Quotes and thoughts about colour
Whether you're repainting your furniture or other surfaces in your home, colour is at the heart of every painting project.
Create an atmosphere with colour alone
Colour is a way to experience and enjoy life - from art and fashion to the feelings we experience when we see different colours.
No one loves colour more than the Frenchic team! With this in mind, it's no surprise that there are so many great quotes and thoughts about colour.
Throughout history, influential people, from artists and designers to singers and philosophers, have used colour as a subject and source of inspiration.
Read about the thoughts on colour we found:

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“I prefer living in colour.” -
"I prefer living among colours."
– David Hockney

Yellow

“You create your own decoration. You choose your colour, you choose your mood…. If you are depressed, you put some bright yellow and suddenly you are happy.”
–
"You create your own interior. You choose your colours, you choose your own mood..... If you're feeling down, choose a little bright yellow and suddenly you'll be happy."
–
Philippe Starck

Pink

“Pink isn't just a colour, it's an attitude!”
–
"Pink isn't just a colour - it's an attitude!"
–
Miley Cyrus
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Green

"They'll sell you thousands of greens. Veronese green and emerald green and cadmium green and any sort of green you like. But that particular green, never.”
–
"They'll sell you thousands of greens. Veronese green and emerald green and cadmium green and any sort of green you like. But that particular green, never."
–
Pablo Picasso

Colours, patterns and textures

“Travel to exotic places informs me as a designer as to pattern, colour, and texture usually expressed in local crafts.”
–
"Travelling to exotic places gives me, as a designer, insight and inspiration into the patterns, colours and textures usually expressed in local crafts."
-
Richard Mishaan

Neutral and light shades

“Tonal and subtle colour combinations allow us to mix furniture and pieces from different eras together to create a cohesive narrative.”
–
"With the help of shades and subtle color combinations, we can mix furniture and objects from different eras to create a cohesive story."
-
Rafael de Cárdenas

Red

“When I haven’t any blue, I use red.”
–
"When I'm out of blue, I use red."
–
Pablo Picasso

Colors and shades

“Colour! What a deep and mysterious language, the language of dreams.”
–
"Colors! What an interesting and mysterious language, the language of dreams."
–
Paul Gauguin

Red

“There is a shade of red for every woman.”
– Audrey Hepburn
“There is a shade of red for every woman.”

The power of color

"Colour is a power which directly influences the soul."
– Wassily Kandinksy
“Color is a power that directly influences the soul.”

Perfect black

“If I could find anything blacker than black, I’d use it.”
– J.M.W. Turner
“If I could find anything blacker than black, I’d use it.”
The mood of color

"I am a believer that colour affects people's moods."
– Lilly Pulitzer
“I believe that colors affect people's moods.”

The mood of color

“All colours arouse specific associative ideas…”
– Yves Klein
“All colors evoke certain associations…”

Colors and shades of nature

"If one could only catch that true colour of nature
– the very thought of it drives me mad."
– Andrew Wyeth
"If only one could capture the true color of nature – the very thought of it drives me mad.”

Neutral and soft beige

"Beige is atmosphere. It’s bisque, it’s ivory, it’s cream, it’s stone, it’s toast, it’s cappuccino. It’s well, it’s magic.”
– Albert Hadley
“Beige is atmosphere. It’s bisque, it’s ivory, it’s cream, it’s limestone, it’s toast, it’s cappuccino. It’s, well, it’s magic.”

The message of colors
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"I found I could say things with colour and shapes that I couldn't say any other way."
– Georgia O’Keeffe
“I found that with colors and shapes, I could express things I couldn’t express in any other way.”

The colors of dreams

“Listen to the colour of your dreams.”
– The Beatles
“Listen to the colors of your dreams.”

The perfect shade

"The best colour in the whole world is the one that looks good on you."
– Coco Chanel
“The best color in the world is the one that suits you.”

Green

"Remember, green's your colour. You are spring."
– Gwendolyn Brooks
“Remember, green is your color. You are spring.”

The hues of the world

"There's a reason we don't see the world in black and white."
– Celerie Kemble
“There’s a reason we don’t see the world in black and white.”

Red

“Red is the ultimate cure for sadness.”
– Bill Blass
“Red is the best cure for sadness.”

The light of colors

"Colour helps to express light—not the physical phenomenon, but the only light that really exists, that in the artist's brain."
– Henri Matisse
“Color helps to express light—not a physical phenomenon, but the only light that truly exists, the light in the artist’s mind.”

Choosing a color

“There is a logic of colours, and it is with this alone, and not with the
logic of the brain, that the painter should conform.”
– Paul Cezanne
“There is a logic of colors, and the painter should follow only this logic, not the logic of the brain.”

The energy of colors

"With colour one obtains an energy that seems to stem from witchcraft."
– Henri Matisse
”With color, you get energy that seems to come from witchcraft.”

Pink

“Pink is the navy blue of India.”
– Diana Vreeland
”Pink is the navy blue of India.”

The right black

“Black is a real sensation, even if it is produced by entire absence of light. The sensation of black is distinctly different from the lack of all sensation.”
– Hermann von Helmhoz
”Black is a real phenomenon, even if it is produced by the complete absence of light. The sensation of black is distinctly different from the absence of all sensation.”

Blue-gray

"You think it's one colour but it's not. Closer and closer the folds appear not a deeper blue grey but a heavier one and finally just inches above the trees it's a small bright seam full of smoke, not really bright but allowing the day as much as it needs."
– Eileen Myles
”You think it’s one color, but it’s not. The folds don’t look deeper blue-gray as you get closer, but darker, and finally, just a few inches above the trees, it’s a small bright seam full of smoke, not really bright, but giving the day just what it needs.”

Different shades of white

“If time were a colour, I bet it would be a tasteful off-white.”
– Greg Parrish
”If time were a color, it would certainly be a tasteful off-white.”

Purple

“All the other colours are just colours, but purple seems to have a soul.
Purple is not just a noun and an adjective, but also a verb.
When you look at it, it’s looking back at you.”
– Uniek Swain
“All the other colors are just colors, but purple seems to have a soul of its own.
Purple is not just a noun or an adjective, but also a verb.
When you look at it, it looks back at you.”

The effect of colors

“The more an object is polished or brilliant, the less you see its own colour and the more it becomes a mirror reflecting the colour of its surroundings.”
– Eugene Delacroix
”The more polished or brilliant an object is, the less its own colour is visible and the more it becomes a mirror, reflecting the colours of its surroundings.”

Dare to try your favourite shades

“Life is about using the whole box of crayons.”
– RuPaul
”Life is about using all the colours.”

Try out different shades

"You can never judge a paint hue by the liquid colour in the paint pot.
You must apply it to the wall, wait for the paint to dry, then decide."
– Dorothy Draper
"You can never judge a paint shade by the liquid colour of the paint.
You must apply it to the wall, wait for the paint to dry, and only then decide."

Favourite colour

“I never met a colour I didn’t like.”
– Dale Chihuly
”I have never met a colour that didn’t suit.”

Colourful nature

"I sense a scream passing through nature. I painted... the clouds as actual blood.
The colour shrieked."
– Edvard Munch
"I sense a scream passing through nature. I painted... clouds as if they were real, bleeding blood. And now Colour screams."

Orange, blue, violet, yellow...

"If we were to imagine an orange on the blue side or violet on the yellow side, it would give us the same impression as a north wind coming from southwest."
– Ludwig Wittgenstein
”If we were to imagine an orange on the blue side or violet on the yellow side, it would give us the same impression as a north wind coming from southwest.”

Complementary colours and colour pairings

“All colours are the friends of their neighbours
and the lovers of their opposites.”
– Marc Chagall
“All colors are friends with their neighbors and lovers of their opposites.”

The glow of color

“Light is a thing that cannot be reproduced,
but must be represented by something else – by colour.”
– Paul Cezanne
“Light is something that cannot be reproduced,but must be represented by something else – by color.”

The power of color

“Color is a power which directly influences the soul.”
― Wassily Kandinsky
“Color is a power that directly influences the soul.”

Dare to try new shades

"Nothing haunts us like a paint colour we didnt' buy"
-
“Nothing haunts us like the shade we didn’t buy.”

The message of color

“Mere colour, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form,
can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways.”
– Oscar Wilde
“Only a single color, unspoiled by meaning and unallied with any definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways.”

Plenty of color

“No small dabs of colour - you want plenty of paint to paint with.”
– John Singer Sargent
“Don’t be afraid to use color – you need plenty of paint.”

The emotions of color

“Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions.”
– Pablo Picasso
“Colors, like features, follow the changes in our emotions.”

The message of color

“Colors speak all languages.”
– Joseph Addison
“Colors speak all languages.”

Colors are like cooking

“Color is like cooking.
The cook puts in more or less salt, that’s the difference!”
– Josef Albers
“Using color is like cooking.
Like a cook adding more or less salt, it makes a difference!

Combine colors

“Why do two colours, put one next to the other, sing?
Can one really explain this?”
– Pablo Picasso
”Why do some pairs of colors, placed next to each other, sing?
Can this be explained?”

Vibrant colors

“Each colour is applied to the canvas in relation to the colours next to it.
The painting becomes a living thing and calls out for the colour it wants.”
– Neil Patterson
”Each color is applied to the canvas in relation to the colors next to it.
The painting comes alive and calls for the color it wants.”

What do colors mean to you?

“Colour is only beautiful when it means something.”
– Robert Henri
”Color is beautiful only when it means something.”


“The colours live a remarkable life of their own
after they have been applied to the canvas.”
– Edvard Munch
”Colors live a remarkable life of their own
after they have been applied to the canvas.”

Color, independent and strong

“Colour… thinks by itself, independently of the object it clothes.”
– Charles Baudelaire
”Color… works independently, regardless of the object it covers.”

The beauty of color

“Each colour has its own beauty and individuality,
which you may accept or reject.”
– Joen Wolfrom
”Each shade has its own charm and individuality,
which you may accept or reject.”

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