John Muir Laws wrote the book on nature journaling, literally; I really enjoyed The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling. While I’m not sure what colors Laws is actually using these days, I thought I’d compare my palette to the colors he suggests in his book.
John Muir Laws’ Suggested Colors
- Hansa Yellow Light
- Hansa Yellow Medium
- New Gamboge
- Quinacridone Gold (PO49 version 🙁 )
- Permanent Orange
- Quinacridone Sienna
- Pyrrol Red
- Quinacridone Pink
- Dioxazine Violet
- Indanthrone Blue
- Cobalt Blue
- Manganese Blue Hue
- Phthalo Blue (not specified which, but presumably Green Shade)
- Phthalo Yellow Green
- Rich Green Gold
- Serpentine Genuine
- Chromium Oxide Green
- Hooker’s Green
- Undersea Green
- Perylene Green
- Buff Titanium
- Monte Amiata Natural Sienna
- Italian Burnt Sienna
- Burnt Umber
- Raw Umber
- Bloodstone Genuine
- Shadow Violet
- Black Tourmaline Genuine
- Payne’s Gray
- Neutral Tint
Whew! That’s a lot of colors (30, to be exact). Thirty is in some ways a convenient number of colors because it’s exactly what will fit in a Art Toolkit Folio Palette. Let’s see how I’d match this from my library of colors.
My Version
| Slot | JML Has | I Have |
|---|---|---|
| Light Yellow | Hansa Yellow Light (PY3) | Winsor Lemon (PY175) |
| Medium Yellow | Hansa Yellow Medium (PY97) | Winsor Yellow (PY154) |
| Orange-Yellow | New Gamboge (PY110 + PY97) | Isoindolinone Yellow Deep (PY110) |
| Gold | Quinacridone Gold (PO49) | Nickel Azo Yellow (PY150) |
| Orange | Permanent Orange (PO62) | Transparent Pyrrol Orange (PO71) |
| Bright Sienna | Quinacridone Sienna (PR209 + PY150 + PO48) | Quinacridone Coral (PR209) – Not the same color, but a component that lets me essentially mix it. |
| Bright Red | Pyrrol Red (PR254) | Scarlet Lake (PR188) |
| Pink | Quinacridone Pink (PV42) | Red Rose Deep (PV19) |
| Purple | Dioxazine Violet (PV23) | ✓ |
| Dark Blue | Indanthrone Blue (PB60) | ✓ |
| Mid Blue | Cobalt Blue (PB28) | ✓ |
| Light Blue | Manganese Blue Hue (PB15) | Cobalt Turquoise (PG50) |
| Cyan | Phthalo Blue Green Shade (PB15:3) | ✓ |
| Yellow-Green | Phthalo Yellow Green (PG36, PY3) | Phthalo Green Yellow Shade (PG36) – a component |
| Green Gold | Rich Green Gold (PY129) | ✓ |
| Granulating Green | Serpentine Genuine | ✓ |
| Sage Green | Chromium Oxide Green | n/a |
| Mixing Green | Hooker’s Green (PG7, PY150, PO48) | Phthalo Green (PG7) – a component |
| Gray-Green | Undersea Green (PB29, PY150, PO48) | Ultramarine Deep (PB29) – a component. |
| Dark Shadow Green | Perylene Green (PBk31) | ✓ |
| Buff | Buff Titanium (PW6:1) | ✓ |
| Raw Sienna | Monte Amiata Natural Sienna (PBr7) | ✓ |
| Burnt Sienna | Italian Burnt Sienna (PBr7) | Transparent Red Oxide (PR101) |
| Burnt Umber | Burnt Umber (PBr7) | ✓ |
| Raw Umber | Raw Umber (PBr7) | ✓ |
| Warm Gray | Bloodstone Genuine | n/a |
| Shadow Gray | Shadow Violet | n/a |
| Another Warm Gray | Black Tourmaline Genuine | n/a |
| Cool Gray | Payne’s Gray | n/a |
| Black | Neutral Tint | ✓ |
Laws has more colors than I typically use, so this is nearly everything in my library, with the exception of a few reduplicative colors, such as Quinacridone Burnt Orange and Burnt Sienna Deep (both of which have the same palette role as Transparent Red Oxide), or oddballs like Potter’s Pink, etc.
I noticed that I tend to gravitate toward single-pigment brights and mixers, whereas Laws suggests colors that are closer to the more muted nature colors you’d actually want to use on the page. Laws is designing a palette for use in the field, where you might not have the time or space to be mixing a lot of colors. I’m sure that as I do more nature journaling, I will see a lot more value in these premixed and premuted colors.
Which version book are you using? The 2016 ed by heyday books on page 83 he says it’s Pthalo Blue (Green Shade) PB15… right after the Pthalo Yellow Green that blew my mind!
I am curious about the art toolkit folio palette BUT can’t justify it. (I instead have a hacked magnetic empty Derwent pencil tin with removable tray, with full sized paint pans and my paint selection. Best way to manage my larger brushes and still travel. Holds a ridiculous number of pans or pans/brushes or pans/pens/pencils or whatever layout my Lego-minded brain desires…!)
Phthalo sorry autocorrect doesn’t like that word (eyeroll)
Ahh, I might have gotten an older one out of the library or just missed it.
Why did Phthalo Yellow Green blow your mind??
Phthalo Yellow Green is a convenience mix I probably should’ve started with first! Ah well. (Several green paint tubes to use up before I can justify buying another XD )