Color

Sometimes an eight-cent bumper sticker can speak volumes.Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke has been distributing a bumper sticker for his re-election bid in the tri-colors long associated with African-American pride. "Mayor Schmoke Makes Us Proud," it reads.Politicians have always made unique appeals to their own and to other ethnic groups. The Italians are awash in blarney on St. Patrick's Day and gentile pols stress pro-Israel positions in the Jewish neighborhoods. So what's wrong with Baltimore's first elected black mayor reaching out to voters in this majority black city?

We've chosen cherry cabinetry in a medium color as the first step in remodeling our kitchen and breakfast area. What should we do about the flooring and countertops? I've seen wood-planked flooring in a color similar to the cabinetry, but it's quite expensive. We want to give the space a cheerful and contemporary look. Since you seem partial to wood, I suggest you think hard about planked flooring, though not in a color similar to your cherry cabinetry. Keep in mind that hardwood floors can actually prove an economical choice, given their durability and ease of maintenance.

EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. - I woke up this morning in a cold sweat because I didn't know what color it was. I used to question the weather upon awakening. But since the color-coded Homeland Security Advisory System was devised, all I want to know is what's the color of the day. It's a whole lot more comfortable with my head in the sand. But I, like my fellow Americans, now realize that terrorists abound and can plan all kinds of heinous activities against our people. And that includes me. Just about the time I was beginning to lull myself into an obviously false sense of security, the color-coded system brought new terror to my heart.

I have no confidence at all when it comes to buying clothes, and I might as well be colorblind. I'm so insecure, I always stick to neutrals.I go for grays and beiges as well as those other safe colors, black and brown.My sister constantly nags me about it. Her latest approach has been to buy me what she wants me to wear.For fall, she gave me a red coat, saying, "At the very least dress up those boring colors."I actually like the coat, but I don't know whether this is right for me.Can I wear it with my beige suits and other neutrals?

Oh, NOW I understand. The key to the bigotry of the GeorgeLincoln Rockwells and Saddam Husseins lies not in their souls but in their coloring books.2 And pass me the David Duke Pure White, please.Linda L.S. Schulte stays within the lines of Laurel.

A major pleasure of Deborah Donelson's work is that it doesn't stagnate. She continues to develop, as her current exhibit at Gomez Gallery proves.In the early 1990s, her paintings were concerned with a search for self. Then, in her 1995 show, some paintings exhibited a new sense of self-worth and confidence, while others explored subjects in the history of art and literature. That show also demonstrated her control and mastery of color.In her seven paintings at Gomez, she appears interested in exploring color for its own sake, in an abstract way. Her pictures are still representational, are still populated with women and can have themes.

Color is one fashion message that has certainly got through to women this fall. Everywhere you look, the eye catches a flash of some strong shade like orange, apricot, acid green, deep blue, hot pink, yellow, lacquer red or deep purple.Adventuresome fashion types are having a great time experimenting with combinations of two or more of these high tones in one outfit. Even women who live by the rule of black or beige seem to be adding a touch of spicy color to their wardrobes.What is interesting is how well many of these intense tones work on women of different hair colorings and complexions.

IJUST READ a gorgeous book. Fascinating to read, but also gorgeous. ''Romare Bearden: His Life and Art,'' by Myron Scwartzman. The fascinating part has to do with the stories Bearden told Mr. Schwartzman, a Baruch College English professor and jazz pianist, over a six-year period. The gorgeous part is obvious when you stop to look at the pictures -- 250 in all, 120 in glorious, living color.And color is what the work of Romare Bearden is all about.Bearden, great-grandson of slaves, was a son of the South who spent his boyhood watching it re-impose harsh racial mores after the progress at the turn of the century.

Color is one of the simplest and yet most profound ways human beings have of shaping their surroundings to suit their style, taste and whim. Color can suggest a sense of history (Williamsburg blue), a sense of place (Provencal yellow), an era (mauve, the Gilded Age; turquoise, the 1950s), a discipline (minimalist white), a sport (black and orange), a gender (pink or blue). It can lift or soothe the spirits, whisper conformity or scream eccentricity. But how many of us really know how to use it?

WHILE YOU SLEPT, the colors have changed. Not on the trees. In the fall mail-order catalogues.Remember how proud you were when you learned that ecru was basically an off-white? Well, ecru, named after the small French animal from whose leavings the color is distilled, is now on the passe color list. My catalogues from J. Crew, Tweeds and other upscale schmutterfloggers, barely use the term. Garments are no longer listed in white or ecru. White sweaters are now snow, winter or limestone. Off-white is now parchment, lava, quartz, bone, shell or ale.I swear, I am not making any of this up.Slightly darker tones, moving to what the unenlightened might call tan, are now sand, mortar, feather, rattan, palomino, thorn, mushroom and creme.