Lately I’ve been flipping through more magazines and illustrative books and texts than I ever really have before. Seeing other people who are currently creatively active and those who have been successfully printed somehow gives me the “creative feels.” The one thing I happen to notice more as I develop as an artist and study those within my field is the importance of the color palette. How often have I painted a picture, designed graphically, or illustrated digitally without even considering this part of my work.

Color effects the world every single day psychologically and emotionally without us even having to think twice about it. So it’s understandable why this is such an important aspect of any piece of artwork. For me, my color palette comes almost naturally, without systematically thinking about it I’m always drawn to the same colors every time.

I think it’s important to grasp the basic concepts of color theory but I don’t think it’s vital in deciding your own palette. When I see classmates artwork at critiques or view artwork by an artist I’m familiar with, I see them through their work. To me, they are a literal, interact able, and tangible representation of what they are portraying in their art. I make this connection between the artist and their art instinctively, by noticing things such as the colors they choose to dress themselves in. The colors we choose to use are almost always represented in the clothing we wear, the accessories we choose, the color and pattern of sneakers we buy when there are millions to choose from, etc.

So this week as I’m working on some projects my goal is to take the time to consider my color palette and make sure it’s representing me. I’m not going overthink it, forgot the connotations, and if I’m stuck between choosing colors, I’ll just look down at what I’m wearing, it’ll most likely give me the color I’m looking for.