Watercolor Field Guide

This project encourages you to get outside and take a closer look at your surroundings (if you do not have access to outdoor space, this activity is just as fun to do inside your home!). What do you see? What color is it? Grab your watercolor paper and paints and head outside to investigate. As you look around, choose a few of your findings to record in your field guide. To record an item, simply get as close as you can to your subject and mix up your watercolors to try and recreate the color of the subject as best you can. Once you are satisfied with the color you mixed up, simply paint a square of that color on your watercolor paper and with a pen or pencil write what the color describes. For example, my first subject was a basil leaf so I created a medium green color and then wrote ‘basil’ next to my green square. Repeat this process until you have a filled field guide. You could do this over many days or do it in one sitting, Artist’s choice! If you enjoy this project, you can do it again and again each time in a different area with different subjects (i.e. colors of birds in your yard, plants in your garden, the color of the sky, etc.).

This project is inspired by artist Spencer Finch. Finch is known for his investigations into the nature of light, color, and memory and for work that visualizes his experiences of the natural world. His piece “Maine Landscape (Atlantic Ocean from Isle au Haut, low tide) afternoon effect” in particular relates to this week’s project. In this abstract work, individual swatches of color represent particular elements of nature that the artist observed on a trip to Maine. Equal parts science and poetry, Finch’s work shows us how close examination of our daily life can push us to see the ordinary as extraordinary. See images of Finch’s work as well as my watercolor field guide below!

Suggested materials:

-Watercolors (markers are a fine substitute!)

-Watercolor paper

-Pen or pencil

-Binoculars or magnifying glass

Happy Making!

“There’s nothing like looking, if you want to find something”

— J.R.R Tolkein