Gretchen Jakub Fabre

Here is the fourth of a wee series of artist interviews based on the colours of the rainbow! It has been a fun project. What impact did each colour have on the artist's life. What is the strongest memory or association with it.



Gretchen aka Chichiboulie as she is more commonly known, lives in Lille, France close to the Belgium border. (Chichiboulie is a name her husband calls her, a quirky derivative of cherie, xo) Gretchen has a charming and light touch, creating images for young children and the young at heart. She lives with three busy little children and you can read about her life with them and her day to day adventures HERE. She also creates embroidery patterns and stamps!
This is her etsy shop and here is her formal website


Colouring books


Nellie Belle badges


Pippa, paper doll

And here are Gretchen's colours......"Here you go! thank you for the interview. It was a fun one to do, but indigo really stumped me!"


Red - one of my favourite colours! So rich and bright and lively, I just love it! But only if it's a true red, a real cherry or watermelon red. Not orangey red at all for me. There's nothing wishy-washy about this true red in my mind. It's there and it definitely makes a statement. Red dresses, red shoes, red flowers, red scarves. All so classic and yet modern.

Orange - This is a more recent love for me. It used to remind me too much of the 70s and drab or oddly coloured kitchens and marigolds, not my favourite flower at all. But over the past few years I've come around to orange and discovered its vibrance. I love it with pink and peridot. It's such a happy colour in the end.

Yellow - Another colour I ignore a bit too often, but I put it down to my having blond hair and thus not wearing a lot of yellow. But I love a deep yellow, semolina coloured, the colour of Provence and Tuscany. A deep yellow is sunshine on a grey day to me.

Green - With red, my other favourite. I have had a love affair with green since I was just wee. My first "real" bicycle was green. I had green carpenter jeans when I was little. I still know the words to "It's Not Easy Being Green" sung by the illustrious Kermit the Frog. Green is fresh and happy. It goes with just about everything so apparently nature has gotten it right!

Blue - The ocean and the sky. A bright summer day. A refreshing, relaxing, calming colour. Amsterdam blue is one of my all-time favourite colours and Amersterdam blue shutters are my favourites on white washed houses.

Indigo - This one is the most difficult for me and I've left it for last. I still don't have big associations with it except maybe a brand new pair of deep indigo trousers. Crisp and richly coloured, wide-legged and cropped and just perfect for summertime.

Violet - admittedly not one of my favourite colours personally. I like my purples more on the blue side, but if I had to link violet to someone or something, it would be to my mother and her love of it! I think you can't think of this smiling woman who I often refer to (sorry mum) as a munchkin straight out of The Wizard of Oz without coming round to violet at some point.