Sketching Flowers with the Explore Palette

I spent a delightful morning sketching in Chetzemoka Park, Port Townsend. The park was an idyllic scene with sunshine streaming through trees, casting dappled shadows across lush green grass and the sparkling blue backdrop of the Salish Sea. Adding to the charming atmosphere, a group of musicians playing classical string music in the nearby gazebo as another group practiced their morning tai chi across the field.

I quickly sketched the contours of petals and leaves with a Copic Multiliner pen, then layered on color. The twelve-color Explore Palette was a perfect companion for the vibrant spring hues, with both bold primaries and pre-mixed convenience colors such as purple, green, and brown. I mixed colors on my palette and directly on my page, playing with purples, pinks, blues, reds, and a range of greens. It was a lovely morning to be sketching outdoors and immersed in the peaceful energy of the park.

Featured Supplies and Paint List

Moving from one blooming, vibrant tree, bush, or plant to the next, I sketched in a Moleskine Watercolor Album with a Copic Multiliner (0.35), adding watercolor with an Explore Palette and an Aquash Water Brush. My Purple Pocket Art Toolkit contained other convenient supplies like mini binder clips and little rag to dry my brush in between colors.

Row 1: Hansa Yellow Medium, Permanent Red, Cerulean Blue Hue
Row 2: Yellow Ochre, Red Rose Deep, Ultramarine Blue
Row 3: Burnt Sienna, Da Vinci Violet, Sap Green
Row 4: Burnt Umber, Payne’s Gray, Perylene Green

Plein Air Flowers

1. Purple rhododendron

2. Siberian Bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla)

3. Flowering crabapple

4. Bluebell

5. Japanese Andromeda

Thank you for joining us at the park to explore our new paint-filled palette! Learn about the Explore Palette, and our eight-color version, the Demi Explore Palette, on our Watercolor Palettes & Pans page.