🎨 COLOR TRENDS 2025: What’s Inspiring My Palette Right Now

Hey fellow creatives 👋

As an artist, I’ve always believed that color is emotion in its purest form. It’s how we guide the viewer’s eye, evoke a feeling, or tell a story without saying a word. And just like music or fashion, color goes through phases—it evolves with culture, mood, and even the world’s collective energy.

Lately, I’ve noticed some fascinating shifts in the color landscape, and I wanted to share a few of the trends that are influencing my work right now (and maybe yours too).

🌿 1. Earthy Desaturation: Muted, Grounded, Real

After years of digital neons and hyper-saturated tones, there’s been a collective craving for grounding. Think clay reds, olive greens, weathered browns, and misty blues. These colors feel honest and worn-in, like they’ve lived a little life. I’ve been leaning into them for backgrounds and skin tones—they bring a natural harmony and a sort of quiet strength to my pieces.

They pair beautifully with rough textures and organic materials too. I suspect this is all tied to our need for reconnection—whether with nature, self, or something deeper.

✨ 2. Retro Tech Brights: The 80s & 90s Aren’t Done Yet

On the flip side, we’re also seeing a bold resurgence of electric pastels and punchy brights, but with a twist. Think of it as nostalgia through a future lens—colors that look like they were pulled from VHS covers, arcade screens, or Y2K fashion. Hot magenta, slime green, synthetic lilac—they’re loud, unapologetic, and strangely comforting.

I love using these as statement accents. A dash of neon next to a muted palette can change the whole energy of a piece.

🩵 3. Blue’s New Mood

Blue is taking center stage, but not just in the usual calming way. We’re seeing icy blues, stormy grays, denim washes, and futuristic teals being used to express themes of uncertainty, transition, and digital duality. There’s something a little melancholic and mysterious in this palette that I’m really drawn to.

It’s almost like the color of introspection.

🧠 4. Dopamine Colors: Painting With Joy

Let’s not ignore the rise of dopamine-inspired palettes—bright yellows, bubblegum pinks, tangerines, and bold aquas that are meant to lift your spirits. These are the colors of maximalism, joy, and reclaiming playfulness.

Especially in a time when the world feels a little heavy, I find myself reaching for colors that remind me of childhood drawings or candy wrappers. There’s something rebellious in choosing joy, and color is the loudest way to do it.

🎨 How I’m Using These Trends

I don’t believe in chasing trends blindly—but I do believe in listening. Trends reflect the emotional temperature of the world. They can serve as inspiration, starting points, or color experiments that push you out of your comfort zone.

Lately, I’ve been layering earthy neutrals with sharp synthetic brights—creating tension between natural and artificial. I’ve also started a new painting that’s purely based on emotional color palettes—basic sketches and just pure intuitive painting using whatever shades match the mood of the day.

Final Thoughts

Color is one of our most powerful tools as artists. It speaks before the subject, before the medium, before the meaning. Whether you’re painting walls, canvases, or pixels—keeping an eye on color trends can fuel your practice with new energy and ideas.

So what colors are calling to you right now?

Until next time, keep creating from the soul 💛

— KaSandra Roice