It’s not a new year until the Pantone Colour of the Year is announced and in 2021, we’ve been gifted not one, but two colours: 13-0647 Illuminating Yellow and 17-5104 Ultimate Gray!

Although we loved 19-4052 Classic Blue from the very beginning, after a year like 2020, we’re ready for a makeover and we couldn’t be happier to work with a sparkling, sunny yellow in combination with a relaxing grey. Truly, a marriage made in colour-heaven, or as Pantone says; “conveying a message of strength and hopefulness that is both enduring and uplifting.”

Emboldening the spirit, Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute, explains that the colours “express a message of positivity supported by fortitude” – the perfect sentiment to bolster the start of the new year, that follows ‘that year’. No doubt this poised pair of tones will be on our minds as we look ahead to sunny days and continue to innovate, progress and find new ways of understanding the new normal.

Before we dive in, don’t forget that the colour-obsessed, interiors expert, Sophie Robinson will be sharing her insights on this year’s uplifting shades on Thursday 28 January, when she hosts an online talk on Pantone Colour of the Year, art and interiors. Click here to snap up your ticket.

Now, let us ‘illuminate’ your day with some of the best and brightest pieces from our online marketplace so that you too can find inspiration, hope and fortitude with new art on your walls.

PANTONE COLOUR OF THE YEAR ART, ILLUMINATING YELLOW AND ULTIMATE GRAY

TO THE END OF THE WORLD (AND BACK)

The energy, clarity and hope that a typical landscape painting possesses can perfectly capture our deeper feelings of thoughtfulness, as proven by Maria Jose Concha’s Noon Contemplation II and Rob Van Hoek’s The Sunset Sleeps – both depicting exquisite vast terrains. The bold shades of yellow and grey will enhance any space in your home and act as a friendly window into a far-off land, filled with the promise of warmer times and climes.

THE BEAUTY OF THE QUOTIDIAN

The beauty of the quotidian (or ‘every day’) is far from lost in Place by Venetia Norris and Lemon fest by Iona Sanders, whose still life pieces transform the most commonplace objects into delicate, intriguing masterpieces worthy of your wall space. Whether representing a simple bowl of lemons or the journey of how a plant grows, both works exude a warmth and vibrancy that’s bound to make a statement in your home, giving an onlooker, even for just a moment, a sense of place and calm.

AN ABSTRACT AFFAIR

Why not add the intimate and elusive lines of Giulio Centurelli’s Rigenerazione into your space and create a bold statement by way of colour and composition? Ambiguous in its simplicity, Centurelli’s profound approach would stand out on any wall. Alternatively, Lucas Biagini’s Bee fixates on material exploration, providing the perfect provocation of an emotional response. It’s a work which is bound to spark an interest in new visual experiences for any viewer.

FANTASTIC FIGURES

We love all of these figurative works for their engaging juxtaposition and narrative! From Gordon Ellis Brown’s diptych Tumbleweed II to the light-hearted eccentricity and relaxation of Dana Hong’s Just Another Day and Kate Boxer’s Elizabeth David, these works are sure to brighten up any corner of your home! Through composition, vitality and wit, these works maintain a grounding sense of narrative, so mix-and-match a few a tell a story across your walls.

PHOTOGRAPHIC WANDERLUST

Finally, why not travel to Italy from your own living room with Richard Heeps’ stunning Yellow Corridor Night, Milan in which Richard studies structural themes and captures the innate designful life-blood of the city. We think Richard’s work would be paired perfectly with Barry Cawston’s Midnight Visitor who takes a more cinematic approach with painterly qualities, for a striking vs. subtle gallery wall.

It’s fair to say that we rather like this year’s 13-0647 Illuminating Yellow and 17-5104 Ultimate Gray and can’t wait to bring a pop of the uplifting twosome into our own homes. For more interiors tips on this very subject, join Sophie Robinson’s online talk (Thursday 28 January) – simply follow this link to snap up your ticket! Until then, to browse more pantone-filled paintings, prints, photographs and more – check out our curated category of works.

Artworks, from first to last:

Maria Jose Concha, NoonContemplation II, 2011, oil, original, £500, DECORAZON gallery
Rob Van Hoek, The Sunset Sleeps, 2019, mixed-media, original, £400, GreenStage Gallery
Venetia Norris, Place, 2017, lithograph, limited edition of 10, £100, Wychwood Art
Iona Sanders, Lemon fest, 2019, acrylic, original, £800, Eleven and a Half
Giulio Centurelli, Rigenerazione, 2019, enamel, original, £1210, Independent Artists
Lucas Biagini, Bee, 2019, oil, original, £800, Stella Ripley
Gordon Ellis Brown, Tumbleweed II, 2017, mixed-media, original, £2,750, NoonPowell Fine Art
Dana Hong, Just Another Day, 2020, digital print, limited edition of 20, £150, Made in Arts London
Kate Boxer, Elizabeth David, 2019, collagraph, limited edition of 30, £965, Artichoke
Richard Heeps, Yellow Corridor Night, Milan, 2019, photograph, limited edition of 50, £75, Bleach Box
Barry Cawston, Midnight Visitor, 2017, photograph, limited edition of 15, £1,400, The Drugstore Gallery