A brilliant fashion editorial photographed by Viviane Sassen for Dazed & Confused magazine. The vibrant work of colour-loving designers like Missoni, Diane von Furstenberg and Vivienne Westwood looks spectacular against the rich tapestry of Netherlands tulip fields. Don’t even get me started on the mix of textures! A beautiful fusion of colourful fashion and nature. (p.s. I previously did a post on tulip fields if you fancy a look)

(photography by viviane sassen, styling by katie shillingford, modelling by lisanne de jong)
(via models.com)

The beauty of wood grain never ceases to amazing me. I love how each type of wood has unique characteristics, patterns and, of course, different colours. Vicky from Asher Jasper created these Hardwood Building Blocks to not only give children a natural toy to learn from but to teach what makes wood different from colour to smell to texture. Talk about inspiration imagination-wise. I love the design and the stamped wood name. I wouldn’t mind a set myself to keep as wood colour swatches and general examples of beautiful design!

(to purchase, head to the Asher Jasper Etsy store.)
(photographs via asher jasper)

British photographer Louis Lander-Deacon is one of those artists you just know you are still going to be hearing about 30 years from now. His work reveals an immense talent and curiourity that can only result in spectacular photography. I love this series Louis created using coloured powder and a few willing friends. The very subdued and cold hues of the forest are a perfect backdrop to the vividly pigmented clouds of colours. Colour powder and smoke bomb photos seem to be growing in popularity and I personally love the randomness that results. Who knows what photograph you will end up with? The first image shown above has a colour palette that actually took my breath away. Yep, I need to find some willing friends and see what colour I can cover them with… (p.s. these photos also remind me of posts I have done on holi celebrations and silence/shapes by filippo minelli)

It’s always nice to see a car advertisement that is a bit different from the usual shiny car/people enjoying said car/masculine surroundings combination. Volkswagon seems to be the king of going a unique direction but this Land Rover piece really caught my eye. The ad captures Land Rover’s off roading brand essence by showcasing all of the colours you will see when exploring the world in your new car and where these colours will appear longitude and latitude-wise. I love the global colour names including Mont Blanc Blizzard, Mauna Loa Lava and La Palma Banana. Anyone fancy going on a global colour scavenger hunt?

(to see a bigger version of the ad, click on the image)
(image via ads of the world)

Golden desert sand, brilliant blue skies, lush green land, dusty urban life, ornate traditional dress, pure white snow, chestnut and ebony wild horses – Mongolia has such a stunning and distinct colour palette. Part of the reason Mongolia is the land of a million earthy colour swatches is its geography. A landlocked nation, Mongolia includes the Gobi Desert to the South, snowcapped mountains to the North and grasslands, forests, lakes and rivers in between. In addition to all of the beautiful landscapes, I have always been fascinating by the vibrant and completely unique faces of the Mongolian people. There is just something magical about them. A sparkle in the eye perhaps? When preparing this post, I also learned more about the traditional Mongolian khadags – blue silk scarves symbolizing goodwill and the open sky. These scarves are given for occasions like weddings, funerals, births, graduations, departing friends and other ceremonial events. When researching photos, the beautiful blue textiles seemed to pop up all over the place and only added another layer of gorgeous colour to the wonder that is Mongolia.

(images via dimitri mundorff, daily travel photos, daniel zollinger, li gang, melinda, daniel zollinger, john white, jim murray, yeeship, christopher de bruyn, charles meacham, mark heard, daniel zollinger, irena portfolio, john white, ms aitch, pixdaus)

There is something magical about sea glass and the journey required to turn sharp chunks of clear glass into smooth, matte works of art. American artist Jennifer Booher combs the beaches of Maine for beautiful cool-toned glass and arranges her collection into gorgeous spectrums of colour. I love how these photographs highlight the beauty and endless hues of sea glass. I am more than inspired to go on a beach walk as soon as possible!

(images via jennifer booher)

I’ve always felt like clotheslines were a kind of hanging colour palette where articles of clothing become swatches floating in the breeze. Also, as you can probably tell from the posts on plenty of colour thus far, I love when colour pops up in unexpected places. A line of vibrantly hued garments can definitely bring life and joy to a boring exterior (it helps if you have bright and interesting clothing!) Overall, I have just always loved clotheslines for their whimsy and colour inspiration so they became a very random topic for this week’s colour me happy!. Hoping you see a colour palette next time you pass a line of clothing dancing in the wind…

(images via yemanja79, darrell godliman, lindamade, aya_nakai, elli 19, chatursunil, ruffeloo, markus, g!l, g!l, foto blitz color, gabriela bruno, ashlee patten, elaine, sgoralnick, cozy memories)

Nope, these electric blue trees aren’t photoshopped! They are part of the Vancouver Biennale, a bi-annual public art exhibition. Three blue forests have popped up in areas of Metro Vancouver – Garden City Park in Richmond, Port Moody Arts and Civic Centres, and Grosvenor Ambleside in West Vancouver. Created by artist Konstantin Dimopoulos, the vibrant trees are painted to bring attention to global deforestation and the importance of trees as our world’s lungs. Dimopoulos used biologically-safe pigmented water that is completely biodegradable. The paint will slowly fade away, creating an evolving piece of art as the trees return to their natural forms. I love this project because it really does highlight the value of trees in our urban areas as well as underscoring the need for nations to address deforestation. Visually, it is also a gorgeous project. I can’t wait to see the forests as cherry blossoms start to burst open. The angular blue branches and fluffy pink flowers will look incredible together!

(images via clayton perry, the vancouver sun, grant mattice & art threat)

Cinque Terre is a region on the Italian Rivera consisting of five small fishing towns that hug the cliffs along the turquoise Ligurian Sea. The area has avoided modern development and as result, has retained its unique Italian culture and natural beauty. Every image I see of Cinque Terre is full of an almost indescribable glow. The warm colours of the town buildings, especially at dusk, are just breathtaking. At night, the towns look simply magical as they sparkle along the rugged coastline. I think I could stare at the first image in this post for hours on end. If the photographs of Cinque Terre are this beautiful, I can’t even imagine how colourful and luminious it must be in person. I think Cinque Terre has definitely shot to the top of my “must travel to” list.

(images via robert crum, jeff, andrew dobney, ian jeanneret, federico, trek earth, andy kaye, mirko caserta, alex roe, anita, andy kaye, eduard ballestero, lena q, travelpix, christopher schoenbohm, simon, gianluca)

Bo-Kaap is a brilliantly-coloured area located on the slopes of Signal Hill in Cape Town, South Africa. One of the oldest communities in South Africa, the area is rich with influences from the nations of its original inhabitants – India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Madagascar, and Holland among others. These influences are apparent throughout Bo-Kaap and its incredibly colourful flat-roofed houses, mosques, patterns and architecture. Stunning use of warm colour mixed with fascinating history and culture? Yet another community that must be added to my travel wish-list!

(images via joanne, linda g, linda g, jochen hoesch, michael hansen, linda g, rebecca jacobson, rebecca jacobson, julian k, marcy bidney, tim rebecca)

These aerial photographs by Alex MacLean are extraordinary. Flower fields, abandoned military planes, motorcycle racing on black ice, algae growing on floating logs, beach dwellers and even the Disney World parking lot are just a few subjects Alex investigates using his commercial pilot license and camera. The photos expose not only how humans and nature interact but the incredible patterns and colour palettes created from those interactions.

(to see more of Alex’s amazing work, go to his portfolio here.)

It’s the first official week of spring and signs that the season is here to stay have cropped up all over Vancouver. The trees are ready to burst with blossoms and the ground is covered in a lush carpet of crocuses and snowdrops. From the clean modern lines of a daffodil stem to the fabric-like ruffles of a peony, there are few things in life as beautiful and endlessly inspiring as the architecture of flowers and trees. Equally amazing is the limitless colour palette that nature can draw from including the dazzling purple of crocuses, the ethereal silver of pussy willows and, in Vancouver’s case, the rich blanket of cherry blossom pinks that wash over our city. I’m fairly certain that a good portion of my obsession with colour is derived from a childhood surrounded by inspiring and colourful flowers, plants and trees. The vibrancy and depth of nature’s palette is often impossible to replicate and I’m kind of thankful that is the case.

In celebration of spring and all of the eye candy it provides, I thought it would be a good topic for this week’s colour me happy. Hope you get outside this weekend and see more signs that spring has really sprung! (p.s. yet another side benefit of all those cherry trees is the way blossoms pile up against street curbs. There is something magical about having a gutter full of pink!)

(images via johan klovsjö, yvette inufio, my whimsy, chrissie28iwish, drew, tinywhitedaisies, mo westein, cielbleu, betty hankins, dotintime, decor8, pianogram, woodleywonderworks)