Spring Spring But Different
Pantone's Top 12 Colours for Spring 2018
So, Pantone has assessed the fashion runways at New York Fashion Week and has produced this selection of twelve colours (plus four more basic neutrals of navy, grey, beige and white) that will influence the fashion industry over Spring/Summer 2018.
Apparently consumers are still embracing colour: ‘The desire for colorful self-expression is a key take away for Spring 2018. The color story is wildly divergent and we see a kaleidoscopic bounty of uplifting shades and feel-good tones. There is a feeling of optimism and confidence driving a new vitality into fashion trends.’ [Pantone]
This is a collection of more unusual tones – more muted or slightly ‘off-key’ – than we usually see in spring hues. I grew up in the Eighties, and they seem very reminiscent to me of that era.
It’s a little confusing to me in Melbourne though, as we have just entered spring. What were Pantone’s spring colours for this year? They turn out to be pretty much the same, but slightly different: a little fresher and clearer. I suspect no one but the most stern fashionista will notice the difference if one were to mix them!
PS. Note how very similar the colour palette in the September calendar illustration below!
Pantone's top 10 colours for Spring 2017
Spring is Here (Sort of)!
We Melburnians been kept on our toes by spring’s wayward weather almost for a couple of weeks now, but what a great feeling it was on the first day of the month to know winter was over, and to turn over the page of my Frankie calendar to see this image from German illustrator Anke Weckmann.
Weckmann’s whimsical style and light touch is a perfect choice for September. The subject and colours are fresh and certainly springlike, and there is that lovely liberating feeling evoked by the new season.
One does indeed wish to lounge under leafy trees when the sun shines – fitfully enough in Melbourne at this time of year. It can literally switch from glorious sunshine and blue skies to wind-whipped clouds and lashing rain in minutes! We might all grumble and complain, but secretly we love our temperamental climate and boast of its capriciousness to visitors.
Hope you are enjoying a happy September.
The Lost Book
A little while ago I briefly glimpsed this picture somewhere on my computer; it took a moment for the image to sink into my consciousness, and by the time I thought to pause and take it in, I had already clicked on. I searched high and low in all my folders (or so I thought) and couldn’t find it until now, when I found it by chance. So I thought I’d better share it immediately!
I have not read this book myself in fact – I just really liked this illustration. There is a lovely light touch to the pencil and ink line drawing, in nice contrast to the serious literature, and the minimal colour palette is appealing. I have a strong suspicion that the colour has been applied in Photoshop, as the watercolour brush looks a little too mechanical, and there are too many sharply defined corners, but that does not detract from its delicacy.
This book has been lurking on my computer for so long (since June 2012) and the url I saved – storybird.com, a pretty name for a blog – has unfortunately expired.
A Blast of Winter
Illustration by Cornelia LiI have been rather behind with keeping the Scrapbook running in the last few months, so here is a blast of winter Frankie calendar images all at once! (Wouldn’t it be nice if the cold months could pass by as quickly?)
I love the June calendar page, by Cornelia Li, because it is so apt for what Melbourne’s winter has been like this year. The image is titled ‘Isolation’. It’s not clear on Li’s website what medium she uses, but I suspect there is a mixture of traditional and digital media (going by the halftone dots spotted in some of her images), with brush, pencil and crayon or pastel strokes visible.
Cornelia is Toronto-based, and is interested in the interaction of people with their surroundings, seeking to capture this relationship in her drawings. See more of her work on her website.
Illustration by Sandra EterovićMelbourne illustrator Sandra Eterović specialises in painting in acrylic on wood or paper, in an unpretentious folk art style that is alive with texture and colour, which puts me somewhat in mind of Frida Kahlo. July’s fisherlady with her colourful catch is charming. Check out her blog here.
Illustration by Ashley RonningAshley Ronning, illustrator of August’s calendar page, is another Melbourne-based artist. After studying graphic design, she moved into set dressing and prop-making before she settled at last on illustration and risograph printing.
For those who don’t know, riso printing uses Japanese technology from the 80s – a digital printer that uses real ink (like an offset printer, and unlike a conventional photocopier) – which makes it a less expensive method for producing high-volume print runs than modern office photocopiers or laser and inkjet printers. Riso prints have a very distinctive and appealing look, much like Ronning’s work.
I really like the jungle atmosphere in this personal piece in Frankie’s calendar. Check out more of her work on her website.
Only one more month of winter to go – hurrah!
I See Unicorns!
A little while ago I was doing some picture research on vintage advertising on Pinterest, and I came across this priceless piece of advertising for ‘Magical Musk’ (the fragrance of hidden flowers), brought to you courtesy of Max Factor. Because how else would you advertise a floral musk cologne except with a rearing unicorn wreathed in mist? The perfume bottle itself reminds me of a soft-serve ice cream cone! … A unicone, as it were.