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Art Supplies Spotlight: Poems About You Handmade Watercolour Part 4

Hi friends,


In this month’s Art Supplies Spotlight, I’m continuing the Poems About You series and diving into the earth tones — think ochres, siennas, and umbers. At first glance, these colours may seem quite similar, but each has its own unique character, with different levels of flow, texture, and transparency or opacity.


This month, we’re focusing on earth yellows like Yellow Ochre, Jarosite, and Raw Sienna. These are absolute essentials in my palette. They’re wonderfully versatile: mix them with vibrant greens for warm, muted foliage, with reds and pinks for soft, dusky blush tones, or with blues for cool, moody greens. I love using these colors to balance out the bold vibrancy in my work and create harmony across a painting.


If you’d like to catch up on the earlier spotlights, you can find them here:



Handmade Watercolors - Green Set - 12 Color Set for Plein Air - Emerald, Oxide, Florentine, Phthalo, Indigoge, and Hooker's Green
Handmade Watercolors - Green Set - 12 Color Set for Plein Air

Notes on Each Watercolour Paint/Colour


Earth Yellow Pigments: Characteristics, Transparency & Behaviour


Earth yellows are some of the most beautiful pigments to work with — soft, natural, and versatile. Many of them share common traits:


  • Low tinting strength (they won’t overpower a mix easily)

  • High transparency

  • Granulation in some cases, which adds texture and character


I like to work through them in a sequence: starting with the coolest earth yellows, then moving into warmer tones, those leaning towards brown, and finally those with a slight orange cast.


Cool Earth Yellows


Jarosite (PY43) is the coolest earth yellow, with a slight brownish tint. It’s very transparent and requires a bit more water to activate. It doesn’t disperse much and lifts easily from the paper. One thing to note — over time, a thin film can build up on the surface, so using it regularly helps prevent this. (This is common for iron-containing earth pigments.)


Extra Light Ochre (N/A) is a cool-leaning yellow with a very low tinting strength, thanks to its gummy texture. It needs more water to activate and is highly transparent, with very little dispersion in water. Lifting is easy.


Slightly Warmer Yellows


Lemon Ochre (PY46), Limonite (PY42), and Mars Yellow (PY42) are all quite close in hue — warmer than Jarosite and Extra Light Ochre — and have medium tinting strength.


  • Lemon Ochre & Limonite: Easy to lift, very transparent (Limonite is slightly more opaque).

  • Mars Yellow: More staining and slightly more opaque, making it a good choice for areas you don’t want to rework too much.


Mid Earthy Yellows


Italian Yellow Earth (PY43), Yellow Ochre (PY46), Transparent Yellow (PY42) are classic earth yellows, medium in tinting strength and very transparent (though Transparent Yellow is just a touch less so).


  • Italian Yellow Earth & Transparent Yellow: Lift easily.

  • Yellow Ochre: More staining and harder to lift.


Warm Earth Yellows


Ambrogio (PY43) & Felsite (PY42) are warmer, with a hint of orange.


  • Ambrogio: Slightly cooler, granulates a little.

  • Felsite: Flatter, less texture. Both are transparent, medium tinting, and easy to lift.


Brownish Earth Yellows


Cool Mexico Ochre (N/A), Goethite (PBr6), Fawn Ochre (PY43) lean closer to a brownish earth yellow.


  • Cool Mexico Ochre: Slightly more opaque, flat appearance, medium tinting strength.

  • Goethite & Fawn Ochre: Highly transparent with a gummy texture, low tinting strength, and beautiful granulation with visible particles.


All three lift very easily, revealing clean white paper.


Orange-Leaning Earth Yellows


Raw Sienna (PBr7) & Dark Ochre (PY43) are warmer and more orange in appearance.


  • Raw Sienna: Quite flat, slightly more opaque, disperses readily in water.

  • Dark Ochre: Granulates slightly, also disperses well.


Both are medium tinting and easy to rewet and lift.


Final Thoughts


Earth yellows are gentle, versatile workhorses in any palette. Their transparency makes them excellent for glazing, and their range — from cool and subtle to warm and rich — offers endless possibilities for mixing and layering. If you enjoy natural, grounded palettes, these pigments will quickly become staples in your watercolour palette.



Swatches


See below for swatches of all the colours.



If you’ve made it this far, thank you so much for reading this blog. Stay tuned for Poems About You V, where I’ll be sharing shades of earthy orange and reds!


I hope you enjoyed this blog post and found it inspiring.


Until next time.


Much love,

Wendy

 
 
 

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