The Elements on Earth Day

In honor of Earth Day, this week’s blog post is dedicated to the elements—earth, air, fire, and water—and inspired by the beautiful range of greens we see this time of year in the Pacific Northwest with art by Marketing Manager Nakaia Macomber-Millman.

We included watercolor prompts to help you explore these elements through art. We believe in treating every day as Earth Day and hope you find extra mindful moments to appreciate and celebrate our beautiful world.

Earth Prompt & Palette

Explore earth tones, neutral mixes, or a favorite range of analogous colors through layered line. Choose a paintbrush, load it up with paint, and begin by tracing your brush along the page in whatever way feels good to you. Find a light pressure with fine lines or a wide stroke, pushing your brush to the page. 

Paint List

Row 1: Raw Sienna, Quinacridone Gold, Row 2: Quinacridone Magenta, Row 3: Sepia, Indian Red, Quinacridone Burnt Scarlet, Row 4: Goethite (Brown Ochre).

Air Prompt & Palette

Look up! The changing sky presents an endlessly-changing subject to explore with watercolor, from sunsets to moody grey skies. Over the next few days, observe the sky at the same time of day, and take a few moments to capture the color and texture on your page.

You may be surprised to notice subtle differences in saturation or the shades that the sunrise brings into a soft blue morning. Our air Pocket Palette to the right was inspired by Brooke Morales, and comes from the blog post and demo, A Series of Skies. Follow along to paint a sunset, clear sky, and moody sky in a video demonstration with Art Toolkit Founder and Expeditionary Artist Maria Coryell-Martin!

Paint List

Row 1: Cobalt Teal Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Indanthrone Blue, Row 2: Hansa Yellow Medium, Quinacridone Rose, Cerulean Blue Chromium, Row 3: Raw Sienna, Burnt Umber, Lavender.

Fire Prompt & Palette

We invite you to capture the fiery sunbursts of spring blooms. Look for gradients of yellows, oranges, and reds along petals and accents of magentas on stems and leaves. What colors are the shadows cast by overlapping petals?

In this sketch, Nakaia sketched open and closed daffodils, calendulas, and dandelions that she found in her garden, capturing the moment pre- and post- burst!

Paint List by Column

Reds: Deep Scarlet, Quinacridone Rose, Pyrrol Scarlet, Permanent Aliziran Crimson, Neutrals Darks: Sepia, Indigo, Jane’s Grey, Lunar Black, Yellows: Hansa Yellow Light, Cadmium Yellow Deep Hue, Hansa Yellow Medium, Iridescent Gold.

Water Prompt & Palette

Blooms are quintessentially “watercolor.” Whether intentional or accidental, the blossoming of watery pigment on a wet surface creates intriguing patterns and texture on the page. To explore blooms, lightly wet your paper with clean water, load your brush with paint, and dot it (or trace it) across the page. 

Experiment with adding more or less water to the page or your brush, mixing colors, expanding on blooms and layering paint. Blooms are fun to incorporate into a watery scene, a soft sky, or a distant background to create depth in your sketches. Have fun, and enjoy what this watery technique has to offer!

Paint List

Row 1: French Ultramarine, Cerulean Blue Chromium, Indanthrone Blue, Hansa Yellow Medium, Row 2: Cobalt Teal Blue, Phthalo Blue (GS), Phthalo Blue (RS), Lunar Black.

Build Your Own!

Whether inspired by the elements or the environment around you, build your own themed Pocket Palette with pans and paint. The Pocket Palette is your go-to watercolor palette for painting in any environment. Featuring a large mixing area and a magnetic tray that can hold up to 28 Mini Pans, build your perfect palette to suit your style! Then, pick an Art Toolkit in the color and size that suits your style and get ready for sketching the natural beauties of the earth!