What are nature spots, you ask? They’re spots of color to mark your observations while out in nature.
Nature Spots of bigtooth maples at Guadaloupe Mountains National Park.
Be it a flower, butterfly, amazing rock formation or magnificent mountain, nature spots are a great way to document a subject without taking up too much time.
Fill up a journal to document a hike or time spent at a special location. They’re a satisfying way to scratch that itch to paint, yet so simple that you can do them in five minutes tops.
Making color spots helps me connect with nature in a way that snapping a photo just can’t match and I wanted to find a way to share this joyful practice — so the Nature Spots ebooklet was born!
Peek Inside the Nature Spots eBooklet
Get Your Nature Spots eBooklet
Nature Spots is available as an instant download via my Ko-fi Shop — sorry, no hardcopy books are available at this time.
One of the best things about Nature Spots is that they need so few supplies — you can always have them with you!
Here’s what I have in my kit:
Pocket or Demi Palette from Art Toolkit. Fill it with your favorite tube watercolors. I like to switch up my paints with the changing of the seasons or if I know I’ll be visiting a certain place.
Paper or sketchbook. I like the mini Hahnemühle zig-zag book as the paper is thick enough so the you can use both sides without the color spot warping the paper. You can also make your own book.
Waterbrush. A water brush is a game-changer! If you haven’t heard of a water brush you’re in for a treat. It’s a brush that has water in the handle — nifty, right? A light squeeze gets the water flowing. I like the large size by Pentel.
Paper towel or shop towel for cleaning the water brush.
I keep my supplies in a shoulder pouch on my pack so I can get to them in a flash.
Use code LISAFAN10 for 10% off your purchase of an ArtToolkit, palette, or mixing pans. Full disclosure: I’m a Brand Ambassador for Art Toolkit and I’ll receive a small commission at no charge to you if you use the code — thank you so much for your support. I’ve been using these palettes since 2018 and I truly love them. Reviews here are my own.
Take the Nature Spots Challenge
Hiking the Bush Mountain Trail at Guadalupe Mountains National Park with my Nature Spot kit ready to go!
Join me for the Nature Spots challenge! It’s super simple: just do a nature spot each day and post a picture with hashtag #naturespotchallengeon Instagram, or add yours to the Padlet below.
Here are some ideas to get you going: do the color of the sky each day, tree bark, birds, rocks, landmarks — anything you like! The goal is to spend 5 minutes reconnecting with nature. Hope you’ll join me!
Share Your Nature Spots!
If you’re on Instagram, please tag your post with #naturespotchallengeso that we can inspire each other. Not on Instagram? No worries! Share your Nature Spots on Padlet, below:
What do I mean by desert green? Feast your eyes on the cacti and agaves below to see:
Did you spot the baby saguaro? 🙂
This opaque dusty green really used to trip me up when I first got started with watercolors. But not anymore!
Mixing greens with the Letter Sparrow Cactus Collab palette in a Hahnemühle watercolor book.
I found some key colors that really make mixing this elusive color so much easier:
PR233: Potter’s Pink — one of the keys to neutralizing greens is adding a little of its red mixing complement, and potter’s pink does just that when mixed with the greens below. I’ve found the Daniel Smith version dries as hard as a rock in my palette so I love the Letter Sparrow version because it’s easy to rewet. I’d like to try the Winsor & Newton version someday.
PG17: Chromium green oxide / Letter Sparrow pistachio — this granulating, opaque color is perfect on its own or in mixes. Add a little yellow for a more vibrant green, or mix it with potter’s pink for that dusty desert look.
PG50: Cobalt green / Letter Sparrow Kelly green — can be used on its own or mix this color with chromium green oxide above or with potter’s pink for a grayish green
Letter Sparrow peacock — this is a mix of phthalo blue (PG15) + phthalo green (PG7) and is way too vibrant by itself — but mixed with potter’s pink it’s perfect!
PG50 Cobalt turquoise blue / Letter Sparrow turquoise (PB28) is another one that’s great mixed with potter’s pink. It’s also really nice with Letter Sparrow violet ochre (PR101) or DS Venetian red (also PR101). Check out this post on Cobalt Turquoise light/PG50 for more info on this color — it’s one of my favorite paints and I put it on just about every palette.
Mixing in indanthrone blue, a violet, neutral tint or indigo will get you get you the darker toned greens.
It’s worth it to try the colors on different papers because the granulation will settle out differently. Here the top paper is Arches cold press and the bottom two are Canson Montval.
One last tip: I use the extra large mixing pan space for all my desert greens — and I never bother to clean it out!
Happy mixing! Let me know if you have any questions and I’m happy to answer — Lisa
I’m super excited to share a project that’s been in the works for a while now: a Cactus Palette Collab with Letter Sparrow! Kelly makes some of the best handmade paints that I’ve ever used, hands-down. This is like a dream come true. It will come in a Folio palette from Art Toolkit, with plenty of mixing space. The palette will be available for sale on May 27th in her shop and she’ll also have individual pans for sale so that you can pick them up and add to an existing palette.
Kelly and I have been working on this for months and it feels so good to hold it in my hands!
Here’s an unboxing video so you can join in the excitement with me:
I’m honored to be a guest on the Journaling with Nature Podcast with Bethan Burton. It was so lovely to talk with her and I feel like we are kindred spirits.
Did you ever finish an interview and then you think of a bunch of things that you wished you’d remember to say? That’s what happened to me! So I thought I’d put some thoughts down here:
My Instagram name, @sideoats, comes from my love of prairies — sideoats grama is the state grass of Texas and my favorite grass — shhhh, don’t tell the other grasses! Find out more about sideoats grama here on the Wildflower Center plant database. This is a wonderful resource for looking up more information about native plants.
Did you know that of the original 20 million acres of tallgrass prairie, less than 1% now remains? It hurts my heart that kids are taught more about lions and tigers and the rainforest than our own prairie ecosystem. This article on Why Prairies Matter is a great read.
John Muir Laws is one of my art heroes — his videos and books really helped me recover from 6 (!) leg surgeries after I tore my ACL while hiking. I should write up a post on that soon!
Let me know if you give it a listen and if you have any questions. Reflecting on our conversation makes me so thankful for the nature journaling community.
I had so many requests for info on the little palette I’m using for the Nature Spot Challenge — so here you go!
It’s a Demi Palette from Art Toolkit and I love how small it is! You can truly take this little guy everywhere!
Colors are:
DS = Daniel Smith, WN = Winsor and Newton
DS Hansa yellow medium — a great middle yellow; I like to have this or azo yellow on my palette.
DS Raw sienna — this shade can be tricky to mix out in the field so I like to have it on my palette for convenience. I use it in sunrise/sunset skies, for winter grasses and sand, or mixed with rose or organic vermillion for soft peachy tones.
DS Quinacridone rose — this is my primary red/magenta.
DS Organic vermillion — an opaque warm red — think cadmium red without the cadmium!
WN Cobalt turquoise light (DS cobalt teal blue) — one of my favorite blues! I think of it as a granulating cyan. Mix with ultramarine blue for skies, raw sienna for desert greens, quin rose for purples. I prefer the WN version because it rewets better for me.
DS Phthalo blue, green shade — my primary blue/cyan.
WN ultramarine blue — a granulating warm blue
DS Transparent red oxide — a granulating reddish brown; mix with ultramarine blue for lovely grays and darker browns or phthalo blue for pine green.
Just let me know if you have any questions, and happy nature spotting!
PS. You can join the challenge anytime — find out more here. It’s been so fun seeing everyone’s nature spots from all around the world!
I had several questions about what papers to use for the Nature Spots Challenge so I thought I’d write up a quick blog post.
A selection of papers I love to use for Nature Spots!
Legion Stonehenge paper pads are a great way to try out different types of paper — hot press, cold press, thicker paper, etc. They’re 2-1/2” x 3-3/4.
Case For Making’s tiny paper packs are so fun and come in a letterpress carrying case.
Trim your own papers out of scraps you have from other projects.
Make a mini accordion book out of your favorite watercolor paper — this one is made out of 140# Arches cold press. A hair tie or rubber band will hold it together. Here’s a quick tutorial here on my website.
Last but not least, my favorite mini zigzag book from Hahnemuehle! I love taking these on hikes and filling them up as I go! I got mine here at Art Toolkit.
See this post for full details on the Nature Spots Challenge, starting January 1st! Hope you’ll join the fun! — Lisa
I’d like to invite you to join me for the first-ever Nature Spots Challenge! It’s super simple to play along: just get outside and do a nature spot a day in January. If you’re on Instagram, please tag your post with #naturespotchallengeso that we can inspire each other. Not on Instagram? Please share your Nature Spots in the Padlet at the end of this post.
The goal is to take 5 minutes to connect with nature each day in a meaningful way. I’ve found this practice helps bring me so much joy and I hope it does the same for you! It’s also a great way to kickstart your sketching practice — I’ve found that once I have my kit out I don’t want to stop.
Inspiration
I was surprised to find lantana blooming in December!
I put together a list of Instagram reels to inspire you:
Here’s my kit I take on my daily walks in the neighborhood
This one has some of my favorite nature spots in 2022!
The sky! It would be amazing to do a nature spot of the sky each day in January, maybe at the same time each day — or do sunsets and sunrises
Critters, birds, bugs, butterflies — all those things that move too fast and can be intimidating to sketch. Do a nature spot instead!
Focus on all the evergreens in your area — such a great way to practice mixing greens
If you’re in a warm climate, do flowers!
If you have snow, do nature spots of the colors of the shadows (I’m hoping we get some snow — just not too much like the snowpocolypse of 2021.)
Do a nature spot of the first thing that speaks to you each day — this is what I plan to do!
The sky on December 26, 2022 was an amazing blue.
Supplies
Paint: a Pocket or Demi Palette from Art Toolkit. Fill it with your favorite tube watercolors. I like to switch up my paints with the changing of the seasons or if I know I’ll be visiting a certain place.
Paper: I stocked up on my favorite mini Hahnemühle zig-zag books to use for the challenge. I love using these little books as the paper is thick enough so that you can use both sides without the color spot warping the paper. You can also make your own booklet, or use loose pieces of paper — whatever works for you! This would be a great way to explore different brands of paper, or 100% cotton vs wood pulp papers.
Brush: a water brush is a game-changer. If you haven’t heard of a water brush you’re in for a treat. It’s a brush that has water in the handle — nifty, right? A light squeeze gets the water flowing. I like the large size by Pentel.
Paper towel or shop towel for cleaning the water brush.
A 4×6″ piece of Coroplast or cardboard to use as a support board is super handy to have, but if I’m using a mini zig-zag book I just hold everything in my hand.
Something to keep your kit in: I have a fanny pack that I use for my walks in the neighborhood and a phone pouch on my backpack for when I’m hiking.
I can’t wait to see everyone’s nature spots! Happy painting! — Lisa
Share Your Nature Spots!
If you’re on Instagram, please tag your post with #naturespotchallengeso that we can inspire each other. Not on Instagram? No worries! Share your Nature Spots on Padlet, below:
Choosing paints to put on your palette is very personal — it depends on where you live, what you like to paint, how much you enjoy color mixing, and more. Someone who does botanical art will have a very different palette than someone who focuses on urban scenes.
I live in Central Texas but I make frequent trips to the desert, and my focus is on nature — think flowers, landscapes, birds, mountains, skies — but I like to have the flexiblity to paint whatever I see. I like to switch my palette up based on the seasons and locations. I have so much fun tinkering with color — I’m always learning more!
So let’s get to it!
Key: DS = Daniel Smith, WN = Winsor & Newton
Core Colors
These are the colors that I have on all of my palettes:
Swatches on Canson Montval studen grade paper, which can result in hard edges. The colors look even richer on Arches and the quin rose + CTL doesn’t have quite as much color separation. (Click to see it larger.)
DS Azo yellow – a beautiful transparent yellow; sometimes I have Hansa yellow medium, but I prefer Azo as it’s more transparent.
DS Raw sienna – used to mix dusty greens, for the desert floor, rocks, and adding a glow to sunset skies without worrying about it mixing with blue to turn green. It’s hard to mix this in the field, so I love having it on my palette.
WN Ultramarine blue (I love DS UMB but have had problems with it drying hard as a rock in the palette) — great for summer skies in the desert, mixing purples with quin rose, and greens with the azo yellow or raw sienna. Mix with cobalt turquoise light to get a cerulean blue.
DS Transparent red oxide (TRO) — another granulating pigment. I mix it with ultramarine blue for my go-to gray.
Here are some of the greens you can mix with these core colors:
From left to right: azo yellow mixed with ultramarine blue, cobalt turquoise light mixed with azo yellow, and raw sienna with cobalt turquoise light. The CTL + azo really is that bright!
More Colors
If I have more room on my palette I like to add these:
These are on most of my palettes:
DS Quinacridone coral — (look for PR209) — a transparent warm red that’s perfect for florals, sunsets/sunrises, desert rocks. Mix with quin rose for a nice red or raw sienna for a peachy color.
DS Quinacridone gold — I use this one to mix greens with any of the blues, and for yellow flowers and autumn leaves.
Cobalt blue — the perfect sky color; mix with quin rose for lovely purples.
DS Organic vermillion — an opaque warm red. Since it’s opaque I can layer it for flowers. Mix with phthalo blue for an opaque brown to a dark opaque gray.
Phthalo blue (green shade) — I’m currently experimenting with Schminke’s cerulean blue hue as its a combination of phthalo blue (PB15:3) and zinc white (PW4). I’ve had some issues with phthalo blue making a mess in my palette and I was hoping the added white would help stabilize it — so far so good!
DS indigo (PB60 + PBk6 lamp black) or DS indanthrone blue (PB60) — both of these have PB60 in them, while indigo has added lamp black. Great for night skies, and adding dark values. Mix with TRO for amazing grays. Note that both of these will dry significantly lighter than you’d expect!
Convenience Greens
I love having these on my palette for fast mixing in the field, plus they can really make make an impact:
DS Chromium green oxide — a granulating dull green, best mixed with a yellow or a blue. It’s a great “desert green” for cacti, yuccas and agaves. Mix it with phthalo green to get a color that’s almost like DS jadeite genuine for way less $!
DS phthalo green (blue shade) PG7 — this can really take over, so watch out. It’s great for mixing pine greens with phthalo blue or TRO
DS Hansa yellow light (HYL) — I put this in the green section because it’s a cool yellow that I usually add to my palette in spring to mix really vibrant greens. It’s also great for adding a yellow glow. I’m not 100% convinced that it’s lightfast though. Time will tell!
Specialty Colors
If I still have room on my palette after all of that I like to add:
DS Venetian red — an opaque brownish red. I love it for rocks, shadows, tree bark and misting with cobalt turquoise light to get a nice “desert green”.
DS Perylene red — a cool true red; I’m still exploring this color but really love it so far.
Schmincke Transparent orange — it’s a beautiful glowing orange. I can get something close by mixing quin coral and azo yellow, but it’s not quite the same.
WN Smalt — this is a really lovely granulating purply blue that’s perfect for bluebells in the spring or winter snow shadows. It can be hard to mix in the field and I just love having it on my palette. Mix with raw sienna for a soft gray.
DS Lunar earth — it’s really similar to TRO but oh the granulation and variation! It’s softer than TRO.
DS Piemontite Genuine — I love having this on my palette for volcanic rocks/mountains as it has so much color variation.
Further Reading
When I first started watercoloring I searched the web to see what my favorite artists were using — I thought I’d list them here for you:
Jane Blundell — Her Ultimate Mixing Palette book taught me so much! I highly recommend working through all of the two color mixes. She also shares more palette options on her blog, as well as swatches of the full range from all of the top watercolor manufacturers.
Liz Steel — Liz is mostly urban sketcher (she also does lovely tea cups!) and she’s always experimenting with mixes.
John Muir Laws — he’s such an inspiration! His setup is geared towards nature journaling.
Shari Blaukopf — Shari does a mix of urban and nature sketching.
Handprint — Bruce MacEvoy did a huge service to watercolorists everywhere with his site. I consult it whenever I think about trying a new pigment or when I want to geek out about color.
Hope that helps and just let me know if you have any questions! And stay tuned, because I absolutely love fiddling with my palettes so I may switch things up — I’ll update this post if I do!
Come join me and Maria from Art Toolkit for a live demo on Tuesday, December 6th at 1pm Pacific to create colorful cards for the holidays! The demo will be HERE on YouTube and we’ll save the recording so you can watch it later.
Bring your 4” x 6” watercolor paper, watercolors, a pencil, brush pen, or parallel pen, and your favorite paintbrush. We hope you can join us!
Here are the colors I used — but please use what you have:
Reds: quinacridone rose, quinacridone coral, organic vermillion, perylene red
Greens: chromium green oxide, phthalo green (blue shade), cobalt turquoise light
Several of y’all asked me how I keep the pans for my Art Toolkit Palettes organized so I thought I’d share. True confession: I used to keep them in a drawer and they’d get all jumbled up and messy. Then one day I had the idea to use magnetic sheets with clear plastic pockets meant for storing craft dies and they work great! (See below for all the details + links).
I used to write on the pans with a Sharpie but it would rub off over time, darn! Then I had the idea to use labels and it works like a charm!
I like to switch up my colors with the seasons and depending on locations, so I’m thinking of setting up several of these.
Magnetic sheets with clear pockets — I use some from Ellen Hutson die cuts packaging (move the dies into the matching stamp packaging). Similar on Amazon here and here. (I have not personally used these since I have plenty from Ellen Hutson).
I use a Sharpie or Copic Mutiliner .1 to write on the labels — just make sure it’s waterproof. 🙂 I like the .1 size so I can keep my writing small.
Lisa Spangler 
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