My novel features an artist. As such there are many descriptions of colors, paintings, and art. Here is my multi-purpose list of colors, gleaned from HTML color names, stones, jewels, flowers, foods, and pigments/paints. See the expanded list with hexadecimal swatches here.

Basic colors:

• black
• blue
• brown
• gray
• green
• orange
• pink
• purple
• red
• white
• yellow

Shades of black:

• dark of the moon
• charcoal
• coal black
• ebony
• graphite
• gunmetal
• ivory black
• mars black
• obsidian
• payne’s gray
• smoke
• slate gray
• steel

Shades of blue/purple:

• aubergine
• amethyst
• azure
• baby blue
• cerulean
• cobalt
• coral
• cornflower blue
• cyan
• blue topaz
• denim
• eggplant
• hyacynth
• indigo
• jade
• lapis lazuli
• lavender
• midnight blue
• navy blue
• palatinate blue
• peacock blue
• periwinkle
• plum
• powder blue
• pthalo blue
• robin’s egg blue
• royal blue
• sapphire
• sky blue
• slate blue
• steel blue
• ultramarine
• violet

Shades of brown:

• almond
• amber
• beige
• bourbon
• burnt sienna
• burnt umber
• chestnut
• chocolate
• cocoa
• coffee
• cognac
• copper
• dirty
• eggshell
• flesh
• hazel
• hazelnut
• leather
• mink
• oatmeal
• raw sienna
• russet
• sandy
• tan
• taupe
• tawny
• tea
• walnut
• whiskey

Shades of green:

• aqua
• aquamarine
• army green
• beryl
• chartreuse
• emerald
• forest green
• grass green
• jade
• lime
• olive
• patina
• pear
• teal
• turquoise

Shades of pink:

• amarinth
• cerise
• hot pink
• fuchsia
• peach
• magenta
• mauve
• orchid
• rose

Shades of red:

• apple
• alizarin crimson
• blood red
• brick red
• burgundy
• cadmium red
• crimson
• fire engine red
• maroon
• perylene
• pyrrole
• quinacridone
• rouge
• ruby
• rust
• scarlet
• vermillion

Shades of white:

• alabaster
• cream
• diamond
• fingernail
• ivory
• lace
• milk
• pearl
• silver
• titanium
• tooth
• whites of the eye

Shades of yellow:

• antimony
• cadmium
• champagne
• cornsilk
• gold
• goldenrod
• lemon
• ochre
• titanate
• tooth

Color modifiers:

• cloudy
• hazy
• milky
• neon
• opaque
• stained glass
• translucent
• transparent

In response to daily prompt Opaque.