How to Use the Colors of the Year

Tangerine Tango? Radiant Orchid? Marsala?

(here are the #1 colors of the last 3 years used together)

#ColoroftheYear

Colors come and colors go - the color industry declaring what is hot right now and the fashion, home decor, beauty product industries scrambling to keep up by issuing new clothing, new jewelry, new paint, new pillows and towels, nail polish... This is of course designed to keep us buying!

But how do we keep up? What if we really love the colors from 2 years ago? What if our wardrobe is filled with last years 'Radiant Orchid' (2013), our dining room painted with a bright red wall from oh sometime in the early 2000s, our living room brightened up with accents of 'Tangerine Tango' (2012). How does the new 'Marsala' (2015) fit in?

My #1 Mantra: Define your color palette, the one that makes you feel happy, comfortable, energized, the colors that make you light up from within. Surround yourself with 'Your Colors', stick with them whether they are 'in' or not. Then - only after you feel good - for a bit of fun, throw in accents of the Color du Jour.

But, you ask, what if the Color of the Year doesn't go with my color palette?

This is the fun part!

My #2 Mantra: All colors (can) go together! Yup - even if they are very far apart and look off when viewed side by side by their selves. The key is what you put with them!

I go into a lot more depth in my eBooks: Artful Color for Creative Projects and Dip Into ColorDip Into Color - but here is the heart of pulling colors together - add transition colors, the ones that guide your eye from one color to the next and voila! they all look good together!

Have fun pulling colors together and adding accents of the Color of the Year to your palette!

Color Inspiration - Mustard Plant

Color Inspiration with 2015 Color of the Year - Marsala (4th from left)

This little Mustard plant self seeded itself next to some bright green Euphorbia in my garden last spring.

Color Inspiration - Lavender Glass

A small section of one of my paintings - the colors inspired by old lavender bottles on my window sill - I love the touches of rust on the glass and wonder where the bottles were before they came into my possession.

Where do you get your Color Inspiration?

Color Inspiration - Swirling Snow

Swirling Snow
Actually swirling camera as the snow fell on our garden arch that my son covered with twinkling lights

Color Inspiration - Pink Climbing Rose

This heavenly scented climbing rose has such delicate shades of green and blush - Nature yet again giving us a lovely complementary palette

Artful Color for Creative Projects

Color Inspiration - Lavender and Thyme

Lavender and Thyme are spilling over our garden paths releasing their heady fragrance as we brush against them!

A lovely Split Complementary color combo for you to play with

For more color palettes: Artful Color for Creative Projects

Color Inspiration - Pink African Daisy

The color combo in this photo is so unique - adding a bit of grey-blue to the traditional complement of purple and gold, I just had to create a color swatch - hope you enjoy!

For an entire book of Color Inspiration - pick up a copy of Artful Color for Creative Projects

Color Inspiration - Romantic Lilac

The last of my lilacs have faded, the end of a glorious month of heavy fragrance. 

For more color palettes: Artful Color For Creative Projects

Color Inspiration - Scratched Paint

 

 (color palette in various mediums)

Artwork created for fabric sublimation provided color inspiration for other projects

Color Inspiration - Garden Tools

Color is everywhere, but sometimes so subtle we don't realize that our eyes are picking up nuances of color in every day objects.

This simple tool bench vignette provides a soft, cool earthy palette which would be stunning in a room (imagine soft grey-blue walls, taupe furniture, a chocolate rug and a splash of terracotta in a pillow or painting), or in an elegant piece of jewelry (smoky quartz, carnelian and kyanite) or...

For more color inspiration

Color Inspiration - Pink Chairs in Holland

Feeling Pink - Shop in Holland in all shades of pink!

See what I have created with this palette in Artful Color for Creative Projects

Color Inspiration - Lavender Poppies

A mix of teal and purple with just a hint of copper thrown in for pop.

Another way to use the #Coloroftheyear Radiant Orchid

Add a Pop of Color!

Color Inspiration - Painted Poppy Pods

I painted this piece for a client who loves purple and teal in muted, earthy undertones.  I used various values and saturation levels, but felt I needed something more to make the palette pop. By consulting my color wheel, I realized that just a hint of cool gold would help create more movement and interest, yet still work within her color palette.

Color Inspiration - MT's Tail Light

My friend Michael Tomlinson - singer, songwriter, comedian, story teller, humanitarian... keeps me giggling with his tall tales (for some laughs read his facebook stories).

He also has an affinity for old vehicles. Don't you just love the colors of this one? Yellow and red with a smattering of rust, and even some mauve spider webs thrown in!

Color Inspiration - Cafe Latte

Look for Color Inspiration all around you!
An artful cup of coffee at our local coffee house
(see what I created with this color palette in Artful Color Inspiration)

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Color Inspiration

Color Inspiration: Paper Iris

Use Pantone's New Color of the Year: Radiant Orchid in new and lovely ways!
Here is my idea of some colors to use with it (Radiant Orchid is 6th from the right)

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Color Inspiration - Guitar Pedals

This beautiful display is in the Seattle EMP Museum - while the guys were interested in the music, I was completely distracted by the light and color!

p.s. This image is available as a mouse pad (any guitarists in your life that need a shot of inspiration?)
http://www.gilbertdesigns.net/mousepads.html

Color Inspiration - Dahlia Bud

This lovely dahlia was in a pot at Ravenna Garden Center over the summer. I got in close and moved around until a delightful teal pot filled the background. I love the bit of warm gold thrown in with the cool teal and magenta - the combo makes me happy!

How do these colors make you feel?

Color Inspiration - Guitar Pedals

A wall of pedals at Seattle's EMP glows with color.

Would love to see what you make out of this color palette!

Color Inspiration - Purple Ornament

I hope your Holidays are colorful!