Blue

Blue is calm and vast.
It is the colour of the sky and the sea, the spaces that stretch beyond the horizon. Blue surrounds us in ways other colours cannot; we live beneath it, we feel at home in it. Many people say they dream in it.

Blue consistently ranks as the favourite colour for many across different ages, genders, backgrounds and cultures.

Blue expresses a calm and still mood. It encourages contemplation, builds trust, and creates space for reflection. When we work with blue, we can add a point of rest to our image.

Shades of blue

Doodle prompts

Blue spot

A drop. A glimpse of blue sky though a circular window. By adding a small mark onto our canvas and using different shades to surround it we can play with the mood and atmosphere of this hue. Is it intense and warm? Or will it be quite soft and cool with faded areas which will create space?

Blue depth

Let’s create an image that depicts depth using only blues. Darker blues will appear to recede while lighter blues advance. We can create marks, lines and shape that establish a sense of distance, from near to far or from surface to depth.

Twilight hour

Let’s try to capture that moment between day and night, when the sky turns deeply blue before the deep darkness falls. Blue will allow us to express a sense of time, of an end and a beginning. We can use different tones of blue or limit our palette to one tone alone varying the shades to create dark and light transitions.

Cool gradients

Working from pale ice blue to deep navy, let’s create a cool gradient across our canvas. We can fill the space with marks, letting the temperature shift from cold to colder to cool warmth. We can use lines or shapes and vary their density moving horizontally or vertically across.

Blue and orange

When blue and orange are combined as complementary colours they can create a wonderfully vibrant contrast. Let’s limit our colours to only these two and enjoy how they intensify each other. We can play with varying the marks we make, their size and forms and how close we arrange them to each other. Connecting lines can enhange our explorations.

Water marks

Let’s take water as our inspiration point: a calm pond with a reflective surface. A gently flowing stream. A large crashing wave. Or a gentle rain. Without representing water literally, let’s make marks in blue to express the different qualities of water. Fluid, still, turbulent, gentle ~ via our marks within the single colour only.

Expanding into finished work

Blue has such a vast variety of shades that new concepts can easily emerge:

Atmospheric pieces. Blue excels at suggesting atmosphere, distance, and space. A doodle exploring depth could become larger work with meditative, spatial qualities.

Emotional contemplation. Blue’s association with both serenity and melancholy creates space for emotionally complex work.

Trust and stability. For pieces meant to convey reliability or calm authority, blue provides a natural foundation.

Cooling contrast. Blue can cool a warm composition or provide counterbalance in pieces exploring temperature contrasts.