The Emotional Palette: How Colours Influence Feelings in My Art

For a long time, my work existed in black and white. Stripped of colour, it was all about contrast, form, and texture—letting light and shadow do the storytelling. There was a purity to it, a directness that I loved. But recently, I felt something shifting. A pull towards something richer, something more layered. So, I made a change.

I started working with colour.

At first, it felt like learning a new language—exciting but uncertain. Colour is an entirely different way of thinking, a different way of seeing. Where black and white allowed me to focus on stark, bold compositions, colour introduced a new dimension of emotion and energy. Suddenly, my work wasn’t just about what was being depicted, but how it felt, how it moved, how it resonated through shades and tones.

Discovering the Emotional Power of Colour

What surprised me most was how deeply colour affects the mood of a piece. Black and white had always given my work a certain intensity—something raw and stripped back. But with colour, everything changed. A deep blue could turn a quiet moment into something melancholic. A splash of red could shift a piece from subtle to powerful. The more I experimented, the more I realised that colour wasn’t just a way to fill space—it was a way to shape the experience of an artwork.

One of my first colour pieces was Sick of the Blues. I remember hesitating over the palette, second-guessing myself, unsure if I was making the right choices. But as the colours layered and blended, I started to see something I hadn’t seen in my work before—a sense of atmosphere, warmth, something intangible but felt. That was the moment I knew there was no going back.

From Monochrome to a Full Spectrum

Of course, moving from black and white to colour didn’t mean abandoning what I loved about my old work. It just meant expanding it. I still find myself drawn to strong contrasts, to the way light carves out form, but now I get to explore how colour enhances those dynamics.

There’s something incredibly freeing about it. With black and white, every choice was about balance—dark against light, shadow against highlight. But with colour, there are infinite possibilities. I can use warm tones to pull a figure forward, or cooler shades to push it back into space. I can create harmony, or tension, or something in between. It’s no longer just about seeing—it’s about feeling.

What’s Next?

I don’t know exactly where this shift will take me, and that’s what excites me most. Every new piece feels like a step into unknown territory, and I’m letting myself embrace that. I’m experimenting with different palettes, pushing myself to use colours in ways that challenge my instincts, and most importantly, seeing how this transformation changes the way I connect with my work.

If you’ve been following my journey, you’ll know how big this change is for me. I’d love to hear your thoughts—do you see colour the same way? What emotions does it bring out in you? Let’s talk.

More details to follow,

.M.

Be real.

Make art.