What Nature Has Been Teaching Me About Color
I've been painting botanicals and florals for years now, and I'll tell you something: the more closely I look at nature, the more it humbles me.
No color palette I've ever mixed has been as sophisticated as the one the natural world puts together without trying. The way a single petal moves from cream to blush to the deepest rose at its center. The green of new leaves — that almost electric, yellow-tinged green that only lasts about two weeks each spring before settling into something more serious. The way shadows in a garden aren't gray at all, but violet, or deep teal, or a blue so rich it stops you.
Nature is my greatest color teacher, and I think it can be yours, too.
Getting Beyond the Obvious
When most of us think "botanical," we go for the expected palette: bright greens, cheerful pinks, sunny yellows. And there's nothing wrong with that. But what I've found — especially as my work has grown more personal — is that the most interesting color relationships in nature are the unexpected ones.
The burnt orange that appears in a fading hydrangea. The near-black of a wet branch against a pale winter sky. The unlikely pairing of dusty sage and warm terracotta you'll find along a California hillside in late summer.
If you're trying to build a more distinctive color palette in your own work, I'd encourage you to study nature not when it's at its most vibrant, but when it's transitioning — the early morning, dusk, late autumn, the moment just after rain. Those in-between moments are where the most unusual and beautiful color relationships live.
A Simple Practice to Try
Next time you're outside, pick one thing — one flower, one leaf, one piece of bark — and really study its colors. Don't just look at it and think "green" or "brown." Look for all the colors within that one thing. How many can you find? Where does one color end and another begin?
Then try mixing those colors in your own palette before looking at your reference photo again. You'll be amazed at how much richer and more personal your work becomes when you've spent time truly seeing first.
Nature isn't just subject matter; it’s multidimensional art with the most subtle details.
What I'm Exploring Now
Lately I've been drawn to deeper, moodier botanical work — dark backgrounds, rich jewel tones, the drama of a single peony against deep shadow. It's a departure from some of my earlier, brighter pieces, but it feels true to where I am as an artist right now. That shift happened because I followed what I was noticing in nature, not what I thought I was "supposed" to paint.
That's always the best guide.