2026 marks a milestone for Daniel Smith – The 50th anniversary! In a recent Giovedì LIVE con John Cogley session, we took a fascinating walk back through history to explore six of the original 18 colors that built the foundation of DANIEL SMITH’s Extra Fine Watercolors. These early pigments weren’t selected by accident — they were chosen for their versatility, mixing potential, and ability to work equally well in transparent washes and rich, layered applications.

What follows is an in-depth look at these six cornerstone colors — Aureolina, Nuovo Gamboge, Quinacridone Oro, Quinacridone Arancione Bruciato, Ocra gialla, e Terra di Siena Naturale — with commentary that reflects the insights shared by our Brand Ambassadors during the session.

Aureolina has such a distinctive voice among yellows: bright yet cool, clear yet expressive. When our Brand Ambassadors talked about this color on Thursday LIVE, their shared enthusiasm for how it “carries light without overpowering a wash” really stood out.

As artists often discover, Aureolin performs beautifully in glazing techniques and in sky or floral passages where a cooler yellow is needed. Its transparency lets underlying layers sing, making it a staple for painters who love to build luminous color through layering.

Nuovo Gamboge brings a warm, rich yellow that leans toward orange — the kind of yellow that feels at home in nature paintings, capturing sunlit grasses and the glow of late afternoon light.

This pigment also serves as a dependable mixing partner for warmer greens, especially when paired with traditional blues. In fact, many artists find it yields a more natural, earthy green than some cooler yellows can achieve alone.

Quinacridone Oro is arguably the color that helped define the original DANIEL SMITH palette. Its lush, transparent glow combined with a warm undertone makes it equally at home in botanical paintings, landscapes, and glowing sunset skies.

During the session, John emphasized how this color’s unique pigment blend contributes to its versatility. Many artists agree — Quinacridone Gold’s mixing range is impressive, often yielding rich greens with blues and warm oranges with reds.

If Quinacridone Gold is your radiance, Quinacridone Arancione Bruciato is your warm engine. Its deep orange-amber glow has a lively energy but still sits comfortably within natural palettes. On Thursday LIVE, it was remarked how this color was a favorite for building warm midtones and adding cohesion to earthy scenes.

It plays beautifully with other transparent colors and is often chosen to bring warmth and depth to foliage, sunsets, and textured backgrounds.

Ocra gialla needs no introduction. Its muted, earthy warmth has made it a cornerstone pigment since prehistoric times, and it’s still beloved for its role in natural light and skin tones. This color’s subtle hue makes it a go-to for realistic landscapes and grounded natural tones.

Compared to brighter yellows, Yellow Ochre offers restraint — which, as many artists can attest, is often exactly what a painting needs.

Terra di Siena Naturale rounds out our six colors with a rich, golden brown that feels as tangible as sunbaked soil. Unlike the brighter transparent yellows, Raw Sienna introduces organic depth and warmth that anchors a palette.

This color’s role in the original palette helped artists achieve naturalistic shading and grounded realism with fewer tubes — proof of the thoughtful curation behind the first 18 colors.

What becomes clear — especially when you watch the early product choices evolve — is that these six colors represent strategic color harmony. They span a range of yellows from cool to warm and earth tones that support everything from landscapes to portraits. Each one plays a role in a core mixing palette and continues to be a favorite among artists of all levels.

Whether you’re building your first watercolor palette or rediscovering these classics, this foundational set opens the door to a world of color—made even richer when experienced through the unique lenses of different artists.

La Brand Ambassador Angela Barbi shared these beautiful color mixes with us.