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  • colors of the west book, plein air watercolor guide, nature painting for beginners, molly hashimoto art book, watercolor national parks, outdoor sketching guide, painting nature outdoors, en plein air painting tutorial, watercolor color theory, landscape painting book, nature artist reference, sketching wild places, watercolor techniques for nature, national park painting guide, artist’s field guide to the west
  • colors of the west book, plein air watercolor guide, nature painting for beginners, molly hashimoto art book, watercolor national parks, outdoor sketching guide, painting nature outdoors, en plein air painting tutorial, watercolor color theory, landscape painting book, nature artist reference, sketching wild places, watercolor techniques for nature, national park painting guide, artist’s field guide to the west
  • colors of the west book, plein air watercolor guide, nature painting for beginners, molly hashimoto art book, watercolor national parks, outdoor sketching guide, painting nature outdoors, en plein air painting tutorial, watercolor color theory, landscape painting book, nature artist reference, sketching wild places, watercolor techniques for nature, national park painting guide, artist’s field guide to the west
  • colors of the west book, plein air watercolor guide, nature painting for beginners, molly hashimoto art book, watercolor national parks, outdoor sketching guide, painting nature outdoors, en plein air painting tutorial, watercolor color theory, landscape painting book, nature artist reference, sketching wild places, watercolor techniques for nature, national park painting guide, artist’s field guide to the west
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Colors of the West: An Artist’s Guide to Nature’s Palette – Molly Hashimoto

Colors of the West: An Artist’s Guide to Nature’s Palette – Molly Hashimoto

$27.95 USD
$27.95 USD
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Before you paint the landscape, learn to really look at it.

In Colors of the West: An Artist’s Guide to Nature’s Palette, award-winning artist and teacher Molly Hashimoto explores the colors of the natural world through watercolor, sketching, and more than 20 years of painting outdoors.

Rather than treating color as something fixed—trees are green, mountains are grey—Hashimoto shows how a landscape changes with time of day, season, weather, atmosphere, and light. Through more than 170 illustrations, including scenes from iconic national parks and landscapes across the American West, she offers practical guidance for observing what is actually in front of you and translating it onto the page.

Part art instruction, part field companion, and part invitation to spend more time looking closely, this is a book for watercolor painters, sketchbook keepers, nature lovers, and anyone curious about taking their creative practice outside.

Details

Author/Artist: Molly Hashimoto

Focus: Watercolor, plein air painting, sketching, color observation, and nature

Illustrations: More than 170

Subjects: Landscapes, flora, fauna, natural history, and the colors of the American West

Learn about: Observing color through changes in light, season, atmosphere, weather, and time of day

Experience level: Useful for beginning and experienced artists alike

Great for: Watercolor painters, plein air artists, sketchbook keepers, travelers, naturalists, and anyone learning to observe color more closely

Why We Love It

It teaches something more useful than what color to use: how to see it.

We love the idea of a sketchbook as a record of attention. Molly Hashimoto has filled more than 40 of them while exploring the outdoors—capturing landscapes, plants, animals, color studies, and natural-history observations along the way.

This book makes us want to take a small watercolor set and sketchbook outside, sit somewhere for a while, and notice what changes.

The shadows aren't simply grey. The trees aren't simply green. And the same landscape won't be quite the same color an hour from now.

About Molly Hashimoto

Molly Hashimoto is an artist, author, and teacher whose work is deeply rooted in the landscapes and natural history of the American West. A longtime plein air painter, she has spent decades sketching and painting outdoors and teaching others to observe and interpret the natural world through art.

Her work brings together watercolor, field sketching, nature observation, and a deep appreciation for wild places.