The Color Series | 20 Gray Illustrations That Quiet Down a Busy World

If you’re a long time read­er to Brown Paper Bag, you know that I love col­or. I’ve spent more than a month (so far) on the The Col­or Series, which chron­i­cles illus­tra­tion, embroi­dery, and even sketch­books to show how cre­atives will uti­lize a sin­gle col­or in their work. So far, I’ve select­ed vibrant col­ors like pink, green, and pur­ple. But today, let’s back off from bril­liant blue and set our sights on gray  illustrations(or grey, for those across the pond).

Gray is often regard­ed as drea­ry or melan­choly, like a cloudy day as it begins to rain. Many of the illus­tra­tions I’ve cho­sen show just that; the hue is per­fect for a win­tery scene. In these moments, the image feels qui­et; Imag­ine walk­ing out­side dur­ing a snow­storm; that’s when gray is at its best.

Gray illustrations are often of landscapes, and this neutral hue makes an image feel quiet—even if it’s trying to scream. Check out how 20 illustrators use the hue, below.

Lisa Perrin

Alesya Nesolenova

Anja Sušanj (on Brown Paper Bag)

Rebecca Green

Julianna Brion (on Brown Paper Bag)

Isabelle Arsenault

Dinara Mirtalipova (on Brown Paper Bag)

Esther Sarah Kim

Lior Katzir

Eleni Kalorkoti (on Brown Paper Bag)

Lisk Feng

Nastia Sleptsova (on Brown Paper Bag)

Olga Ezova-Denisova (on Brown Paper Bag)

Chris Hagan(on Brown Paper Bag)

Hannah Li

Akira Kusaka

Maggie Chiang (on Brown Paper Bag)

Carson Ellis