Celebrating a Classic

As a lover of colors, I’ve always looked forward to Pantone’s announcement of their chosen “color of the year”. That eagerly-anticipated announcement came on Wednesday.

The selection? Classic Blue. The Pantone number, should you need it, is 19-4052, and if you’d like to create it on your computer, the hexcode/HTML code is 0F4C81, and the RGB settings are 15 76 129.

The unveiling of the 2020 selection was quite a night with a huge “classic blue” presentation including “classic blue” drinks and a “classic blue” fragrance wafting through the air.

The fragrance, in case you’re wondering, was described as “a contemplation of where sky and sea meet,” which still doesn’t say much. A better description is “an earthy, floral musk.”

It’s fun to associate fragrances and flavors with colors, as well as imagining touch and sound that corresponds.

The “taste of blue” was defined at the Pantone event as that of “flowering vines” — a sugary flavor akin to blue raspberry syrup — and the touch was called “a soft velvety texture” — such as that of a plush pillow on a couch. As for the sound? It was described as “vivid nostalgia” and then defined as “an underwater, ethereal sound.” I’m not quite sure what’s nostalgic about that, but I can see how the sound of blue would involve water.

From what I’ve read, some artists and designers aren’t happy with the choice of Classic Blue for the coming year. It’s already considered a classic color. Do we really need to put so much focus on such a simple, basic color?

Well, I’m all in favor of it. Blue has always been a favorite of mine, and we all know it’s associated with feelings of peace. Maybe the world needs a bit of that in the coming year.

I’m already thinking of how I can use classic blue in my paintings in 2020. I’ll be painting lots of blue skies, lots of blue oceans, maybe even classic blue birds and flowers.

How about you? Are you, too, a lover of classic blue?