Lisa Spangler (@sideoats) ran the Nature Spot Challenge a second time in January 2024, and I participated again! I really enjoyed the first Nature Spot Challenge last year, so I was pleased to do it again. I managed to do one every day for the first two weeks of the month, but in the back half of the month I got a lot more spotty about it.
All The Nature Spots
Jan 1: Blue Sky
Colors: Phthalo Blue Red Shade, Cobalt Turquoise, white. I didn’t use Ultramarine Blue in the zenith as I normally do; PBRS seemed warm enough to me and I liked its smoothness.
Jan 2: Frost on a sweetgum leaf
Almost immediately I stopped doing nature spots as strictly “spots” (e.g. circles or swatches of color) because I felt inspired to do a little sketch. With a color like “frost,” it felt useful to record the context.
Observations: The color of frost appeared to me simultaneously grayish yet also white yet also surprisingly vivid pastel blues and violets. It also sparkled and would have been great with mica paint!
Colors: For the frost: Ultramarine Blue, Ultramarine Violet, white, Raw Sienna and Transparent Red Oxide (to mute).
Jan 3: Reeds & Grasses
Another one that’s partway between a swatch and a sketch.
Observations: Each type of grass is a slightly different color. The shadows appear violet-blue-gray.
Colors: Raw Sienna, white, yellow, Carbazole Violet, Indanthrone Blue, just a touch of Transparent Red Oxide
Jan 4: Cloud Shadows
Colors: Ultramarine Blue, Raw Sienna, Transparent Red Oxide.
Jan 5: Pine Needles
The cool thing about this “spot” is that I did it in temperatures far enough below freezing that my paint began to freeze in droplets on the water brush tip! (It was 26F/-5C, for the record.) This is was caused that weird texture in the paint. (Photo shows dry result.)
I know that Max Romey (@trailboundsketches) in Alaska adds vodka to his water to lower the freezing point, so I’ll have to try adding alcohol to my water brush next time it’s this cold.
Observations: Pine needles have a very warm yellow-green color when hit by the sun with cooler shadows.
Colors: Indanthrone Blue, Rich Green Gold
Jan 6: Dogwood Shrub Branches
Colors: Pyrrol Red, Quin Violet, Transparent Red Oxide
Wished I had: Perylene Maroon or Naphthamide Maroon
Jan 7: Snow
It snowed all day and I didn’t leave the house, but I tried to capture the pattern of snowfall through the window.
Jan 8: Snow shadows
I made two attempts at snow shadows on this, the first day of snow of the month! First I used Indanthrone Blue slightly muted by TRO, and the second time I used a mix of Carbazole Violet and Phthalo Turquoise, which I liked better.
Jan 9: Pine Bark
Colors: Transparent Red Oxide, Indanthrone Blue, Alizarin Crimson Quin, white
Wished I had: Indian Red
Jan 10: Cloud shadows
What I was interested in here was a surprising flash of blue in the shadows of the clouds. I used Phthalo Blue RS for that.
Jan 11: Yellow shrub branches.
Colors: dirty Imidazolone Yellow, Rich Green Gold
Jan 12: Sky reflected in water.
Colors: Cerulean Blue, Phthalo Blue Red Shade, Ultramarine Blue, Indian Red, Transparent Red Oxide
Jan 13: Storm Cloud
Colors: Indanthrone Blue, Indian Red, Phthalo Turquoise, Pyrrol Red.
Wished I had: Titanium White
Jan 22: Blue Sky
Colors: Cobalt Blue, Phthalo Blue RS, Raw Sienna (very small amount in cloud)
Jan 25: Spotted clouds
Colors: Phthalo Turquoise, Transparent Red Oxide, Alizarin Crimson Quin, Raw Sienna
Jan 27: Sunset over pond
Colors: Imid. Yellow, Titanium White, Raw Sienna, Payne’s Gray, Phthalo Turquoise, Transparent Red Oxide
Wished I Had: Naples Yellow Deep would have been convenient, but I don’t mind the yellow/white/sienna combo I used instead!
Jan 31: Red Berries
I was thinking about red berries all season, but I didn’t end up painting any until the last day!
Option 1 (left) shows a base of Holbein Pyrrol Red (PR254), with DV Aliz. Crimson Quin. in the shadows.
Option 2 (right) is mostly DV Perylene Red (PR149), a pigment also known as Perylene Scarlet. I thought this would be much duller than super-bright Pyrrol Red, but to me it looks, if anything, brighter? Maybe the warmth gives a bright impression. I’m happy about this, because I like Perylene Scarlet better than Pyrrol Red (even though Pyrrol Red is said to be more lightfast).
Conclusion
Overall, I was happier with the colors I had with me throughout the month than I had been last year. I used the Winter Palette most of the time (with some additions and subtractions as I finessed it). Particularly useful were:
- Titanium White – surprising hero!
- Phthalo Blue RS or Cobalt Blue – blue skies in winter are so beautiful!
- Phthalo Turquoise + Carbazole Violet – fave snow shadow combo
- Indanthrone Blue + Transparent Red Oxide – browns & muting effects
I occasionally used (or wished I had) colors not in the current iteration of the Winter Palette, including:
- Naples Yellow Deep (but white/yellow/sienna worked well)
- Perylene Scarlet or Pyrrol Red (both great for red berries)
- Quin Violet (misc muted, warm violet effects, though either Quin Rose or Carbazole Violet work for different use cases)
- Perylene Maroon or Naphthamide Maroon (though I didn’t mind mixing a dark red hue from reds and violets)
- Indian Red (though a decent granulating red-brown hue can also be mixed from UMB, TRO, and crimson)
I think one or two of those colors (not all of them) could be nice additions to the Winter Palette, perhaps in replacement with Quin Rose which I didn’t use that much (though it’s nice for skies).
Granted, I almost always wanted to nature spot the sky. It’s just my fixation!
I need to do this sometime when it’s not January. It’s a challenging month with cold, snow, and short days. It would be interesting to try in spring.