Colorful skies are one of my most favorite things. I’m first out the door to take photos when the sky starts lighting up at sunset, and occasionally at sunrise (if I’m awake…). It’s no surprise then that painting colorful skies is one of my favorite things to do.

Today I’m sharing with you the colors that I use most often to paint watercolor sunsets.

My first preference is for transparent non granulating colors, I find that they’re a bit easier to put the color where you want it to go. (All paint used is Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor, and I’ve listed the pigment numbers in bold too!)

Let’s start with yellow.

I am a big fan of warm rich yellows, so I love Hansa Yellow Deep PY65 for the warm glow it gives. If I need to tone it down or blend into a cooler yellow at some point, I mix it with Lemon Yellow PY175.

Fiery reds & orange.

When the sky requires a shift into orange, my go to color is Pyrrol Scarlet PR255. It’s a REALLY bright beautiful clear red orange. Mixing with Hansa Yellow Deep PY65 produces a range of bright warm oranges, and used alone it gives a vibrant pop of intense color. I also love Quinacridone Burnt Orange PO48 for a more rusty orange sky.

Transitioning from red to purple.

Quinacridone Violet PV19 is a beautiful bright purple pink that’s perfect as the sky starts moving into cooler colors. It mixes wonderfully with Pyrrol Scarlet PR255 (this is one of my most favorite shades of red!) and also with Quinacridone Burnt Orange, and it’s the perfect color to mix into blue.

Finishing off with blue.

Sometimes you might want to blend back into a little bit of blue. I have found that Indanthrone Blue PB60 adds a really nice touch if used lightly (or if you’re going for darker evening colors, use a bit more) and it makes very pretty colors when mixed with Pyrrol Scarlet PR255 or Quinacridone Violet PV19.

Examples of using these colors

I used all these colors in The Discovery Collection. Below you can see several examples of how different color variations can be achieved.