diff --git a/src/data/field/color.cpp b/src/data/field/color.cpp
index ce7a85c0..4022f282 100644
--- a/src/data/field/color.cpp
+++ b/src/data/field/color.cpp
@@ -41,7 +41,12 @@ IMPLEMENT_REFLECTION(ColorField) {
 IMPLEMENT_REFLECTION(ColorField::Choice) {
   REFLECT_IF_READING_SINGLE_VALUE {
     REFLECT_NAMELESS(name);
-    color = parse_color(name);
+    auto col = parse_color(name);
+    if (col) {
+      color = *col;
+    } else {
+      // TODO: handler.warning(_("Not a valid color value: ") + name);
+    }
   } else {
     REFLECT(name);
     REFLECT(color);
@@ -78,7 +83,7 @@ ColorValue::ColorValue(const ColorFieldP& field)
   : Value(field)
   , value( !field->initial.isDefault() ? field->initial()
          : !field->choices.empty()     ? field->choices[0]->color
-         :                               *wxBLACK
+         :                               Color()
          , true)
 {}
   
diff --git a/src/gfx/color.cpp b/src/gfx/color.cpp
index 1afe9fcf..cb246d41 100644
--- a/src/gfx/color.cpp
+++ b/src/gfx/color.cpp
@@ -11,11 +11,14 @@
 
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Parsing etc.
 
-template <> void Reader::handle(Color& col) {
-  col = parse_color(getValue());
-  if (!col.Ok()) {
-    col = Color(0,0,0,0);
-    warning(_("Not a valid color value"));
+template <> void Reader::handle(Color& out) {
+  String const& str = getValue();
+  auto col = parse_color(str);
+  if (!col.has_value()) {
+    out = Color();
+    warning(_("Not a valid color value: ") + str);
+  } else {
+    out = *col;
   }
 }
 
@@ -24,7 +27,7 @@ template <> void Writer::handle(const Color& col) {
 }
 
 
-Color parse_color(const String& v) {
+optional<Color> parse_color(const String& v) {
   UInt r,g,b,a;
   if (wxSscanf(v.c_str(),_("rgb(%u,%u,%u)"),&r,&g,&b)) {
     return Color(r, g, b);
@@ -33,7 +36,13 @@ Color parse_color(const String& v) {
   } else if (v == _("transparent")) {
     return Color(0,0,0,0);
   } else {
-    return Color(v);
+    // Try to find a named color
+    wxColour c = wxTheColourDatabase->Find(v);
+    if (c.Ok()) {
+      return Color(c);
+    } else {
+      return optional<Color>();
+    }
   }
 }
 
@@ -49,7 +58,7 @@ String format_color(Color col) {
 
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Color utility functions
 
-Color lerp(const Color& a, const Color& b, double t) {
+Color lerp(Color a, Color b, double t) {
   return Color(static_cast<int>( a.Red()   + (b.Red()   - a.Red()  ) * t ),
                static_cast<int>( a.Green() + (b.Green() - a.Green()) * t ),
                static_cast<int>( a.Blue()  + (b.Blue()  - a.Blue() ) * t ),
@@ -79,21 +88,22 @@ Color hsl2rgb(double h, double s, double l) {
 }
 
 
-Color darken(const Color& c) {
+Color darken(Color c) {
   return Color(
-    c.Red()   * 8 / 10,
-    c.Green() * 8 / 10,
-    c.Blue()  * 8 / 10
+    c.r * 8 / 10,
+    c.g * 8 / 10,
+    c.b * 8 / 10,
+    c.a
   );
 }
 
-Color saturate(const Color& c, double amount) {
-  int r = c.Red(), g = c.Green(), b = c.Blue();
-  double l = (r + g + b) / 3;
+Color saturate(Color c, double amount) {
+  double l = (c.r + c.g + c.b) / 3;
   return Color(
-    col(static_cast<int>( (r - amount * l) / (1 - amount) )),
-    col(static_cast<int>( (g - amount * l) / (1 - amount) )),
-    col(static_cast<int>( (b - amount * l) / (1 - amount) ))
+    col(static_cast<int>( (c.r - amount * l) / (1 - amount) )),
+    col(static_cast<int>( (c.g - amount * l) / (1 - amount) )),
+    col(static_cast<int>( (c.b - amount * l) / (1 - amount) )),
+    c.a
   );
 }
 
diff --git a/src/gfx/color.hpp b/src/gfx/color.hpp
index dc336559..295a88a1 100644
--- a/src/gfx/color.hpp
+++ b/src/gfx/color.hpp
@@ -14,9 +14,45 @@
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Includes
 
 #include <util/prec.hpp>
+#include <optional>
+
+// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Colors
+
+// Colors.
+// Ideally we would just use wxColour, but that class is stupid because it has an "invalid" state,
+// and the default constructor makes invalid values.
+struct Color {
+  union {
+    struct {
+      unsigned char r, g, b, a;
+    };
+    uint32_t packed;
+  };
+
+  inline Color() : r(0), g(0), b(0), a(0) {}
+  inline Color(unsigned char r, unsigned char g, unsigned char b, unsigned char a = 255) : r(r), g(g), b(b), a(a) {}
+  inline Color(wxColour color) : r(color.Red()), g(color.Green()), b(color.Blue()), a(color.Alpha()) {}
+
+  inline operator wxColour() const { return wxColour(r, g, b, a); }
+  inline operator wxPen() const { return wxPen((wxColour)*this); }
+  inline operator wxBrush() const { return wxBrush((wxColour)*this); }
+
+  inline bool operator == (Color const& that) const {
+    return packed == that.packed;
+  }
+  inline bool operator != (Color const& that) const {
+    return packed != that.packed;
+  }
+
+  inline constexpr unsigned char Red() const { return r; }
+  inline constexpr unsigned char Green() const { return g; }
+  inline constexpr unsigned char Blue() const { return b; }
+  inline constexpr unsigned char Alpha() const { return a; }
+};
 
 // -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // RGB Color, packed into 3 bytes
+// These are used for arrays in wxImage
 // -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 // stupid headers stealing useful names
@@ -37,6 +73,7 @@ struct RGB {
   RGB() {}
   RGB(Byte x) : r(x), g(x), b(x) {}
   RGB(Byte r, Byte g, Byte b) : r(r), g(g), b(b) {}
+  RGB(Color x) : r(x.Red()), g(x.Green()), b(x.Blue()) {}
   RGB(wxColour const& x) : r(x.Red()), g(x.Green()), b(x.Blue()) {}
   
   inline int total() { return r+g+b; }
@@ -65,7 +102,7 @@ struct RGB {
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Parsing
 
 /// Parse a color
-Color parse_color(const String& value);
+optional<Color> parse_color(const String& value);
 
 /// Convert a Color to a string
 String format_color(Color col);
@@ -77,19 +114,19 @@ inline int top(int x) { return min(255, x); } ///< top    range check for color
 inline int col(int x) { return top(bot(x)); } ///< top and bottom range check for color values
 
 /// Linear interpolation between colors
-Color lerp(const Color& a, const Color& b, double t);
+Color lerp(Color a, Color b, double t);
 
 /// convert HSL to RGB, h,s,l must be in range [0...1)
 Color hsl2rgb(double h, double s, double l);
 
 /// A darker version of a color
-Color darken(const Color& c);
+Color darken(Color c);
 
 /// A black or white color, that contrasts with c
-Color contrasting_color(const Color& c);
+Color contrasting_color(Color c);
 
 /// A saturated version of a color
-Color saturate(const Color& c, double amount);
+Color saturate(Color c, double amount);
 
 /// Recolor:
 /**
diff --git a/src/gui/about_window.cpp b/src/gui/about_window.cpp
index 4bf45f5e..f8a50de6 100644
--- a/src/gui/about_window.cpp
+++ b/src/gui/about_window.cpp
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ void AboutWindow::draw(DC& dc) {
   wxSize ws = GetClientSize();
   // draw background
   dc.SetPen  (*wxTRANSPARENT_PEN);
-  dc.SetBrush(Color(240,247,255));
+  dc.SetBrush(wxColor(240,247,255));
   dc.DrawRectangle(0, 0, ws.GetWidth(), ws.GetHeight());
   // draw logo
   dc.DrawBitmap(logo,  (ws.GetWidth() -  logo.GetWidth()) / 2, 5);
@@ -48,11 +48,11 @@ void AboutWindow::draw(DC& dc) {
     dc.DrawBitmap(logo2,  ws.GetWidth() - logo2.GetWidth(),      ws.GetHeight() - logo2.GetHeight());
   #endif
   // draw version box
-  dc.SetPen  (wxPen(Color(184,29,19), 2));
-  dc.SetBrush(Color(114,197,224));
+  dc.SetPen  (wxPen(wxColor(184,29,19), 2));
+  dc.SetBrush(wxColor(114,197,224));
   dc.DrawRectangle(28, 104, 245, 133);
-  dc.SetTextBackground(Color(114,197,224));
-  dc.SetTextForeground(Color(0,0,0));
+  dc.SetTextBackground(wxColor(114,197,224));
+  dc.SetTextForeground(wxColor(0,0,0));
   // draw version info
   dc.SetFont(wxFont(9, wxFONTFAMILY_SWISS, wxFONTSTYLE_NORMAL, wxFONTWEIGHT_NORMAL, false, _("Arial")));
   dc.DrawText(_("Version: ") + app_version.toString() + version_suffix, 34, 110);
@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@ void HoverButton::draw(DC& dc) {
   // clear background (for transparent button images)
   wxSize ws = GetClientSize();
   dc.SetPen(*wxTRANSPARENT_PEN);
-  dc.SetBrush(background != wxNullColour ? background : wxSystemSettings::GetColour(wxSYS_COLOUR_3DFACE));
+  dc.SetBrush(wxBrush(background.Alpha()>0 ? wxColour(background) : wxSystemSettings::GetColour(wxSYS_COLOUR_3DFACE)));
   dc.DrawRectangle(0, 0, ws.GetWidth(), ws.GetHeight());
   // draw button
   dc.DrawBitmap(*toDraw(), 0, 0, true);
diff --git a/src/gui/control/gallery_list.cpp b/src/gui/control/gallery_list.cpp
index c878c0d3..c302e68c 100644
--- a/src/gui/control/gallery_list.cpp
+++ b/src/gui/control/gallery_list.cpp
@@ -310,7 +310,7 @@ void GalleryList::OnDraw(DC& dc) {
         }
       #else
       Color c = selected ? ( focused
-                                  ? wxSystemSettings::GetColour(wxSYS_COLOUR_HIGHLIGHT)
+                                  ? Color(wxSystemSettings::GetColour(wxSYS_COLOUR_HIGHLIGHT))
                                   : lerp(wxSystemSettings::GetColour(wxSYS_COLOUR_WINDOW),
                                          wxSystemSettings::GetColour(wxSYS_COLOUR_WINDOWTEXT), subcolumnActivity(j))
                            )
diff --git a/src/gui/set/cards_panel.cpp b/src/gui/set/cards_panel.cpp
index b6b44f12..bfa704a5 100644
--- a/src/gui/set/cards_panel.cpp
+++ b/src/gui/set/cards_panel.cpp
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ CardsPanel::CardsPanel(Window* parent, int id)
   card_list   = new FilteredImageCardList(splitter, ID_CARD_LIST);
   nodes_panel = new wxPanel(splitter, wxID_ANY);
   notes       = new TextCtrl(nodes_panel, ID_NOTES, true);
-  collapse_notes = new HoverButton(nodes_panel, ID_COLLAPSE_NOTES, _("btn_collapse"), wxNullColour, false);
+  collapse_notes = new HoverButton(nodes_panel, ID_COLLAPSE_NOTES, _("btn_collapse"), Color(), false);
   collapse_notes->SetExtraStyle(wxWS_EX_PROCESS_UI_UPDATES);
   filter    = nullptr;
   editor->next_in_tab_order = card_list;
diff --git a/src/gui/set/stats_panel.cpp b/src/gui/set/stats_panel.cpp
index f4d04391..3c3767f9 100644
--- a/src/gui/set/stats_panel.cpp
+++ b/src/gui/set/stats_panel.cpp
@@ -260,7 +260,7 @@ void StatDimensionList::drawItem(DC& dc, int x, int y, size_t item) {
       int cx = x + subcolumns[j].offset.x + subcolumns[j].size.x/2;
       int cy = y + subcolumns[j].offset.y + subcolumns[j].size.y/2;
       dc.SetPen(*wxTRANSPARENT_PEN);
-      dc.SetBrush(prefered ? wxSystemSettings::GetColour(wxSYS_COLOUR_WINDOWTEXT)
+      dc.SetBrush(prefered ? Color(wxSystemSettings::GetColour(wxSYS_COLOUR_WINDOWTEXT))
                            : lerp(wxSystemSettings::GetColour(wxSYS_COLOUR_WINDOWTEXT),wxSystemSettings::GetColour(wxSYS_COLOUR_WINDOW),0.5));
       dc.DrawCircle(cx,cy,6);
     }
diff --git a/src/gui/value/color.cpp b/src/gui/value/color.cpp
index f5e67a6a..a0a3c6cb 100644
--- a/src/gui/value/color.cpp
+++ b/src/gui/value/color.cpp
@@ -151,6 +151,6 @@ void ColorValueEditor::change(const Defaultable<Color>& c) {
   addAction(value_action(valueP(), c));
 }
 void ColorValueEditor::changeCustom() {
-  Color c = wxGetColourFromUser(0, value().value());
-  if (c.Ok()) change(c);
+  wxColour c = wxGetColourFromUser(0, value().value());
+  if (c.Ok()) change(Color(c));
 }
diff --git a/src/render/text/element.cpp b/src/render/text/element.cpp
index 8e394819..c230abbf 100644
--- a/src/render/text/element.cpp
+++ b/src/render/text/element.cpp
@@ -127,9 +127,13 @@ struct TextElementsFromString {
         else if (is_substr(text, tag_start, _( "<color"))) {
           size_t colon = text.find_first_of(_(">:"), tag_start);
           if (colon < pos - 1 && text.GetChar(colon) == _(':')) {
-            Color c = parse_color(text.substr(colon+1, pos-colon-2));
-            if (!c.Ok()) c = style.font.color;
-            colors.push_back(c);
+            auto c = parse_color(text.substr(colon+1, pos-colon-2));
+            if (c) {
+              colors.push_back(*c);
+            } else {
+              queue_message(MESSAGE_WARNING, _("Invalid color in tagged string: ") + text.substr(colon + 1, pos - colon - 2));
+              colors.push_back(style.font.color);
+            }
           }
         } else if (is_substr(text, tag_start, _("</color"))) {
           if (!colors.empty()) colors.pop_back();
diff --git a/src/script/functions/image.cpp b/src/script/functions/image.cpp
index 5b934e5e..f68dd316 100644
--- a/src/script/functions/image.cpp
+++ b/src/script/functions/image.cpp
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ SCRIPT_FUNCTION(recolor_image) {
   SCRIPT_OPTIONAL_PARAM(Color, red) {
     SCRIPT_PARAM(Color, green);
     SCRIPT_PARAM(Color, blue);
-    SCRIPT_PARAM_DEFAULT(Color, white, *wxWHITE);
+    SCRIPT_PARAM_DEFAULT(Color, white, Color(255,255,255));
     return make_intrusive<RecolorImage2>(input,red,green,blue,white);
   } else {
     SCRIPT_PARAM(Color, color);
diff --git a/src/script/value.cpp b/src/script/value.cpp
index 1b8d9ece..6458bdd6 100644
--- a/src/script/value.cpp
+++ b/src/script/value.cpp
@@ -341,11 +341,11 @@ public:
     }
   }
   Color toColor() const override {
-    Color c = parse_color(value);
-    if (!c.Ok()) {
+    optional<Color> c = parse_color(value);
+    if (!c.has_value()) {
       throw ScriptErrorConversion(value, typeName(), _TYPE_("color"));
     }
-    return c;
+    return *c;
   }
   wxDateTime toDateTime() const override {
     wxDateTime date;
diff --git a/src/util/prec.hpp b/src/util/prec.hpp
index 13ecb4e5..1302b298 100644
--- a/src/util/prec.hpp
+++ b/src/util/prec.hpp
@@ -52,7 +52,6 @@ typedef wxWindow Window;
 
 typedef wxBitmap Bitmap;
 typedef wxImage  Image;
-typedef wxColour Color;
 typedef wxDC     DC;
 
 typedef wxDateTime DateTime;
diff --git a/src/util/rotation.cpp b/src/util/rotation.cpp
index 5ed13d6c..62dede58 100644
--- a/src/util/rotation.cpp
+++ b/src/util/rotation.cpp
@@ -182,11 +182,11 @@ RotatedDC::RotatedDC(DC& dc, const Rotation& rotation, RenderQuality quality)
 
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- : RotatedDC : Drawing
 
-void RotatedDC::DrawText  (const String& text, const RealPoint& pos, int blur_radius, int boldness, double stretch_) {
+void RotatedDC::DrawText(const String& text, const RealPoint& pos, int blur_radius, int boldness, double stretch_) {
   DrawText(text, pos, dc.GetTextForeground(), blur_radius, boldness, stretch_);
 }
 
-void RotatedDC::DrawText  (const String& text, const RealPoint& pos, Color color, int blur_radius, int boldness, double stretch_) {
+void RotatedDC::DrawText(const String& text, const RealPoint& pos, Color color, int blur_radius, int boldness, double stretch_) {
   if (text.empty()) return;
   if (color.Alpha() == 0) return;
   if (quality >= QUALITY_AA) {