Coloricombo, how it started and what's next...
A spontaneous idea that became a catalyst for creativity
Happy New year to you, join me on Saturday 3 January 3pm London time for a live session of art making to start the year on a colourful note
As we enter the fifth year of Coloricombo, I’d like to stop for a moment to reflect and to share the story of how it came about. Let me start by reintroducing myself - I’m Esté MacLeod, the creator and curator of this ongoing program built around colours and creativity.
I’m a professional artist, designer and educator based in England, a curious creative with a maximalist mindset and a deep love of colour. Creativity is a powerful force: its been my joy to research processes and explore different techniques to be incorporated into online courses with the aim to help others to embrace their own creativity and develop their unique artistic voice.
Colour is my Jam
Playing with colours is fun, everyone has their own personal favourite colours. They affect our mood and have the ability to move us. Colours can energise us or bring feelings of comfort and my philosophy is that they can also be an effective catalyst for creativity.
From Instagram to Substack
The concept of colour prompts started out as occasional monthly challenges on Instagram way back in 2017 and the colour prompts on this post are from that period.
The first dedicated Coloricombo challenge happened on Instagram in September of 2021, when I curated fifteen, two-colour palettes over a month that was co-hosted with Lori Siebert. The response was huge and the positive feedback was the reason I made the leap to turn it into a year long program in January 2022.
On a weekly basis, I selected a fresh colour palette and an artwork by an artist from the past, along with a short backstory. Whilst doing research into past artists, I became aware of how female artists were regularly overlooked and under represented in the past (and still are) so my emphasis over the last two years has been to share the stories of female artists.
Added to the prompts, there’s been occasional videos such as colour mixing demos and to date, over two hundred colour palettes have been shared and emailed to subscribers every Monday.
Coloricombo 2025
Over the last year I shifted the focus to include more random inspirations for colour palettes. Like in June, when I featured the colours and shapes of beach pebbles found on the Isle of Arran in Scotland, one of the most popular post of 2025!
In 2025 I’ve continued to highlighting past artists and historical artworks but also started including some contemporaneous posts like the architect Frank Gehry’s passing and that audacious jewellery heist at the Louvre.
Thanks for coming along on this journey! I’m proud that Coloricombo has consistently been in Substack’s Top 50 Art & Illustration rankings. That’s entirely down to you, the readers, subscribers and especially the contributing members who make this possible.
Fresh Ideas for Coloricombo
It’s time for an annual refresh and here’s what I’ll be adding:
More colours
Weekly palettes will still go out every Monday with a slight change to the current format: instead of the four colours you’re used to I won’t be sticking to that rigidly. They’ll be varied, between two and five (or even more) colours depending on where inspiration comes from.
More shapes
Yes! Since the post in June where I used beach pebbles as inspiration to create florals (Pebbles and Petals) and even for horse shapes, I’ve been working behind the scenes to create a vocabulary of shapes for you all to use along with your Coloricombo colours.
More mindfulness
Last year I intended to do a few slow-paced live Zoom sessions but the year ran away from me. In 2026 I’m looking to add colour-focussed live sessions with an emphasis on slower art making with layered shapes, creating in a mindful way. I’ve three dates pencilled in already and will be sharing more information soon.
How This Actually Works
Full disclosure time! Coloricombo developed from a bright idea into an ongoing labour of love with the weekly prompts put together by myself with Niall (my partner) doing the technical work and making things look pretty.
There’s no team behind the scenes, no virtual assistants churning out content. As a self-employed creative, authenticity matters to me.
Every week, I research and select an image with fresh colours and write the content about the artist or topic. As I mentioned, lesser known female artists from the past have taken priority - I feel compelled to do this and my plan is to continue in this way.
Putting the program together takes a lot of time and dedication - I love doing it but the reality is that I spend around 160 hours per year on Coloricombo, almost four working weeks per year, This covers the the prompts themselves then video demo recordings and Substack live sessions.
So it’s a BIG huge thank you to all of my contributing subscribers. You help to make this happen, without your support I wouldn’t be able to commit this amount of time to Coloricombo.
Giving back to this incredible creative community through shared colours, processes and techniques is important to me. My philosophy is simple: help people feel more creative because it brings joy! That’s always been one of my core aims and it’s what keeps me motivated.
But here’s the reality: these posts reach around 8,000 creatives and colour-curious recipients every week, with less than three in a hundred (3%) contributing subscribers. If you’ve been considering supporting Coloricombo, I’d really appreciate it. Pricing for 2026 remains at $9 per month or $90 per year in your local currency - that’s way less than a weekly coffee!
What Contributing Subscribers Receive
The more support Coloricombo gets, the more time I can dedicate to it and the better it becomes for everyone. If you are in a position to contribute, here’s what you’ll get extra:
Full access to the archives
Including several hours of live colour mixing demos plus full access to everything from 2024 and 2025.
Behind the scenes
Additional information about my favourite tools and materials.
Discount offers
A 30% discount on any Zoom live Let’s Paint classes (three to be scheduled for 2026)
Ongoing 20% discount off any of my listed and new online courses.
There’s 20% off all limited edition giclée prints and silk scarves in my online shop.
My gratitude!
And my commitment that Coloricombo will remain a quality weekly newsletter, posted here weekly and free for everyone.
I look forward to share colour and creativity with you in the coming year!