Colour Me Happy: My Personal Colour Story
Lockdown saved my life. Colour helped me live it.
Detail from one of my early colour explorations ©KerryHussain2025
I closed the door quietly behind him and knew in that moment I could never see him again.
Sitting back down at the dining table, I glanced at the clock on the oven. 8:06am.
“What the fuck am I doing?” I thought, hating myself more than I ever thought possible.
Coming down off another coke-fuelled all-nighter, I decided enough was enough. It had to stop. And that day, everything did.
The date: 4th April, 2020.
In the last five years I have undergone a personal transformation so radical that even I’m surprised by what I have manifested:
Getting my writing published in my top choice magazine
Having my artwork featured in magazines and on TV
Speaking on podcasts and, most recently, on BBC radio
Buying my dream home
Not bad for someone who was lost and depressed AF, in a highly toxic co-dependant situationship with a suicidal, alcoholic narcissist, spiralled spectacularly into a drink and drug habit, and would regularly take out on her arm with a craft knife.
The one thing that helped me escape the darkness? Colour.
And today, exactly five years since that rock bottom moment, I’m hosting my very first masterclass to show you how you can use colour to change your life too.
Becoming Colour Curious
During the infamous Lockdown of 2020, I threw myself into painting. What emerged was a collection of dark, moody abstract pieces. However, over the next year or two, they gradually began to get lighter and lighter as I worked my way through my emotional turmoil.
‘Ascension II’ from my Meditation collection. ©KerryHussain2025
A palette of pale pink, shades of beige and white became a favourite, but here’s what struck me as strange: even though I loved vibrant colours deep down, every time I tried to create with them all I made was a mess.
So of course, I got curious.
My wardrobe exhibited the same achromatic tones: swathes of black, white and grey filled my closet. Even my home was decorated in neutral tones, (except the hallway which was all black) with only a hint of my favourite magenta pink here and there.
It was almost as if I was afraid of colour.
I started thinking back to when I was a child looking for any clues, and I found them in some old school reports.
The first was from my primary school when we lived in Essex. I was about 5 or 6 and all the teachers had written what a bright, chatty, friendly and helpful little student I was.
I remembered around that time I had a cute little top and skirt combo in a joyful turquoise colour that got covered in oil when I was playing with my friends on the farm.
I remembered the red trainers with the rainbows on the side that I wore EVERYWHERE ( I fucking loved those trainers!)
I remembered the bright pink jumper I begged my mum to knit for me then never wore because it was too itchy.
Then I read another one from just a few years later and the difference was quite shocking: I was too quiet, I needed to speak up more, I didn’t get involved in any class activities. I only had a few friends.
By then we had moved to the Isle of Wight. I didn’t want to go and I hated it. A lot of bad shit went down while we lived there (I think it’s cursed) and I could see from the difference in these two school reports that this was the reason I descended into darkness.
In response to this traumatic time my subconscious had kept me safe. Colour attracted attention and we didn’t want that so I spent my life hiding in black. It’s the colour of protection, and without even knowing it I was using it as a shield.
If I wore black no-one would see me.
I would be invisible.
I would be safe.
Deeper work revealed several colour blocks (I talked about blue in my last post) and since becoming aware of these I have been able to address the issues they raised and open myself up to a whole new way of being.
I have healed more, grown more and transformed beyond all recognition.
Being Colour Happy
Getting colour happy doesn’t mean I need to dress like a clown on acid or decorate my home like a unicorn threw up in it. It’s about using the right colours to create a feel-good vibe that’s effortless to maintain.
And ‘colour’ doesn’t have to mean ‘loud’. You can work with shades, tints and tones of colour. I still prefer to use muted (or ‘quiet’) colours with small pops of neon here and there. Too much vibrant colour would frazzle my energy field!
What I teach with Chromagik is that it’s not about going crazy with colour, it’s about being colour conscious and doing what works for you, cos guess what? This ain’t a one-size-fits-all job.
©Chromagik2025
Being Colour Conscious
I now live a colour conscious life. This means I intentionally choose colours to surround myself with depending on what my emotional needs are.
If I am low on confidence or am struggling to focus, a hit of yellow in my energy field gives me a boost.
If I’m too in my head and need to get grounded I’ll bring in some red or dark brown.
By looking at your subconscious associations, acknowledging them and releasing them, you can learn to work with colour on an energetic level to meet your emotional and mental needs.
Knowing what colour to use, when to use it and how is the key to maintaining balance.
Five years on from The Day The Earth Stood Still I am clean and sober, the scars on my arm are fading, and I’m healthier and happier than ever. I love who I’ve become.
Lockdown saved my life. Colour has been a valuable tool in helping me live it.