In literature, "putty" is often employed as a color to evoke a muted, earthy tone that suggests pallor or an unremarkable, even bleak, quality. Authors describe faces and figures turning "the hue of putty"—a transformation that can hint at shock, dismay, or a lifeless aspect, as seen when a character’s face becomes the color of "new putty" [1] or when an individual is depicted as a "putty-colored" figure [2]. In some passages, the color is listed among soft, natural shades that lend a subtle, almost understated aesthetic [3], while other authors use it to convey an odd, unsettling quality in a character's appearance, such as a face "the colour of putty" [4] or one that "turned a sort of putty-color" with blue lips [5]. Even an old lady’s visage is noted as being "putty" [6], and a character’s expression is described as having "the hue of putty" [7]. Together, these examples illustrate how the color "putty" has been adapted in literature to evoke both physical descriptions and the emotional ambiance surrounding a character.
- Then I saw an awful rum expression come over him, and he grabbed at the pocket and his mouth fell open, and his face got the color of new putty.
— from The Human Boy by Eden Phillpotts
- He was a fat, puffing, putty-colored individual of fifty years, with a peculiar falsetto voice and a habit of perpetually snuffling.
— from The Crimson Conquest: A Romance of Pizarro and Peru by Charles B. (Charles Bradford) Hudson
- The colors are very good, especially the soft grays, tans, putty color, and taupe.
— from Furnishing the Home of Good Taste
A Brief Sketch of the Period Styles in Interior Decoration with Suggestions as to Their Employment in the Homes of Today by Lucy Abbot Throop
- "You would murder me?" Bellingham had half risen, and his face was the colour of putty.
— from Round the Red Lamp: Being Facts and Fancies of Medical Life by Arthur Conan Doyle
- To our surprise his hopeful tone had changed, and we found he had turned a sort of putty-color, with blue lips.
— from The Human Boy by Eden Phillpotts
- In the breakfast room she found but one guest besides herself, an old lady with a putty face.
— from Mary Louise and the Liberty Girls by L. Frank (Lyman Frank) Baum
- "What can we do?" asked Mr. Harley, his face the hue of putty.
— from The President: A Novel by Alfred Henry Lewis