40 palettes

Impressionist Color Palette

Press the button for one impressionist palette: five colors, one blue or violet shadow and no black.

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Snowy lane: white and sky blueWhite sunlit snow, sky blue snow shadows, pale blue sky, peach sunlit wall, mauve bare hedge.#FCFAF3 · #86C2EA · #C1DBF6 · #F8C9AA · #AC6C95

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All 40 palettes

Morning light 10

Blossom orchard: pink and lavender Pale blue sky, pink blossom, pale green sunlit grass, lavender trunk shadows, cream fallen petals.
Breakfast outdoors: white and lavender White tablecloth in sun, lavender cloth shadows, butter yellow bread, pale green garden, coral fruit.
Curtain in sun: cream and lavender Cream curtain in sun, pale blue sky, lavender sill shadow, leaf green garden, apricot far roof.
Frosty roofs: peach and lilac Pale blue frost, peach first sun on the chimneys, lilac roof shadows, cream sky, mauve smoke.
Hill path: pale yellow and periwinkle Pale yellow sunlit path, pale green slope, periwinkle tree shadows, pink flowering bush, pale blue sky.
Meadow mist: pale yellow and lilac Pale yellow low sun, pale blue mist, sage green wet grass, lilac hedge shadows, peach sky at the horizon.
Sheets in sun: white and pale blue White sheets, pale blue shadows in the folds, pale green lawn, butter yellow sunlit wall, rose pillowcase.
Side gate: cream and periwinkle Cream sunlit path, pale yellow light on the gate, periwinkle gate shadow, leaf green hedge, rose climbing flowers.
Snowy lane: white and sky blue White sunlit snow, sky blue snow shadows, pale blue sky, peach sunlit wall, mauve bare hedge.
Village road: sand and lilac Sand sunlit road, pale blue sky, lilac house shadows, salmon roofs, pale green verge.

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Noon 10

Beach at noon: cerulean and coral Sand beach, cerulean sea, white surf, periwinkle parasol shadow, coral parasol.
Flower border: cadmium yellow and viridian Red-orange dahlias, cadmium yellow marigolds, viridian leaves, ultramarine leaf shadows, pink phlox.
Grain stacks: golden yellow and purple Golden yellow lit side, purple cast shadows, lime stubble, cerulean sky, ochre shaded side.
Hill of poppies: red in lime Red poppies, lime grass, cerulean sky, lavender cloud shadows, cream clouds.
Kitchen garden: lime and indigo Lime lettuces, viridian cabbages, cadmium yellow squash flowers, indigo shadows between the rows, orange marigolds.
Lunch under trees: white and cobalt blue White cloth in sun, cobalt blue cloth shadows, leaf green tree canopy, lemon sun spots, red fruit.
Striped awning: red-orange and ultramarine Red-orange stripes, white between the stripes, ultramarine shadow under it, lemon sunlit pavement, turquoise door.
Sunflower bed: cadmium yellow and brown Cadmium yellow petals, brown centers, green leaves, ultramarine shadows, cerulean sky.
Sunlit wall: cream and violet Cream wall, violet doorway shadow, cerulean sky, orange roof tiles, green shutters.
Wheat field: golden yellow and violet Golden yellow wheat, cobalt blue sky, violet shadow under the hedge, leaf green hedge, red field flowers.

Evening 10

Bench at dusk: orange and indigo Orange last sun on the wall, teal bench, indigo bench shadow, rose flowers, dark green hedge.
Bridge at sunset: orange and ultramarine Orange sky, pink clouds, ultramarine bridge shadow, purple far bank, golden yellow sun on the river.
Cliff top: apricot and periwinkle Apricot lit cliff, periwinkle cliff shadow, coral sky, teal sea, cream cloud edge.
Cows at dusk: golden yellow and violet Red-brown cows, golden yellow low sun on the grass, violet cow shadows, green pasture, salmon sky.
Dusk harvest: red-orange and violet Golden yellow stubble, red-orange sun, violet long shadows, olive hedge, peach sky.
Lamps coming on: apricot on indigo Indigo street shadows, apricot lamp glow, rose sky, plum buildings, butter yellow windows.
Rooftops at dusk: coral and cobalt blue Coral lit chimneys, mauve tiles, cobalt blue roof shadows, pale yellow sky, brown eaves.
Row of trees: red-orange and viridian Red-orange lit crowns, viridian shaded leaves, purple trunk shadows, peach sky, ochre field.
Snow at sunset: pink and lavender Pink lit snow, lavender snow shadows, orange sun, indigo fence posts, pale yellow sky.
Vine rows: red-orange and purple Red-orange autumn vines, ochre earth, purple shadows between the rows, golden yellow sunlit leaves, lilac far hills.

Water 10

Bridge arch: sand over turquoise Sand stone, turquoise water, purple shadow under the arch, peach arch reflection, green weed.
Cliff cove: turquoise and cream Turquoise shallow water, cobalt blue deep water, cream cliff, violet cliff shadow, white foam.
Ducks on a pond: white on aqua White ducks, aqua water, lime duckweed, ultramarine shadow under the ducks, golden yellow reed reflection.
Fishing boats: red on teal Red hulls, teal harbor water, white mast reflections, indigo quay shadow, apricot sails.
Pond lilies: pink on cobalt blue Pink flowers, viridian pads, cobalt blue sky in the water, violet willow shadow, pale green willow reflection.
Rain on the canal: teal under lilac Lilac sky, teal water, pale blue ripples, indigo wall shadow, coral shutter reflection.
Regatta sails: white on cerulean White sails, cerulean water, orange hull, periwinkle sail shadow on the water, red flag.
River bend: sky blue and cream Sky blue water, cream cloud reflection, leaf green bank, indigo shadow under the bank, ochre reeds.
Rowboats: red-orange on cerulean Red-orange boat, cerulean water, white light on the ripples, ultramarine shadow under the boat, green bank reflection.
Willow bank: pale green over viridian Pale green willow, viridian its reflection, sky blue water, purple shadow under it, butter yellow light in the leaves.

How this list was compiled: Own work, written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-14: palettes of five colors for painting light in four kinds (morning light, noon, evening, water). Every palette, name, color word, hex code and part is our own choice; nothing is sampled from a painting or a photograph, no painter or painting is named, and no strip is a copy of a picture. Five color words are pigment names (cobalt blue, ultramarine, cerulean, viridian, cadmium yellow); their codes are our own screen colors for those names, not measurements of a paint. How a strip is ordered: each color is named for its part of one small scene, and the name carries two of the colors. Our own tests, not a standard: no strip holds a black or a gray (no color with an HSL lightness under 18 percent or a saturation under 15 percent); every strip names exactly one shadow, in a blue or a violet (a hue from 195 to 300 degrees); a Morning light strip holds three or more pale colors (a lightness of 70 percent or more); a Noon strip holds three or more strong colors (a saturation of 55 percent or more at a lightness from 35 to 85 percent); an Evening strip holds two or more warm colors (a hue from 335 degrees around to 55 at a saturation of 50 percent or more); a Water strip names two or more colors for the water, its ripples or a reflection. The facts in the page copy, checked on 2026-10-14 against English Wikipedia, Impressionism, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impressionism (text under CC BY-SA 4.0): colours are applied side by side with as little mixing as possible; greys and dark tones are produced by mixing complementary colours, and pure impressionism avoids the use of black paint; in paintings made outdoors, shadows are boldly painted with the blue of the sky as it is reflected onto surfaces, and blue shadows on snow inspired the technique; painters often worked in the evening to produce the shadowy effects of evening or twilight; the Impressionists took advantage of the mid-century introduction of premixed paints in tin tubes, which allowed artists to work more spontaneously, both outdoors and indoors; many vivid synthetic pigments became commercially available to artists for the first time during the 19th century, among them cobalt blue, viridian, cadmium yellow and synthetic ultramarine blue, all in use by the 1840s, and cerulean blue, which became commercially available to artists in the 1860s. Color names are plain English words with no paint maker, pencil brand or color-matching system, and one word is one code everywhere on this list. Checked on 2026-10-14: every code is #RRGGBB, each color word fits the hue and lightness of its code, no palette, name or line repeats, no two palettes share four codes, no two colors of a palette are closer than 8 in CIE Lab, and no palette is on another palette list of this site or of its sister sites. The hex codes are for a screen; with paint, pencils or markers, take the nearest color. Licence: own work

How it works

Pure impressionism avoids black paint: grays and darks are mixed from complementary colors, and outdoor shadows are painted with the blue of the sky. Each impressionist color palette here keeps to that, with one blue or violet shadow.

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Morning light, noon, evening, water

Morning light strips are pale: three or more light colors and a soft shadow. Noon strips set three or more strong colors side by side. Evening strips hold two or more warm colors of the low sun against a deeper shadow. Water strips name the water and what it reflects.

Paint the shadow as a color

Find the color named for a shadow and use it where you would reach for gray. In Snowy lane the sunlit snow is white #FCFAF3 and its shadows sky blue #86C2EA; blue shadows on snow inspired the technique. Lay the colors side by side and mix them as little as you can.

Questions and answers

What colors are in an impressionist color palette?

On this list: cobalt blue #1F5BC1, ultramarine #222AA0, cerulean #299AE0, viridian #227760 and cadmium yellow #F9DD24, with violets, pinks, oranges and a warm white. The codes are our screen colors for those pigment names.

What colors did the Impressionists use?

Vivid synthetic pigments that were new in the 19th century. Cobalt blue, viridian, cadmium yellow and synthetic ultramarine blue were in use by the 1840s, and cerulean blue reached artists in the 1860s. Premixed paint in tin tubes let painters work more spontaneously.

Did the Impressionists use black?

Pure impressionism avoids it, so the darks on this list are colors too: indigo #302A6F, purple #6F358D, viridian and red-brown.

What color are shadows in impressionist painting?

Blue, where the sky is reflected onto a surface. On this list a shadow is periwinkle under a gate, ultramarine under an awning, lavender on snow at sunset.