Color Mixing Part 3: A How-To Guide

Putting Theory Into Practice

Theories are wonderful. They are a culmination of a series of "what-ifs." Without theory life would be a continuous stream of reactions with surprises waiting around every corner (much like driving around this area). The natural progression of a theory is to put it into practice. In our last lesson I began talking about just this. In this lesson I will get a little more specific about color mixing.

Palette Layout

The most important part of laying out a palette is that it be layed out the same way each time. It is important that it makes some sense, either basing it on the spectrum or color wheel (see previous post) or based on practicality. This will help prevent a loss of concentration from having

to constanly search for your colors.

Below is a common palette layout that is based on the color wheel.

Think Pairs

It is safe to assume that most subject matter that is painted representationally will have a dark and light side, it is the primary way in which we create form in a painting.

What I would like you to remember is to always mix your colors in pairs. A color for the light side and the corresponding color for the dark side. This also applies to cast shadows.

Let's Get Our Hands Dirty

Let's go over some common color mixing scenarios step-by-step. We'll start out with our old stand-by, the lemon:

1. Look: Look at your subject. This sounds like a given but you'd be surprised how many students don't.
2. Closest Color: Ask yourself which color on your palette is closest to the subject color. Think about it this way, if you had to describe the subject with only one paint color which would you choose*. You're looking for a starting point. In the case of the lemon you would probably choose Cadmium Yellow Light.
3. Base Color: Pull a small amount of this color into the mixing area. Now, to get this color closer to what you need it has to be adjusted. Rarely does a color work straight from the tube. We adjust a color along the color wheel, one way or the other. Assuming you've chosen the right color you will need to add one of the analogous colors (see previous post). On the palette it may its neighbor. This mixture is your Base Color. In the case of the lemon however, Cad. Yellow Lt. itself is pretty close.
4. Divide: Divide yourt base color into two small piles. One side will be your light color the other will be your dark color.
5. Light Side: To the light color you will probably only need to add a small amount of white.
6. Dark Side: To the dark side you add its compliment (see previous post). This is the most confusing step for most beginning students because it is so counter intuitive. That is to say that the compliment is probably the last color that you would think of. In the case of our lemon the compliment is violet. This is mixed using Ultramarine Blue and Alizarin Crimson. Things to remember about this step: a) Your goal is to come up with a dark version of the base color so if you're coming up with a violet on the lemon's dark side you need to add more yellow. b) Just because you've added violet it does not mean that you've added the right violet . What this means is that if the dark side of the lemon turns green then there's not enough red, so, add more Alizarin Crimson. Conversely, if the dark side turns orange, there's not enough blue, so, add more Ultramarine Blue. c) Most importantly, NEVER add the compliment to your light color to make it a dark and, you guessed it, NEVER add white to the dark color in hopes of getting the color for the light side. There are colors used in each that are incompatible with the other. Doing either of these two will only result in mud not to mention extreme frustration and a waste of paint.

For Those Who Prefer Diagrams

Are you confused yet? No?

Lets try mixing colors for an orange.

How about a lime?

In our next lesson I'll discuss some of the quirks in color mixing. They may not seem to follow the rules but its all in how you look at it.

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* Some paint colors are darker than others. This may cause students to choose the wrong color because the right color looks too dark. For instance, in my landscape class it is common for new students to choose Cerulean Blue for the sky over Ultramarine Blue merely because it is the right tone. To help avoid this and to become generally more familiar with your paint, lay out a small amount of each color on your palette then add white to them as needed to make all the colors equal in tone. Remember you don't need to add white to the Cad. Yellow Lt..

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