I found this great post at DEVKICK with a nice selection of posters and other artwork from the golden ages (1950-1970) of European graphic design. And, of course, great design means great color... check out the inspiring work below, and click over to the original post for more.

We've mentioned him before: Dale Chihuly, but along with his talent there are many other incredible glass artist to inspire us with their sense and taste of color.

Chihuly, together with Harvey Littleton, Dominick Labino and Marvin Lipofsky have been credited with starting the studio glass movement in the United States by creating small-scale furnaces for the use of glass as an artistic medium. The other artist featured, Bob Crooks, is perhaps the best known glass blower in the UK at present. Each of these artist have mastered their craft over long careers as prominent glass makers and their work continues to be an inspiration today.

Colors in Glass

Colors in glass may be obtained by addition of coloring ions and by precipitation of finely dispersed colloides (such as in "ruby gold", white tin oxide glass, red "selenium ruby"). Ordinary soda-lime glass appears colorless to the naked eye when it is thin, although iron oxide impurities produce a green tint which can be viewed in thick pieces or with the aid of scientific instruments. Further metals and metal oxides can be added to glass during its manufacture to change its color which can enhance its aesthetic appeal. Examples of these additives are listed below:

Dale Chihuly

chihuly.com

In recognition of the economic downturn, due to the the United States' housing market correction and subprime mortgage crisis, we thought we'd take a look at one of the other great downturns in modern economics, the great depression, to see if there is some hopeful inspiration that we can look forward to just in case we don't get bailed out at soon as we think.

While most people's perception of the great depression are grim images in black and white, due to most photographers of the time using only monochromatic film, some color photos do exist. And thanks to a historian who in 1978 discovered 700 incorrectly filed color pictures from the depression era taken for the Farm Security Administration in the archives of the Library of Congress, we can get a fresh look at the colors of American history.

When an area becomes over saturated with water from rain, snowfall, or in the case of these inspirational images: geysers, urbanized non-porous areas (i.e. parking lots), mines and some industrial drainage pipes, runoff is created. Runoff can be potentially harmful to, well, everything, as pollutants can be carried off into the water systems. While some runoff is just a signal that iron rich rocks and soils are in the area or there is a geyser filled with hyperthermophiles nearby, whatever the source, the associated stream of unexpected color running through a naturally colored setting illuminating its path from a source not seen, is both a great inspiration and a drab reminder of our impact on the earth and the necessity for us to realize what these sources are.

Brad Troemel

tromasbronot

paul goyette

Pro-Zak

that_james

ARKNTINA

The Joy Of The Mundane

The Joy Of The Mundane

While the color coral may be defined as hex FF7F50, the colors of the real organism range across the spectrum giving bright contrast to the blue ocean waters.

Recent research has revealed some interesting facts about how coral and their symbiotic partners the plankton:

Corals are fascinating animals that form the largest biological constructions in the world, sprawling coral reefs that cover less than 0.2 % of the seafloor yet provide habitats for more than 30% of marine life. In shallow waters that don't have abundant food, corals have developed a close relationship with small photosynthetic critters called dinoflagellates.

cloning girl

The dinoflagellates use sunlight to produce energy for the coral, which in turn use that energy to construct mineralized skeletons for protection. The mineral production, known as coral calcification, is closely tied with the day/night cycle, though the molecular mechanism behind this synchronization is mysterious.
- Science Daily

Keka ;)


Tom Weilenmann

Kelvin Chu


Wikipedia

More than just a musical fruit, beans are also a great source of inspiration because of their widely varying colors. Commonly referring to the seeds of plants in the Fabaceae (formely Leguminosae) family, but also the developed pods or plants, beans are part of a family that includes 730 genera and over 19,400 species. Today, we look to those tasty seeds for palette and color inspiration. And, if you're trying to come up with a new recipe for a 20 or so bean soup, click on the images to learn more about many of the beans.

Cannelini beans

Digital art is becoming hyper realistic, not just in duplicating real scenes life but also in painting vivid pictures of what fantasy worlds would look like. Feature films and the exploding world of video games are beginning to show what talent, creativity and hard work can produce with CG... Expect even more mind blowing creations to be reaching you on the big screen and in your consoles soon.

I love showcasing the work of creative people and the work below caught my eye as I was browsing the community over at CG Hub. As a COLOURlover, I especially appreciate how the use of color can dramatically affect the mood or energy of art...

Many of the images below have been cropped from much bigger images. Make sure to click through to see the artwork at high-res and full glory.

Asian Suburbia by AndreeWallin

Alien Abduction by Stahlberg

Wood of Light by MaximeDesmettre

Gopher Broke by Fowltown

Study of Verity Jane by Lucong

Camouflage is a method of cryptic or concealing coloration that allows an otherwise visible organism or object to remain indiscernible from the surrounding environment through deception. Nineteenth century armies tended to use bright colors and bold, impressive designs. These were intended to daunt the enemy, attract recruits, foster unit cohesion, or allow easier identification of units in the fog of war.

It wasn’t until the 18th century that the intent of camouflage started to disrupt an
outline by merging it with the surroundings, making a harder target to spot or hit.
Different countries have undergone different evolutionary stages towards the
development of military camouflage.

Here is an assortment of camouflage from around the world, chosen for their unusual patterns or colors.

Fleck pattern used by the Belgian Army

DPM pattern used by the Bulgarian troops deployed to SFOR (Bosnia) and KFOR (Kosovo)

CSSR Leibermuster pattern used by Czechoslovakian airborne troops and special forces during the 1960’s

Denmark T78 pattern introduced in Denmark in 1978 for tests.

Lizard pattern used by troops of the Northern Alliance who fought the Taliban regime in Afghanistan

Lizard pattern from Namibia

S. Korean Military Academy pattern worn during Military Training classes in South Korean high schools during the 1970’s and 80’s

Coverall pattern used by the Hungarian army and Border Guards (Ministry of Interior)

Czech desert pattern

Ocean Camo pattern used by the Chinese Marines and Navy

Inspiration can be found everywhere we look, and if you happen to have been staring at a candle last night you might have been inspired by the intriguing colors of a flame.

The color and temperature of a flame are dependent on the type of fuel and amount of soot present in the combustion. A red flame is the coolest part, then as the temperature rises it changes to orange, yellow, and finally to white, being the hottest part. A blue flame will appear if the concentration of oxygen is high enough and creates enough energy to excite and ionize gas molecules in the flame. It can be seen near the base of candles where airborne soot is less concentrated.

Photo by wikipedia

Different flame types of a Bunsen burner depend on oxygen supply. On the left a rich fuel with no premixed oxygen produces a yellow sooty diffusion flame; on the right a lean fully oxygen premixed flame produces no soot and the flame color is produced by molecular radicals, especially CH and C2 band emission. The purple color is an artifact of the photographic process.

Flame Colors

Flame color depends on several factors, the most important typically being blackbody radiation and spectral band emission, with both spectral line emission and spectral line absorption playing smaller roles. In the most common type of flame, hydrocarbon flames, the most important factor determining color is oxygen supply and the extent of fuel-oxygen "pre-mixture", which determines the rate of combustion and thus the temperature and reaction paths, thereby producing different color hues.

Yellow Flame

Photo by young_einstein

In a laboratory under normal gravity conditions and with a closed oxygen valve, a Bunsen burner burns with yellow flame (also called a safety flame) at around 1,000°C. This is due to incandescence of very fine soot particles that are produced in the flame.

Blue Flame

Photo by Jeremy Brooks

With the official start of fall (September 22nd) quickly approaching, we thought it was time to check out this year's fall color predictions from a few different sources, and watch to see what color actually appear this upcoming season.

So, today were going to take a look at the colors from the Pantone Fashion Color Report fall 2008, the current top colors on COLOURlovers, along with mother nature's picks.

Pantone Color Report fall 2008 vs Current CL Top Colors

They may have been officially decided during fashion week back in February by some of the top designers and Pantone's experts, but we all know that fashion designers are not the only ones picking the colors. Surprises from the streets, pulled from thrift and vintage shops, along with those forgotten colors buried in the back of unorganized closets, and others, pulled from the pile you swore three months ago you were going to donate, all reemerge bringing unexpected colors to the season.

Here at COLOURlovers we decide when fall actually roles around and we can look to see what everyone thinks are the current best colors. And since the fall is technically not here yet, maybe we can assume that the current top CL colors are still a little warm, and we'll see some of these colors cool down while others emerge on top as September 22nd roles around.

"Serving as a wonderful base color, Shady Glade delivers a natural elegance to the fall palette. Taking green in an interesting direction with its true green characteristics, this hue is a departure from greens of seasons past, which have had distinctively yellow undertones."

Nothing says love like the green surgical gloves of a doctor going inside you body holding a very sharp tool.

"Twilight Blue, a twist on a classic navy, shows the transitional aspect of spring segueing into fall."

The perfect color for hiding from any sort of witch on a cold fall night. Just make sure you know which witch is which.

“Blue Iris, a beautifully balanced blue with an undertone of purple, is a favorite among designers, as it combines the calming aspects of blue with the mystical and spiritual qualities of purple.”

It's close to blue iris, but a little bolder, like if the ball rolled over the blue irises.

“Reds are a steadfast favorite for fall and Aurora Red is no exception. Versatile and universally appealing, this true red adds a splash of energy to the palette.”

It's close to a mix of Aurora Red and Burnt Orange but maybe with a little Barry White, a fireplace and a chilly fall evening thrown in.