January 19th, 2021

In 2021, we all deserve broad strokes!

Towards the end of every year, the paint brand, PPG, presents the next year’s Color of the Year. At the conclusion of such an unprecedented year as 2020, PPG made an unprecedented announcement: this year’s color of the year is not a single color, but an entire color palette.

This color palette, is aptly named “Be Well” — a sentiment to carry us into 2021 with optimism and hope for good health and wellbeing. The “Be Well” palette is composed of three soothingly neutral colors: “Transcend,” a warm, earthy beige to ground us, “Big Cypress,” a rosy autumnal hue to soothe us, and “Misty Aqua,” a refreshingly cool light blue to invigorate us.

This color palette is undoubtedly lovely to look at, but can it really alter our mood? Can colors truly ground us, soothe us, invigorate us…can they truly improve our mental wellbeing? Many psychologists would argue yes.

According to ColorPsychology.org, “Unconscious or otherwise, color can evoke emotions, inspire reactions, and change modes of thinking. It can excite or soothe your mood, raise or lower your blood pressure, and even whet your appetite! Whether it’s innate or learned, it’s undeniable that color has a vital impact on how we go about our lives.”

Knowing how color can impact our lives is all the more motivation to surround ourselves with colors that improve our psyche lift our spirits, now more than ever. PPG senior color marketing manager, architectural and industrial coatings, Dee Schlotter, observes how, “when the world experiences events that cause unrest, anxiety, and grief, we tend to naturally gravitate toward compassionate colors that allow us to create a personal retreat from the world.”

The unruliness of this past year inspires us to head into 2021 with a more compassionate mindset, and therefore, perhaps a more compassionate, soothing color palette. In that vein, we’ve curated for you a few of our Gallery MAR artists’ latest works that deliver on 2021’s “Be Well” palette and spirit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We hope you found something to soothe your soul and lift your spirits. From all of us at Gallery MAR, we wish you a happy, restful, healthy new year. Be well!

 

Written by Veronica Vale