The Color Series | 10 Ways Purple Electrifies Illustrations, from Lilac to Violet

After tak­ing a week off, it’s nice to return to The Col­or Series. Unfa­mil­iar with what that is? Over the past sev­er­al weeks, I’ve chron­i­cled illus­tra­tion, embroi­dery, and sketch­books that over­whelm­ing­ly use one col­or in their com­po­si­tions. (If you’ve missed my pre­vi­ous picks, check out blue, pink, green.) Now, help­ing to round this series out are pur­ple illustrations.

Of all the col­ors I’ve fea­tured so far, pur­ple is by far used the most infre­quent­ly. My favorite of its uses is in the work of Juli­ette Obern­dor­fer, a con­cept artist who brings the for­est land­scape to life a range of tones—from lilac to amethyst to vio­let. I could hap­pi­ly live in her work.

Check out how 10 purple illustrations use the likes of lilacs, violets, and more to bring their images alive.

Ashley Ronning

Esther Goh

Lisk Feng

Taryn Knight

Sandi Falconer

Melissa Castrillon (on Brown Paper Bag)

Yellena James

Juliette Oberndorfer (on Brown Paper Bag)

Danse de Lune (on Brown Paper Bag)

Hanna Chen