Actually, his palette is small when you think about it: the clothing of
Tolkien's Elves, which Tolkien was very specific and detailed about, were
almost exclusively colored white (not technically a color), grey, silver in
ornamentation, or blue. An occasional Elf wore green or brown--I can only think
of Legolas off the top, and black is reserved for Eol and of course,
Sauron and the like.
But to me the colors he used to describe nature "a black wind" "grey grass"
"silver rain" "silver dawn" "white stars" "pale dawn"--these colors of nature
so perfectly with such a quiet power create very clearly the tone and
mood. He uses more of these colors in the Sil, as it is a tale w/many
more Elves than LOTR. Also note-when he uses red, it is almost always linked to
violence, or a weapon of war.
Yellow and green are more often used w/specific flowers and trees.
**And Arwen's LIME green dress in the TTT preview is just not
Tolkien!
"...and that first hour in which he shone, the white glimmer of a silver dawn..." "And the bright stars shone as silver fires." "...as a white cloud exceeding swift beneath the moon, as a star...a pale flame on the wings of a storm."
"Red as blood shone their swords."
