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Halloween Colors

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Halloween colors are orange and black, right? Yes and no. While black and orange are traditionally associated with Halloween, this tradition is only about one hundred years old. Celebrations of Halloween, on the other hand, have roots in Pagan and Christian customs with centuries of history, way more than America with pumpkins was discovered by Europeans, who, by the way, brought Halloween to the New World, not vice versa.

Attention: for visual purposes, we used a few images from Amazon, leading to products. If you buy some of them, we may earn a small commission, which doesn’t affect on your pice.

colors-of-halloween

This article will present dozens of Halloween-related colors with HEX and RGB codes to offer hundreds of ideas for designers and everybody interested in Halloween decor. Remember the basic rule – go for contrasts. You’ always need at least two colors to create a contrast.

Let’s start!

Orange

Orange is the color of pumpkins. Orange is a bright, positive color, presenting light, flames, and warmth, reminding us of the Sun in contrast with the coming winter with coldness, darkness, fear, and death.

What color code is Halloween orange?

According to different designers, it can be one of these:

halloween-orange-color-code-rgb

#EB6123 (235, 91, 35) Halloween Orange (iColorpalette)
#E66C2C (230, 108, 44) Halloween Orange (Computer Hope)
#FC4C02 (252, 76, 2) Halloween Orange (colorcodes.io)
#F06514 (240, 101, 20) Halloween Orange (ColorsWall)
#EB5F22 (235, 95, 34) Halloween Orange (art-paints)

Paint producers have different ideas.

orange-halloween

#CD6A2E (205, 106, 46) Halloween (Earthpaint)
#D37A2A (211, 122, 42) Halloween Wedding (Valspar Paint)
#FF7E24 (255, 126, 36) Halloween (ICI Paints)
#E17137 (225, 113, 55) Halloween (Kelly Moore)
#FF8A4E (255, 138, 78) Halloween (Duron)

orange-color-shades-for-halloween

#FF8A4E (255, 138, 78) Halloween (Frazee)
#C86C3D (200, 108, 61) Halloween (Sico)
#F07F3A (240, 127, 58) Halloween (Dutch Boy)
#E7795A (231, 121, 90) Haunted Halloween (Valspar Paint)
#F58852 (245, 136, 82) Halloween (Premiere Paints)

As you can see, several shades of orange qualify for Halloween, some being more and some less vibrant. It’s up to you to choose the right one for your project or event.

Halloween decor in dominating orange and black

Pumpkin Orange Color Codes

There are many symbols associated with Halloween, but the pumpkin in its significant orange hue is an indisputable winner of the last century. Here are several shades to pick from.

pumpkin-orange-color-code

#F18001 (241, 128, 1) Pumpkin (ProMarker)
#EC673E (236, 103, 62) Pumpkin (Rust-Oleum)
#BA7843 (186, 120, 67) Pumpkin (Rodda Paint)
#B77548 (183, 117, 72) Pumpkin (Vista Paint)
#E1870B (225, 135, 11) Pumpkin (Sico)

This is just a start, of course. Some companies like this hue of orange so much, that they created a whole series of Pumpkin colors in different shades.

#FCE6C6 (252, 230, 198) Pumpkin 1 (Laura Ashley)
#FCD8B5 (252, 216, 181) Pumpkin 2 (Laura Ashley)
#FBCDA7 (251, 205, 167) Pumpkin 3 (Laura Ashley)
#F9B583 (249, 181, 131) Pumpkin 4 (Laura Ashley)
#F08F58 (240, 143, 88) Pumpkin 5 (Laura Ashley)
#E97A39 (233, 122, 57) Pumpkin 6 (Laura Ashley)

Yes – six colors with the same name, all devoted to pumpkins, differing in shades and marked by numbers, created by Laura Ashley!

As you can see in the next set, pumpkins can be used as the shade of orange, but there are also shades of pumpkins.

halloween-pumpkin-color-code

#C4321F (196, 50, 31) Pumpkin Orange (Volkswagen)
#CA5831 (202, 88, 49) Pumpkin Orange (Krylon)
#FCAA67 (252, 170, 103) Pumpkin Glow (Home Hardware)
#F2A179 (242, 161, 121) Pumpkin Hue (Columbia Paint)
#CE886C (206, 136, 108) Pumpkin Patch (Benjamin Moore)

A pumpkin is often used for something else. We can look at it as a starting material to make something else.

pumpkin-colors

#FF6D3A (255, 109, 58) Smashed Pumpkin
#9E473C (158, 71, 60) Burnt Pumpkin (CIL)
#D68E3B (214, 142, 59) Pumpkin Face (CIL)
#C77223 (199, 114, 35) Pumpkin Pie (ICI)
#E8B07E (232, 176, 126) Pumpkin Seed (True Value)

And, of course, there are more pumpkin-related projects.

pumpkin-orange-color-code-rgb

#C7812F (199, 129, 47) Autumn Pumpkin (Dulux)
#B96544 (185, 101, 68) Pumpkin Drizzle (Behr)
#CC7C44 (204, 124, 68) Spicy Pumpkin (Valspar)
#FFB25B (255, 178, 91) October Pumpkin (Glidden)
#FCAA67 (252, 170, 103) Pumpkin Glow (Canada Hardware)

Talking about glowing…

Jack-O-Lantern Color Codes

The most famous object made of pumpkins is Jack o’ Lantern. If you don’t know the story behind Jack o’ Lantern, here is in short: Jack was a frugal old man and a prankster. When his time came, he even cheated death! Eventually, he was refused from heaven and hell. This made him wander around with an improvised lamp, made of hollowed turnip. When the settlers from Europe brought this story to America, they found out that pumpkins were way more suitable for carving than turnips, so they started making improvised lamps from pumpkins. This is how Jack o’ Lantern (Jack of Lantern) became a part of the Halloween tradition!

jack-o-lantern-colors

#EB8217 (235, 130, 23) Jack O Lantern (Dulux)
#EF851D (239, 133, 29) Jack O Lantern (Glidden)
#ED861F (237, 134, 31) Jack O Lantern (ICI)
#C06C3E (192, 108, 62) Jack O Lantern (Behr)
#F47834 (244, 120, 52) Jack O Lantern (Valspar)

We could go on and on, but it’s probably better to devote some time to other colors as well.

The scheme above is just the tip of the iceberg. Let’s go into details.

Yellow

Yellow was considered the signature Halloween color until the beginning of the 20th century. Corn Yellow is a similarly dominant color for Autumn and lost its popularity due to more aggressive orange which simply looks better in contrast with dark background. Yellow never went out of fashion, though. There is also a tradition of making Corn hush dolls, adopted by settlers from Native Americans who used corn as one of their main staples completely – corn husk was (and still is) among other things used for making dolls as toys for kids. These dolls/witches were also considered protectors against bad dreams and evil spirits.

different-corn-colors

#F3D5AD (243, 213, 173) Cornhusk (Pantone)
#EFCC9A (239, 204, 154) Indian Corn (CIL)
#F2C782 (242, 199, 130) Golden Corn (KILZ)
#FDEDB1 (253, 237, 177) Steamy Corn (Snowcem)
#FFC946 (255, 201, 70) Corn Harvest (California Paints)

Did you know that Native Americans have dozens of stories with different Corn Gods and Spirits? Corn was a main staple for hundreds of tribes, including nomadic tribes, so we can obviously expect a lot of corn-related colors, as well.

corn-different-colors

#E6CAA0 (230, 202, 160) Kansas Corn (Dulux)
#FFE8A9 (255, 232, 169) Corn (Behr)
#F9DFB0 (249, 223, 176) Corn Silk (ICI)
#F7B358 (247, 179, 88) Corn Husk (Benjamin Moore)
#D49941 (212, 153, 65) Golden Corn (British Paints)

Not enough? Here are more yellow colors.

pink and black bats for Hallowen decoration

Red

Red is a classic Autumn color, so it’s been included in Halloween-related decor for centuries. Yet, there were mainly yellow and brown leading the way, with red color, as being so aggressive, used in most cases for accents only. Well, in recent decades, things changed a lot. Vampires became immensely popular and they are obsessed with blood. Blood drops, bloody lips and fangs, blood stains, etc., are everywhere. And if you plan a crime-scene-themed Halloween party, you’ll definitely need a lot of blood.

blood-red-color-code

#AA5F43 (170, 95, 67) Mystic Copper (Tambour)
#9D4338 (157, 67, 56) Vampire (Graham & Brown)
#8A0303 (138, 3, 3) Blood
#92403F (146, 64, 63) Bloody Mary (Comex)
#CA4433 (202, 68, 51) Autumn Rust (Chrysler)

Don’t forget that blood is also a symbol of life and love. Always go for contrasts!

Brown

Brown is another traditional Halloween color that fell out of fashion when orange and black took the lead. But it’s coming back. The reason is simple. With so many brown shades, you simply don’t want to neglect it, if you don’t want to miss a large portion of decorating options. Brown is warm and earthly, but it can also act dull and depressive if you exaggerate.

ghost-color-code

#F2E6D7 (242, 230, 215) Spooky Ghost (Behr)
#ECE4D5 (236, 228, 213) Ghost (Craig & Rose)
#BB8E55 (187, 142, 85) Ghost Town (Dunn-Edwards)
#DDC283 (221, 194, 131) Zombie (Resene)
#EEE4CD (238, 228, 205) Dusty Witch (Snowcem)

Our advice would be to use brown as an addition to other, stronger colors. Maybe to emphasize some of their characteristics or frame too much aggressiveness of other colors.

Purple

Purple is the most recent addition to the Halloween palette. It does not come from natural cycles, like yellow, orange, red, and brown, but is associated with supernatural happenings for centuries. Purple colors were made from very expensive pigments, so purple was reserved for affluent and powerful people only. This probably caused the perception of witches and wizards dressed in purple, as well. And here we are – purple entered the Halloween scenery!

purple-halloween-color

#301934 (48, 25, 52) Dark Purple
#876A75 (135, 106, 117) Mystic (CIL)
#734454 (115, 68, 84) Vampire Love (Valspar Paint)
#41002D (65, 0, 45) Mystic (Ressource Peintures)
#886FAC (136, 111, 172) Mystic Purple (Nerolac)

Halloween decorative lights - purple skulls

Again, this is a very strong color. Overusing it can cause headaches, so act wisely!

Green

Halloween is on the edge of summer and winter. We can present it in still warm, yet fading hues of brown, but we can still pay homage to lively green from summertime. It’s not a traditional Halloween color, because our ancestors who celebrated Samhain and All Saint’s Day, didn’t really have much green around. Green shades entered the equation only in the 20th century when merchants tried to find something extra to enliven the already predictable orange-black scheme.

The closest association of green with witchcraft is probably the green face of the wicked Witch of the West from the famous Wizard of Oz.

green-halloween-color-palette

#215D1F (33, 93, 31) Spooky Green (ColourLovers)
#D1D2BF (209, 210, 191) Spooky (Dunn-Edwards)
#DDE1C7 (221, 225, 199) Spooky (Taubmans)
#AFBFBB (175, 191, 187) Sea Ghost (Tambour)
#326847 (50, 104, 71) Witch Green (Taubmans)

Green is also associated with mold, slime, and other nasty stuff. Just perfect for the Halloween party!

retro-halloween-color-palette

#C1E1D2 (193, 225, 210) Witch’s Brew (Valspar Paint)
#1E3333 (30, 51, 51) Green Shadow (Colortrend)
#D0EBE2 (208, 235, 226) Mystic Glow (Vista Paint)
#52584A (82, 88, 74) Dungeon (Crown Diamond)
#596045 (89, 96, 69) Scary Forest (Snowcem)

If green somehow surprised you, you should definitely check the next color.

Blue

Blue can be used similarly to purple. It’s not a color from nature and is mostly associated with authority, calmness, and wisdom. Not exactly a color for pranksters, right? Still, it works well as an addition to the color palette. After all, blue is a complementary color to orange, which opens numerous possibilities.

Also, it’s worth mentioning, that blue has another meaning on Halloween – children with blue buckets on trick-on-treating have autism or sensory handicaps, which means they are not able to communicate like the rest of the children. They still enjoy Halloween, and they still love candies, stickers, small toys, or whatever.

pastel-halloween-color-palette

#EAF5FB (234, 245, 251) Ghost White (Reaper Miniatures)
#6E9AB6 (110, 154, 182) Witch Bay (General Paint)
#778BA5 (119, 139, 165) Shadow Blue
#9FB4B2 (159, 180, 178) Mystic Lake (Berger)
#5D5F77 (93, 95, 119) Blue Blood (Behr)

From blue (there are many more shades of blue) to grey, which is, of course, a faded black.

Grey

The color grey is not a color for parties, Yet it’s irreplaceable for decor. Think about dust, fog, spiderwebs, gothic scenery, etc. Grey is also a great way to set some limits to the sometimes too-aggressive use of orange and red.

haunted-house-color-palette

#C0BFC7 (192, 191, 199) Ghost (Resene)
#595A5C (89, 90, 92) Zombie (Glidden)
#D3CBBF (211, 203, 191) Grey Ghost (Scib Paints) je rjava, lahko pod sivo
#D5CDC1 (213, 205, 193) Grey Ghost (Cloverdale Paint) je rjava, lahko pod sivo
#777E86 (119, 126, 134) Evening Shadow (CIL)

And here it is – the king of the Halloween!

Black

Black is the color of the night. It’s also the color of death. It is the strongest color of all, so use it cautiously. A Halloween party needs a proper setting, but it’s still a party. You want people to enjoy, not to become depressive. And if you think that black is just black, think again. Here are a few examples of black hues for Halloween:

halloween-black-color-shades

#393F40 (57, 63, 64) Black Night (Shalimar Paints)
#080808 (8, 8, 8) Vampire Black (Mitsubishi)
#363C3D (54, 60, 61) Dungeon (Kelly-Moore)
#292A2D (41, 42, 45) Dark Kettle Black (Valspar Paint)
#1B1B1B (27, 27, 27) Eerie Black

This concludes our journey through Halloween colors. A bit of tradition, a bit of tip, a bit of curiosity. We hope, the mix was right for you and you will create a perfect blend from our options for your party.

To make even more of your Halloween celebration here is also a link to Halloween Color Pages and a huge selection of printable Halloween countdown calendars.
https://mycoloringland.com/coloring-pages/halloween-coloring-pages/

Happy Halloween and come back again next year!

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Felix Vallotton – Paintings of Colors

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Importance of Colors at Felix Vallotton’s Paintings

Felix Edouard Vallotton (1865-1925) was a Swiss painter who became a naturalized French citizen in 1900. He was a very productive artist with close to two thousand finished paintings, several hundred woodcuts, and other works during his life. Woodcuts were very important in his early career, being one of his major income sources during the financially insecure years. Like many of his contemporaries, he was heavily influenced by Japanese woodcuts. His main technique was xylography, an ancient printing method, based on wooden blocks, where a picture had to be drawn directly on wood, carved in relief, covered with ink, and finally printed on medium.

This method demands efficient use of materials. Felix Vallotton made a very detailed drawing at first and then simplified it. He made simplifications three, five, or even more times until he achieved the desired effect – the realistic image with just the essence, yet still with a bit of his ironic view. Portraits of his contemporaries and several series of interactions between men and women made him pretty famous. He transferred this method of repeated simplification into oil paintings, as well. While he almost stopped producing prints after his marriage with Gabrielle Rodrigues-Henriques, he kept the same technique during all his painting years, right to the end of his life.

Here is a selection of Felix Vallotton’s paintings, where color is not just used as a tool, but plays a major role as well. Felix Vallotton loved to use vivid, bright colors, spread on flat monochromatic areas with distinctive edges. He also liked to confront complementary colors, especially red and green, often dominating the scene, which can be presented in unusual perspectives. Felix Vallotton was a master of lights and shades, which you’ll also see in the presented selection of about 30 paintings with colors in their titles. They are presented in chronological order so you can explore the changes in his approaches during his formative and mature years.

The Red Room, 1898

Interior with Red Armchair and Figures, 1899

The Red Balloon, 1899

Interior with woman in Red from Behind, 1903

The Laundress, Blue Room, 1906

The Violet Hat, 1907

Use of violet color is pretty rare in oil paintings. In this case, its dominant.

Portrait of a Lady with Yellow Scarf, 1909

Young Woman with Black Hat, 1910

Sunset, Orange Sky, 1910

The Green Ribbon, 1911

Yellow Daisies and Various Flowers, 1911

Reader with a Yellow Necklace, 1912

Pink and Red Tulips, 1912

Torso with Blue Cloth, 1912

The Yellow Fabric, 1913

The Red Sweater, 1913

A ribeye Steak on Yellow Paper, 1914

Yellow Daisies, Yellow Tablecloth, 1915

Red Peppers, 1915

Sunset at Grace, Orange and Violet Sky, 1918

Green Vase and White Bowl, 1919

Double Yellow Tulips on a Wicker Chair, 1923

The Black Soupiere, 1923

Landscape, The House with the Red Roof, 1924

The Green Tree, Cagnes, 1924

The painting above is a textbook of using different green shades to achieve the realistic effect of space.

French Marigold, Purple Daisies, and Golden Sheves, 1925

Roumanian in a Red Dress, 1925

As you can notice, Vallotton preferred interiors at the beginning, then moved to portraits and landscapes, to be mainly focused on still life in his later years. There were also exceptions, of course. We can add that in his last decade of life when more and more health issues limited him, he painted many landscapes from his memory. Despite portraying hundreds of nudes, one of his last works, a portrait of a Roumanian lady of negotiable virtue in a red dress, is probably his most controversial. Today, the original is hung in the Museum d’Orsay in Paris.

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