I think this book is amazing for painters. It goes through the very basics of making paint, stains, crayons, and other art supplies. It gives ideas for crafts using these homemade art supplies. And then it shows specific items that can be used for dyes, along with what they would look like mixed with various mordants (who knew you could get red, pink, yellow, and brown from beet roots depending on what you mix it with?).

Overall, I think this is a great book for any painter to own.

🌿 I'll start with a heartfelt thank you to Caleb Warnock, Familius, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview 1000 Botanical Colors — a vibrant, inspiring guide to creating natural colors from the world around us. I will share my review to retail sites and Bookstagram upon release. From dyes and stains to glairs, paints, and inks, this book celebrates the art of color-making through nature’s bounty.

🌸 1000 Botanical Colors is packed with examples of flowers, berries, leaves, roots, and stems that yield stunning, earthy palettes. Caleb Warnock’s passion and ingenuity shine through on each and every page.

📖 Not only is the photography gorgeous, but the step-by-step instructions are clear and inviting. The test patch swatches are fascinating — some of the most thoughtfully documented samples I’ve ever seen. The sheer variety and attention to detail blew me away.

🎨 The explanations of different techniques are rich with creative potential and inspired thoughts of future projects, and I think will make this a treasure trove for artists, educators, and families alike. It’s especially valuable for those hoping to work more sustainably by embracing what nature generously offers. These ideas would make perfect spring break or summer projects for all ages.

🌟 5/5 stars! Beautifully presented, meticulously researched, and endlessly inspiring - a must-have for any artist or creative looking to connect with the natural world through color.

Ever wonder how to eco print, press flowers or make pigments? Well this is the book for you! Everything you could want to know about turning nature into art (fiber or paper) you can find within these pages.

This was a wonderful book that reminded me of how amazing nature and art are. Beautiful pictures, well crafted explanations, and the colors throughout really made this book a page turner. I will be adding a hard copy of this book to my collection when it comes out.

Publishing date: 07.10.2025 (DD/MM/YYYY)
Thank you to NetGalley and Familius for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

This was a delightful surprise. I have been eyeing making more stuff with my hands and scoured resources, and this entered my life at the exact right time.

I adore the pictures and creative use of swatches in this book. The swatches have a purpose; to show off the color of the flower dye. But they look great in the book and give you an idea of which flower to choose for your project. It just looks so beautiful. I could genuinely skip all the text and just look at the flowers and swatches and have a great time.

In the book we also get instructions for how to make different dyes, inks, and paints. They are all very easy to follow and give clear and understandable instructions. I do wish there were some more pictures for the creation of the medium, as I am a visual learner, but the written instructions do work well.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Great for creative peeps. Giving this 4 stars, will definitely try to make more dyes as recommended in the book

Thank you NetGalley for this copy.
This book has so much info information and a fun way to make paints and colors and dyes. Perfect for painters and crafters.

Thank you Netgalley, Familius, and Caleb Warnock for sending me this advanced review copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really enjoyed this book! I've always had an interest in plant based dyes for dyeing yarn and other fibers for my knitting and embroidery projects. This book opened up a whole new world of possibilities, and future projects. I want to try making my own beautiful ink next year, and have a few plants I want to grow next spring.

Some projects use mordants that are dangerous if not handled correctly, so be sure to check in advance before starting your project. The book goes into really good detail on each mordant.

Also lightfastness varies wildly between the different types of plants. If you want to make a project that will last a long time, you have to pick your botanicals carefully.

The instructions for each type of dye, ink, stain, etc are were very simple, and a bit vague. I don't like that measurements weren't included with each recipe. I do like that there were photos showing what your finished colors should look like.

I love the variety we get in this book. Overall I do feel to get the most out of this book, some previous experience with making your own pigments and dyes would be helpful. There are some projects that you can do with small children, like pressed flower prints and making paints from produce.

Beautiful and informative. I thought this was great for artists who may want to dabble in making their own paint colors. However I found this to be the art of the paint making! Artists aside, anyone will get great tutorials for making their own colors by plants around them. I really liked the palettes created by plant and method. Beautifully done.

I cannot express how much the crafter in me loves this book! We own a hobby farm and I have many hobbies that involve fabric and paint. So with that said, I cannot wait to put this book to use and try some of the methods to make my own dyes and paints! The book itself has so much good information. I deducted a single star because I felt the organization of information could have been a little easier to navigate, but overall it is an excellent resource for anyone looking to DIY their own coloring products! Thank you NetGalley for a review copy of this book.

I began experimenting with making my own inks from plants just last year. This book dives into the science of using plants and spices to create ink, watercolors, and more. Furthermore, it has done the work for you in experimenting with additions such as vinegar and aluminum to alter the colors. The last half of the book is a reference of plant and spice, how to make the ink and how to alter colors with examples of the colors created (taking the guess work out of the results). A must have resource for any artist, lover of nature, homesteader and forager.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me the chance to review.

This book is BEAUTIFUL. Even if you aren’t planning to do make any of these colors, and have never painted with watercolor in your life - this book is a masterpiece in so many ways.

Content wise, there was so much thought and creativity put into this book.

The pages about “stealing from yourself and others” were obviously thought through for a long time. Specifically the tip about asking for cast-offs in creative ways (who’d have thought to ask groundskeepers at the cemetery?!?), and also reminders that it’s never okay to take from protected lands without permission, no matter how good the plant was a great reminder.

I feel like I learned so much about plants and colors, just from browsing the examples on this one. Who knew that plums won’t make the color we think of as plum? What about that beautiful shades can come from Purple Sand Cherry Leaves? Or that you can get nearly the entire rainbow just with cabbage and beets?!?!

All in, I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone that is seeking inspiration in unlikely places, is interested in watercolor and making your own paints, or loves plants and the things that can come from them.

1000 Botanical Colors is a gorgeous and practical guide for anyone interested in creating natural paints, inks, and dyes from plants. With clear instructions, helpful swatches, and a breakdown of over 250 plants, this book makes it easy to explore the colors nature has to offer. It's perfect for artists, crafters, and curious beginners alike. I especially love how it pairs old-school creativity with modern crafting—like 3D printing—with a beautiful, earthy twist. A must-have for any creative shelf!

I've been knitting and embroidering for over a decade now, and have been dyeing my own yarn for about five year. I primarily play around with natural dyes and have read almost every book out there about them. And 1,000 Botanical Colors is up there as a must have book on the topic. Warnock takes you through the basics (understanding mordants, understanding measurements, types of dye methods, etc. But the sheer volume of recipes for dye baths, inks, paints and mordants is almost overwhelming. This book also includes actually photographs of dye swatches from each dye material, rather than trying to create a shade reproduction that is simply printed in the book like so many other natural dye books do.

If you are just getting started or have been working with natural dyes for years, 1000 Botanical Colors is definitely worth picking up!

I'm really impressed by this book. This is even more informative than I hoped, plus the layout is very pretty and easy to read. I love the short, easy recipies and will definitely come back to this book to try making some of my own paints and dies. Abolutely recomment for all creatives who love making their own tools

This book is a celebration of nature’s palette. Caleb Warnock has poured thought and creativity into every page, offering a rich guide to making their own dyes, paints, inks, and stains from over 250 plants. The tutorials are clear, approachable, and beautifully laid out which is perfect for beginners and seasoned eco-dyers alike.

Having dabbled in eco dyeing before, I found myself genuinely excited to try some of the new techniques and combinations presented here. The book doesn’t just teach but invites experimentation and play, making it a valuable resource for artists, foragers, and anyone curious about natural color-making.

Whether you’re looking to deepen your craft or simply explore the beauty of botanical pigments, this book is a thoughtful and inspiring companion.

This book is SO informative! The vast amount of colors and techniques included is incredible. I really enjoyed the color section. It's all presented so beautifully.

I’ve made my fair share of natural dyes over the years so I wasn’t expecting to learn much from this. I couldn’t have been more wrong. 1000 Botanical Colors is a wealth of information. No fluff, just information. I would have enjoyed more photos, especially to help with instructions. Other than that, the book is incredible. I’m sure it’s even better in print.

Who needs store-bought paint when you can brew your own? 1000 Botanical Colors by Caleb Warnock is a gorgeous, practical guide for anyone curious about making natural inks, dyes, and paints from plants and flowers. As part of his Backyard Renaissance series, Warnock opens up a world where nature becomes your color palette—perfect for painting on paper or pottery and dyeing cloth at home.

This book is packed with information on more than 250 plants, complete with swatches so you can see what each shade actually looks like before you start experimenting. I especially appreciated how approachable the process feels. Many of the ingredients are already in your pantry (vinegar as a mordant—genius!) and the instructions are detailed without being intimidating.

Warnock goes beyond just recipes—he explains multiple techniques for dyeing fabric and paper, and even suggests creative ways to use your new colors. My favorite section is where he shows how to put the techniques into practice for both adults and kids (the bathtub paint idea is brilliant!).

If you’ve ever wanted to swap commercial paints for something more natural, sustainable, and hands-on, this book is an inspiring, user-friendly place to start.

1000 Botanical Colors is an absolute treasure for anyone interested in natural dyeing, painting, or simply exploring the beauty of color in the natural world. Caleb Warnock has created a guide that is both practical and inspiring, offering clear instructions and gorgeous swatches that make it easy to see the incredible range of tones plants can produce. The wealth of information on over 250 plants makes this not just a how-to book, but also a wonderful reference you’ll find yourself reaching for again and again.

As someone who enjoys working with natural dyes, I found this book to be tremendously helpful. It strikes the perfect balance between being detailed enough for experienced dyers and accessible for beginners who are just curious about trying their hand at natural inks or paints. The photographs are helpful, the explanations are straightforward, and the sheer variety of colors is astonishing. Whether you’re an artist, crafter, or gardener with a love for nature’s palette, this book will spark your creativity and quickly become a favorite on your shelf. Five stars without hesitation!

This is a really lovely book that I had to get the hard copy of as I'm a fiber artist and am looking into dyeing my own fibers. I love that the author doesn't assume that I know about dyeing and gives very thorough instructions about how to do so with different mordants. The instructions are for making color to use in dyes, inks, paints, and more. I can see this book becoming a natural color bible of sorts and I can't wait to really get into it.

A beautifully photographed and illustrated (with paint samples) book on botanical art, and how to compose the paints with different chemical compositions. As someone doing my best to transfer over to more natural living and taking a permaculture diploma, this book is incredibly important, and implements skills I hope many will start to navigate towards to be gentler for our planet.