An anonymous street artist in Albuquerque, New Mexico spills paint over the edge of neglected buildings and ends up mixing graffiti and art into a beautiful illegal rainbow. The appearance of these rainbows has generated a lot of controversy with people either loving or hating them (there has even been a police investigation and arrest.) Personally, I love them and their specific application to urban eyesores. I am not sure how someone can compare these joyful, dripping rainbows to standard fare graffiti lazily scrawled on the side of a convenience store. Alibi did an interview with the anonymous artist pre-arrest and I found that one of the most intriguing thoughts was what the rainbow made you see beyond vibrant paint: “part of the reason I do the rainbows instead of typical lettering is because every sign we see is left to right, and this is up and down. Automatically, your eye wants to follow the line, so you look from the ground up to the sky… when they see that, maybe they’re having a rough day or a rough year or life and they can just look at it and find peace for a second and remember what rainbows meant when they were a kid, or when they could look up at the sky and see one.”

(spotted on aesthetics of joy, images via mike kuniavsky, jiggs, nuart)

This is such a genius idea by artist Helmut Smit. Who knew acrylic paint blobs and a windshield wiper could create magic? You may have seen this spontaneous rainbow before but it begs repeating and might be the perfect solution to Monday morning!

(photo via helmut smit)

Call me a nerd but I find this chart created by Data Pointed fascinating. It captures the evolution of the number of crayons produced by Crayola over the last 107 years. At the heart of the chart is the original eight created in 1903 while the outer rim showcases how those colour categories grew into 133 crayon colours available today. The only thing missing is the intoxicating smell of opening a fresh box of crayons!

(image via data pointed. click the link to mouseover the crayon names)

Over the last week and a bit, I have been introducing some of the special features I hope to develop. I thought today would be the best day for colour me happy to appear for the first time. What is this feature? Right now, it is ten or more images that are full of colour and hopefully, inspiration. Future editions might have a theme and perhaps connect somehow. Regardless of how it evolves, I just hope it ends your week on a bright note and truly does colour you happy!

(photo sources from top: paul octavious, sfgirlbybay, landon nordeman, pinterest, abby powell, endless forms most beautiful, stefan ruiz, let’s colour project, let’s colour project, youngna park)

I love this take on Pantone colour chips by Matt Stevens. He created icons or used colours to represent notable or infamous events in specific years. I love the Janet Jackson Superbowl icon, the perfect colour for Monica Lewinsky’s dress and other clever takes on events like the introduction of the iPhone, the O.J. Simpson glove, the Dolly sheep cloning debate and the BP oil spill. I think the whole piece is just brilliant and I hope Matt expands it to reference the last 100 years!

(image via Matt Stevens)

I always wondered what was going on inside a Polaroid camera and this photo finally explains it – that each instant photo is being hand painted inside the camera! I love this shot by Juan Cruz Buenahora and how the rainbow graphic on the front of the camera compliments the colours poring out. After being briefly discontinued, Polaroid cameras are thankfully available again.

(photo by juan cruz buenahora)

Using their famous colour palettes and graphic elements, Illustrator Fabian Gonzalez created icons to depict famous comic book characters and superheros in their most simple form. It’s amazing how these striped down symbols really capture the essence of the characters. I love Batman, Spiderman and Wonder Woman but most of all, the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their colour-coded masks.

(Left to right, top to bottom: Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Superman, Supergirl, Barbarella, Mighty Mouse Ironman, Captain America, Thor, The Hulk, Cyclops, The Incredibles, Kick Ass, Radioactive Man, Fall Out Boy, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Captain Atom, Aeon Flux, El Santo, Wolverine, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Professor X, Chapulin Colorado, The Darkness, The Tick, Ben (FF), Hellboy, He-Man, Freakazoid, Silver Surfer, Witchblade, Metamorpho, Spiderman, Mandrake, Mighty Man, Green Lantern, Falcon, Atom Ant, Green Arrow, The Phantom, Storm (Xmen), Birdman, Aquaman, Iceman, Captain Marvel, Spawn, Space Ghost, Blade, Blue Falcon, Dynomutt, Flash Gordon, Bartman, The Vision (Avengers), TMNT Raphael, TMNT Leonardo, TMNT Donatello, TMNT Michelangelo, Plastic Man, Duffman, Scarlet Witch, The Punisher, Dare Devil, Hawkman, Black Vulcan, Zorro, Hawk & Dove, Sandman, Antman, Gambit, Wonder Twins, Marshal Bravestarr, Electra, Spider Woman)

(image via fabian gonzalez)

Denmark kitchen and tableware company rice dk creates such fantastic, vividly-coloured products. While they feature a zillion prints, it is the solid colour pieces that always catch my eye (especially when they are so gorgeously styled and photographed like above!) I just think everyone would be happier with a bright coloured spatula in their kitchen.

(images via rice dk)

I am a huge fan of Kevin Van Aelst. His work finds so much magic in daily life and objects that might be deemed simply functional (note the sea full of sailboats created out of blue painter’s tape!). His use of colour, whether it is the perfect shade of purple for a diner counter or a keyboard made of Pantone chips, is similarly striking and full of imagination. In addition to his own work, Kevin creates a weekly piece for “The Medium” in the New York Times Magazine. As you can see from the length of this post, it is so hard to pick even a few favourites! Perhaps it is the Vancouverite in me but I really love the final photo above created out of raindrops. Its title? “And All I ask is a Tall Ship and a Star to Sail Her By”. Beautiful.

(images via kevin van aelst)

Artist Tom Fruin created this vivid outdoor pavilion in the plaza of The Royal Danish Library in Copenhagen, Denmark. The installation featured hand-cut and hand-welded steel picture frames and thousands of reclaimed plexiglass pieces. It really feels like a stained glass window folded into a house. Can you imagine a modern church like this?

(images via cool hunter & designboom)

Graphic Nothing reduced famous paintings and album covers down to 140 circles of colour. Step back from your screen and the image becomes clear. Definitely shows how powerful colour is in creating iconic images! (from top: Mona Lisa, The Beatles’ ‘Abbey Road’, Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ and Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’)

(images via some prints)

I love Steven Emmanuel’s “Sorting the hundreds from the thousands”. It’s amazing how rearranging an equal number of objects can result in such different colour patterns. It makes me a bit cross-eyed to imagine sorting all of those sprinkles!

(image via steven emmanuel)

I miss seeing Gourmet magazine on the newsstand. I always loved finding out what the colour scheme was for that month. The clean design and striking food photography really highlights the beautiful colour of food and cooking. Fingers crossed another magazine like it comes along soon.

(images via cover browser)

Now this is some intense attention to detail! Artist Lauren Dicioccio assigned a specific colour to every letter of the alphabet and a different shade of grey to every number. Laying a sheet of mylar over select pages of text from Vogue fashion magazines (such as the masthead up top), she meticulously translated the entire page into her very own language of colour. I love how she calls it “a system of Braille for the colour inclined”.

(images via 20×200 & modish)

I am huge fan of Skinny laMinx, a South African line of handmade textiles and products. Its designer, Heather Moore, posted some photos of her colour strike-offs and they are beautiful. Something functional becomes a piece of art. The palette created is not only connected and complimentary but also reflects Cape Town as well as the elements of nature and ancient rock art that inspires the collection. I would love a tea towel in every colour (including one based on the colour palette!)

(images via skinny laMinx)

Spring is just around the corner which always makes me think about tulip fields and the vibrant, fabric-like patterns they create when acres of colour line up against each other. I hope I can visit the Netherlands one day and see them in person.

(To see more, take a look here)