Secondaries Wild Ink Set 2026

This year’s secondaries set features two ‘tried-and-true’ colors I’ve recreated the past few years, and one new one: Nodding Bur Marigold.

I recommend painting with these on 300 GSM watercolor paper, as they are closest to other watercolor paints. Please review the tips and considerations in the gallery photos.

Red Cabbage: While not the most positively smelling ink during cooking, the blue of this ink is gorgeous and lasts for a long time. We can thank acanthocyanins, water-soluble plant pigments that are part of the flavanoid family of antioxidants.

Chokeberry: I only managed to make about a cup and a half of this ink this year, as birds and squirrels beat me to these berries. It’s a most lovely blue-violet, and shifts color a bit with oxidation/air.

Nodding Bur Marigold: I keep an open mind every autumn while foraging and considering what ink fodder the land wants to provide. As I walked along a stream bank, I noticed small, nodding orange flowers some pollinators were enjoying (the blooms nod downward when pollinated and turning to seed). Making sure not to take too many, I put them in the ink pot later and this brightest orange was the result. Grateful for finding another orange that may or may not be there next autumn.

I’m also scheduling Painting with Wild Ink workshops if you’d like to deep dive into this practice at my studio. Learn more and register here. I will be scheduling some weekend afternoons as well.