
While it’s designed to help you put together a coordinated paint scheme for a room, that set of chips can be the start of so many other things.
a set of colors for a geometric design
a way to change colors on a painted canvas
the start of a color scheme for a large stitch sampler (like the upcoming projects from CyberPointers)
a color sequence for Bargello
finding the paint colors to set off that needlepoint perfectly
finding the perfect color for a mat or backing fabric
I’m currently intrigued by the art of Hasui, a 20th-Century Japanese woodblock artist who worked in the traditional Ukiyo-e style. So I started with the piece of a temple in cherry blossoms pictured here. I just loved the contrast of the flowers with the bold red of the temple.
But how would I translate that to the abstract colors of Bargello?
Here’s the result. While I’m disappointed because it didn’t pick up that wonderful red (probably not a paint color), I do see something I can use here. Notice that, just as in the original print, pink is just an accent against a more neutral background.
Why not do a line Bargello with wide stripes of lines of teal and gray interspersed with single lines alternating between pink and red? Could be very interesting.
This is a useful color tool, especially if you understand its limitations. You won’t find colors here that don’t exist in paint. It’s going to bring out the lighter colors, neutrals, and muted shades common to paint. But since our needlepoint lives in our homes, this isn’t a bad thing.
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
Hi Janet,
I wonder if you could resubmit the photo but just crop the image so that the red is more prominent? That might cause the Sherwin-Williams program to read the red in the design.
I’ve bookmarked the site as it is a great needleworker’s tool.
Happy stitching,
Marlene
My thinking is that since it’s designed to find paint colors, it won’t pick up colors where there isn’t a matching paint if there are enough other colors in the piece.
Like most tools you need to adapt, knowing what’s it’s designed to do helps understand the limits.
Keep Stitching,
Janet