Ultimate 18-Colour Landscape Watercolour Palette

Richard J Hunt
2 days ago
6 min read

The Best 18-Colour Landscape Watercolour Palette: Pigments, Atmosphere & Mixing Mastery

Landscape painting demands versatility. As the light shifts through day, as seasons change, as weather comes and goes — the palette must keep up. That’s why I’ve developed an 18-colour watercolour palette that balances flexibility and control. Carefully chosen to offer luminous light, deep shadows, realistic greens, weathered earths and atmospheric skies, this palette gives you everything you need — and nothing extraneous.

But first: if you ever want to build this palette or replace colours, these manufacturers produce some of the finest professional watercolours in the world: Daniel Smith, M. Graham & Co. and Sennelier.

🎨 Use Daniel Smith for their broad, high-quality range of transparent and granulating colours.
🍯 Choose M. Graham & Co. for buttery, honey-bound paints known for smooth rewetting and richness.
🇫🇷 Try Sennelier for classic European watercolour textures — creamy, luminous and time-tested.

With that in mind, let’s explore what makes this 18-colour palette so functional, and how you can mix like a pro.

Landscape palette:

Lemon Yellow

Quinacridone Gold

Yellow Ochre

Raw Sienna

Pyrrol Red

Quinacridone Rose

Perylene Maroon

Burnt Sienna

Venetian Red

Raw Umber

Indanthrone Blue

Moonglow

Phthalo Blue RS

Cobalt Blue

Indigo

Cobalt Teal

Phthalo Green

Sap Green

Why This Palette Works

Ultimate 18-Colour Landscape Watercolour Palette -

Nature doesn’t show up in neon primaries. Think of a forest at dusk, a craggy cliff under overcast light, a mist-shrouded valley at dawn. Most of what you see are neutrals, subtle warms, soft transitions, textured earth, and shifting atmospheres.

This palette mirrors that complexity. It offers:

Transparent base pigments for glazing and subtle layering (yellows, transparent siennas, granulating blues)
Earth pigments for soil, rock, cliffs, fields — stable, natural, textured
Mixing reds and blues that neutralise strongly, giving rich shadows without mud
Greens via blending instead of convenience greens — so every green relates to the same colour-family logic
Blues and darks capable of producing both delicate skies and moody storm clouds

In short: the colours you get are believable, but never boring.

Exploring the Pigments — From Sunlit Grass to Twilight Shadows

Yellows: Light, Earth & Warmth

Lemon Yellow — the freshest, coolest yellow. Think of the early morning light glancing off new leaves or the highlight on dewy grass. It’s ideal when you want that crisp “spring green” or delicate foliage effect.
Quinacridone Gold — warm and transparent, this pigment captures golden hour light, sunlit hills, dry grasses and warm reflections. A handful of different earths or siennas alone can’t generate that richness.
Yellow Ochre — the classic earth-yellow. It carries heft and opacity, perfect for clay soil, old stone, dry fields, weathered walls or distant hills. Where Quin Gold gives glow and transparency, Yellow Ochre gives grounded solidity.
Raw Sienna — softer and more transparent than Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna is excellent for glazing warm lights, painting soil, or building gentle desert tones. It’s especially useful when you want warmth without overpowering detail.

Reds: Warmth, Depth and Natural Darkness

Pyrrol Red — the warm red of sunset, warm earth, clay, and natural highlights. Use sparingly for warm accents, sunlit soil, or the hint of light catching warm rock.
Quinacridone Rose — the cool red, essential for atmospheric depth. It’s perfect for subtle purplish shadows in hills, distant mountain haze, or soft evening glow.
Perylene Maroon — this is the key to deep, rich natural shadows. Tree bark, damp earth, forest undergrowth, weathered rocks: Perylene Maroon adds complexity and natural darkness that resist turning flat or dull.

Blues: Sky, Water, Distance & Shadow

Phthalo Blue (Red Shade) — the backbone of water and foliage mixes. Combine with Lemon Yellow for fresh greens, or with earths for marine tones. Use it for deep water, shaded valleys, or to cool down a mixture.
Cobalt Blue — soft and atmospheric. Use for skies, distant hills, subtle cloud shadows, or hazy backgrounds. It granulates gently, giving natural texture that mimics air and distance.
Indigo & Indanthrone Blue — the deep-shadow blues. They deliver smoky twilight, deep forest shades, distant rain clouds or night-scapes. Mix with earth tones for deep, believable neutrals without resorting to black.
Moonglow — the secret weapon of mood. Moonglow creates dusky purples, twilight mountains, smoky shadows on rock and distant woodlands. It’s unpredictable, but in a good way: it adds atmosphere and depth without harshness.

Earths — The Foundation of Realism

Burnt Sienna — essential for soil, clay, dry hills, wooden textures, muted browns. When mixed with a blue, it becomes natural grey or stone shadow.
Venetian Red — for warm earth, clay walls, dry adobe buildings, arid landscapes, old bricks. Its opacity gives structure and solid mass.
Raw Umber — the cool, dry earth tone. Great for bark, damp soil, shadow undergrowth, rock bases, and neutral underpainting for shadows or darker tones.

Greens — Realistic Nature Without “Cartoon Green”

Sap Green — the convenient mid-green for forest foliage or grass. Works when you want a “ready-made green.”
Phthalo Green — the mixing powerhouse. Combine with yellows for bright greens, with earths for olive and muted greens, or with blues for deep forest shadows.

Cobalt Teal Blue — Light Accent & Water Reflection

Not every palette includes a true teal, but this one does — and for good reason. Cobalt Teal Blue brings clarity and subtle coolness perfect for shallow water, bright refections, lake edges, coastal tides, and sunlit reflections on wet surfaces.

Master Mixing Recipes — Realistic Colour for Real Landscapes

With this palette, you’re not stuck with set colours. You have mixing power.

Fresh Spring Grass: Lemon Yellow + Phthalo Blue (RS), maybe a touch of raw sienna — crisp, lively green.
Sunlit Meadow: Quinacridone Gold + Raw Sienna, glazed lightly over a warm base.
Olive Foliage: Phthalo Green + Yellow Ochre + a touch of Perylene Maroon (for depth).
Mediterranean Water: Cobalt Teal Blue + Phthalo Blue, deepened with Indigo for depth.
Distant Mountains: Moonglow + Cobalt Blue, pulsed softly to build atmospheric violet-blue receding distance.
Rocks & Granite: Raw Umber + Phthalo Blue (or Indanthrone Blue), with a sprinkle of Perylene Maroon for earth shading.
Wet Forest Shadow: Perylene Maroon + Indigo (cool dampness) + a splash of Burnt Sienna for warmth.
Stormy Sky: Indigo + Moonglow + a touch of Quinacridone Rose — smoky, atmospheric, complex.
Golden Hills at Sunset: Quinacridone Gold + Burnt Sienna + a whisper of Pyrrol Red for warm glow.

These mixes are not generic. They are derived from the pigments themselves — from understanding how each interacts with light, water, pigment load and wash thickness.

When to Use This Palette — Landscapes That Fit Its Strengths

This 18-colour set excels in:

Mountain ranges with rock, snow, and alpine light
Forested hills — evergreen or deciduous — where shadows and depth matter
Coastal scenes, rivers and lakes: water + reflection + earth + sky
Arid or dry landscapes — clay, sandstone, scree, dry grass, dust, sun-drenched rock
Atmospheric weather: mist, haze, dusk, twilight, storm fronts — anything where subtlety and mood matter

If you paint landscapes that lean toward realism, atmosphere, and mood rather than hyper-saturated fantasy colours, this palette is built for you.

Some Limitations — Why No White, No Convenience Greens & No “Bright” Magentas

Any palette is a compromise. By choosing functional utility over convenience, this palette omits several kinds of colours:

There’s no opaque white — watercolour is about transparency. For highlights, use untouched paper or light washes.
There is no “convenience” green except Sap Green — but that’s intentional. Greens should come from mixing, not purchased pre-mixed, for natural variation.
There are no screaming bright neon colours or convenience purples — bright reds and blues exist, but all mixes are grounded in earths or transparent pigments for realism.

These omissions keep the palette disciplined — they encourage mixing instead of shortcut vividness.

Final Thoughts: Why This Palette Will Grow With You

Good palettes evolve. As you grow as a painter, you’ll begin to see where pigments shine, where mixes sing, and where limitations become opportunities. This 18-colour set isn’t final. It’s foundational.

It gives you light & warmth, earth & texture, shadow & depth, water & air, greenness & decay, sunshine & dusk, clear lakes & dusty roads, bright leaves & weathered cliffs.