Painting Color Wheels is a lot of fun. It highlights the mixing options and short comings of a chosen group of pigments. I am always amazed at the range of colors available from a reasonably compressed set of pigments.

To see just how a small range of colors will cause your brain to start filling in missing hues, try making a color wheel from stones, leaves, sticks or any small objects with a varied range of colors.

It’s a great way to train yourself to see subtle differences in hue and builds up an understanding of the color wheel – vital knowledge for successful color mixing.

They are also nice things to leave behind on out of the way riverbanks.

Colored stones Burdekin River, Queensland, Australia

Tonal gradation, Burdekin River.

Color Wheel Windjana Gorge, Western Australia

Colored leaves, Katherine River, Northern Territory, Australia.