Botanical Watercolors
Turn plants into paint and discover the colors hidden in nature.
There’s something that feels a little magical about dipping a brush into a color you made yourself. A handful of dried flowers, onion skins, berries, or leaves doesn’t look much like paint at first. But add warm water and a little patience, and suddenly plants begin sharing the colors they’ve been holding all along.
At farm school we love projects like this because they naturally bring together art, science, history, and creativity. Kids aren’t just painting — they’re experimenting, observing, and discovering that color is already all around us.
The First Paints Ever Made
Long before paint came in tubes or watercolor sets sat on store shelves, people were making colors from the world around them.
The earliest known paints date back tens of thousands of years. Some cave paintings discovered in Europe are estimated to be over 40,000 years old.
Ancient people didn’t have craft stores, but they had something just as valuable: curiosity.
They gathered things like:
✓ Red and yellow clay-rich earth (ochre)
✓ Charcoal from fires
✓ White chalk or crushed minerals
✓ Burned bones
✓ Plant materials and berries
The materials were crushed into fine powders and mixed with things that would help the color stick, such as:
✓ Water
✓ Animal fat
✓ Plant oils
✓ Egg
✓ Tree sap
Then they painted with fingers, feathers, moss, hollow bones, and handmade brushes.
Imagine being one of the first people to discover that a crushed rock or berry could leave a colorful mark behind. The very first artists were also scientists — experimenting to see what worked.
Plants Are Full of Hidden Color
Plants contain tiny color molecules called pigments.
Pigments are what give flowers, fruits, leaves, and vegetables their colors.
Different plants contain different pigments:
Butterfly pea flowers contain pigments that create blue shades.
Roselle creates beautiful pink and deep purple tones.
Blackberries hold dark purple pigments.
Green tea or leafy greens contain chlorophyll, which gives plants their green color.
Yellow onion skins contain natural pigments that create soft golden shades.
When warm water is added, some of those pigments dissolve and move into the water, creating natural watercolor paint.
Make Your Own Botanical Watercolors
You'll Need
Choose one:
• 2 tablespoons fresh ingredients
OR
• 1 tablespoon dried ingredients
OR
• 1 teaspoon powder (like matcha)
AND
• 2 tablespoons hot water
Optional:
• Small cups or jars
• Fine mesh strainer
• Paint palette
• Water color paper
• Brushes or nature brushes
Simple Steps
1. Add ingredients to a cup
2. Pour in 2 tablespoons hot water
3. Let steep for about 15 minutes
4. Strain if needed
5. Paint and create
Colors We Tried
🟢 Green tea powder — soft sage green
🟡 Yellow onion skin — light creamy yellow
🔵 Butterfly pea flower — pale sky blue
🟣 Roselle — deep berry-purple
🟪 Blackberry — soft lavender-purple
Each batch can look a little different depending on the plant, how long it steeps, and even the paper you use.
That’s part of the fun — you become the experimenter.
Go One Step Further: Find Your Brush in Nature 🌿
Before paintbrushes were sold in stores, artists used the world around them to create art. Today you can do the same by turning natural materials into your own unique brushes and tools.
Try experimenting with:
🌿 Rosemary stems — tiny lines and texture
🌲 Pine needles — scratchy details and fine marks
🌾 Grasses — soft sweeping strokes
🪻 Lavender stems — dotted patterns
🍃 Leaves — stamping and pressing shapes
🪶 Feathers — light, wispy brush strokes
🌼 Flowers — circular prints and soft textures
🌱 Small branches or twigs — drawing lines and patterns
Some nature brushes make thick marks, while others create tiny details or surprising textures. Try dipping several different materials into your paint and compare the patterns they leave behind.
Questions to explore:
✓ Which nature brush held the most paint?
✓ Which one made the softest lines?
✓ Which created the most interesting texture?
✓ What happens when you drag instead of stamp?
You might discover that some of the best paintbrushes aren’t paintbrushes at all.
Keep Experimenting: What Other Colors Can You Discover?
One of the most fun parts of botanical watercolors is that there isn’t one “right” answer. Different plants make different colors, and even the same plant can surprise you. Try making several small batches and compare them side by side. Which colors turn out bright? Which become soft and earthy? Which one becomes your favorite?
Some ideas to try:
🟢 Parsley – yellow-green
🟢 Fresh grass clippings(right after mowing) – bright grassy green
🟡 Turmeric powder – bright sunny yellow
🟡 Marigold petals – golden yellow
🟣 Blueberries – soft purple-gray
🟣 Purple basil – purple tones
🟣 Purple cabbage – blue-purple (and it can change color!)
🩷 Beets – rosy pink-red
🟤 Cocoa powder – brown
🟤 Coffee grounds – tan-brown
🟤 Cinnamon – warm brown
⚫ Powdered charcoal – dark gray to black
Not every ingredient will make a bright paint. Some may surprise you with very soft colors, and some may barely show up at all. That’s actually what scientists and artists do — they test ideas, observe results, and compare what worked.
You might discover a color nobody in your family has ever tried before. The best part is that some of the most interesting colors are the ones you weren’t expecting at all.
Try this! Mix Colors
What happens when butterfly pea and roselle mix?
What if you water one down?
🖌️ Print the Paint Scientist Worksheet
The Science Behind Color-Changing Paint
🟣 Purple cabbage and 🦋 blue butterfly pea flowers are two of the most exciting plants to experiment with because their colors can actually change depending on what you mix with them. Both contain natural pigments called anthocyanins, which react to acids and bases almost like a hidden science experiment inside the plant.
When steeped in hot water, purple cabbage usually creates a blue-purple color, while butterfly pea flowers create a soft blue paint. But when you add something acidic like lemon juice or vinegar, the colors can suddenly shift into bright pinks, purples, and magentas.
Try it:
Steep cabbage leaves or butterfly pea flowers in hot water for about 15–20 minutes
Strain if needed
Divide the paint into small cups
Add tiny drops of:
lemon juice
vinegar
baking soda water
Watch what happens!
💗 Acids like lemon juice can turn the paint pink or purple
💙 Plain paint stays blue-purple
🟢 Baking soda water may shift colors toward blue-green
Kids love watching the colors change right in front of them. It feels like magic, but it’s really chemistry happening between plant pigments and different ingredients.
Challenge idea:
“Can you make several different colors from just one plant?”
Before You Toss It… 🌸
Don’t pour leftover paint down the drain just yet! Botanical watercolors can still create beautiful projects even after your painting is finished.Try using leftover paint to dye:
✓ Coffee filters
✓ Paper towels
✓ Handmade paper
✓ Scrap paper for collages
✓ Bookmarks or gift tags
One of our favorite ideas is making coffee filter flowers.
Coffee Filter Flower Instructions
You’ll need:
☐ Coffee filters
☐ Leftover botanical paints
☐ Droppers, brushes, or spoons
☐ Pipe cleaners or string
Directions
Flatten a coffee filter onto a tray or plate.
Drip, brush, or splatter leftover botanical paints onto the filter. Watch the colors spread and blend together.
Let dry completely.
Fold the filter in half, then loosely accordion fold it back and forth.
Pinch the center and wrap with a pipe cleaner or tie with string.
Gently pull and fluff the layers to create a flower shape.
Try mixing different colors on one flower and see what happens where the colors meet. Some paints may blend softly while others create surprising new shades.
Every flower turns out a little different — just like real flowers in nature. 🌿
Storage
Because these are simple plant-and-water paints without preservatives, they’re best treated like fresh herbal tea.
Most botanical watercolor paints will last:
About 2–5 days refrigerated in small sealed jars or containers
Sometimes a little longer for powders like matcha or turmeric
Fresh fruit paints (like strawberry or blackberry) spoil the fastest
You’ll know they should be tossed if they:
smell sour or funky
get cloudy or fuzzy
separate oddly
develop mold
A few tips that help them last longer:
✓ Store in the refrigerator
✓ Use clean spoons/brushes
✓ Make small batches
✓ Keep lids on containers
✓ Label the colors and date made
Keep Exploring 🌿
The next time you walk past a flower, crush a berry, peel an onion, or mow the grass, remember that color is hiding there waiting to be discovered. Long before stores sold watercolor sets, people learned to create art from the world around them using curiosity, observation, and experimentation. Today we’re still doing the very same thing. Whether your paint turns out bright and bold or soft and earthy, every batch teaches you something new. So keep testing, keep mixing, and keep exploring — you never know what beautiful color nature might reveal next.
We’d love to see what colors and creations you discover! Tag us on Facebook and Instagram at @k2acres 🎨🌿
