soft autumn

There's something about late August into early September that just feels like Soft Autumn — the light gets softer, everything mellows out, nothing feels quite as sharp or saturated as it did in July. It's the transition where we start leaning into muted, blended color rather than bold and bright.

This is the energy behind Soft Autumn in color analysis, too — it's one of the more subtle seasons, built on low-contrast, dusty, blended color rather than anything stark. If your natural coloring has that same soft, muted quality (nothing about you reads as sharp or high-contrast), these are the tones that are going to make you look effortlessly put-together.

1, 2, 5/ ORIGINAL SOURCE UNKNOWN (please let me know if you are aware of original source so I can credit) 3/ REFORMATION 4/ BERRIEZ

Creature Colors

The Provence Hairstreak butterfly 🦋

Rich carrot orange, earthy ochre, soft matcha, deep teal, and sea blue-green. This color combination is just one of the palettes you'll find in my new book, Nature's Living Color Palettes, coming this summer.

Each creature in the book gets a full breakdown with color wheels, CMYK/RGB values, and mood boards. Can't wait to share it with you! 📚✨

ALPEREN YAYLA

mineral palette

Last call - Color Journal Course starts Monday! 7 weeks of learning to extract palettes, understand color relationships, and develop your color intuition. Small group, personalized feedback on your work. A few spots left. Link here if you want in.

1 & 2/ SOURCE UNKNOWN (please let me know if you are aware of original artist so I can credit) 3/ RUTH VAN BEEK 4/ MARYAM NASSIR ZADEH

Riviera

That blue and yellow combination never gets old! There's something about the way saturated cobalt plays against warm golden tones - it feels fresh, optimistic and grounding all at once.

My Color Journal Course starts this Monday, March 16th, and there are still a few spots open! 7 weeks of color exploration, weekly prompts, video walkthroughs, and personalized feedback. Link in bio if you want in. ✨

1/ NICK CRANSTON 2/ BRANDLIC STUDIO 3/ ADRIANNE DIMITRAKAIS 4/ HENRY LEIDEL 5/ MARIE MOYENIN 6/ BOSQUE CONCEPTS

Year of the horse

Happy Lunar New Year 🐎 Today marks the start of the Year of the Fire Horse - and it's a rare one. The Fire Horse only comes around every 60 years, and it's said to be a year of bold moves, forward momentum, and making things happen. After the heaviness of 2025, I'm ready for that energy.

Setting my intentions and going for it. Wishing you all the same!

Image: LUKAS WASSMAN

Valentine

I've been feeling more inspired lately. A mix of watching my students' color studies come to life, Bad Bunny's Super Bowl performance reminding me that joy and community are resistance, and these warm colors pulling me back from the heaviness. Red for love, terracotta for grounding, chocolate for comfort. When everything feels dark - especially with so much hate coming from the top - color work reminds me to hold onto what's warm and human.
1/ VALENTIN ABAD 2/ SOPHIE LOU JACOBSON