Artwork in Writer

[Nels]

I have been working on creating pages in writer of text and pictures, exporting in pdf, converting to common graphic format, and ultimately viewing them in a slideshow.

Is there any way to expand the colors available in format>page>background.. Is there a way I can chose a color in Gimp and import it so that its available in ooo?

Another question: There are bi-colored fonts available in Fontwork, is there a way to shade fonts?

Where would I find tutorials on this kind of stuff, creating attractive pages with text, pictures and colors?
Perhaps another program is more appropriate, but I'm already 3/4 through the project, so I hope it will, at least, be compatible.