How to Mix Clean, Pure Colors in Oils and Acrylics: Colorist, Sandi Whetzel Revals the Nitty-Gritty of How She Takes the Mystery Out of Color Mixing

My original intent in this post was to generate interest in an upcoming color mixing class scheduled for July,  2010 to be held in Roseburg, Oregon. While I'm at it, I may as well divulge some nitty-gritty details about how I mix colors later in this post.

You will learn an easy, economical system for consistently mixing the colors you want for the broadest range possible, while avoiding trial-and-error mishaps.  Oil and acrylic painters beginner through advanced are encouraged to participate in this hands-on opportunity to mix  accurate, vivid chromas, complementary neutrals, lively blacks and an endless variety of flesh tones to suit individual painting styles.

With over thirteen years of instructing and painting experience as a colorist, I will take the mystery out of color mixing in this two day class.  ALL PAINTS AND SUBJECT MATTER WILL BE SUPPLIED WITH YOUR CLASS REGISTRATION FEE.  Details for registering will be disclosed in the Umpqua College Summer Class Schedule around the first of May, 2010.

Now for the nitty-gritty specifics of fool-proof color mixing.  My artist mentor, Bonnie Hill of Roseburg, OR, has shared  her method of color mixing with me.  After seeing her students struggle to mix clean predictable colors she spent many hours exploring pigments to find the purest, most intense pigments to mix the purest,  most intense chromas of all twelve colors of the color wheel spectrum.  This makes it possible for students to achieve universal results every time.

I use only eight pure pigments; a warm and a cool of each of the three primary colors, (red, blue and yellow), Titanium White and a transparent Indian Yellow.  This is the most economical and most efficient way to go.  We don't have to lug around too many tubes of paint, some of which might only be used rarely.  We can make virtually almost any color, including rich beautiful, harmonious blacks and any flesh tones desired.  Another bonus is that we always know which particular pigments we used to make all of the colors of the spectrum.  This is invaluable when going back into a painting to rework it.

Besides the white and transparent yellow already mentioned for oils, the other specific warm pigments are: Cadmium Red Light, Cadmium Yellow Medium and Pthalo Blue.  The specific cool pigments for oils are Alizarin Crimson, Lemon or Zinc Yellow and Ultramarine Blue.  In acrylics some of the pigment names are different.  I happen to prefer Golden brand Acrylics.  The warm yellow in Golden Acrylics is Diarylide Yellow, the cool yellow is Cadmium Yellow Primrose and the warm blue is Thalo Blue Green Shade. You should find the other colors in acrylics by the same name as in oils.  Different brands of acrylics will have the equivalents of the eight specific pigments.  (You may email me at the link to the right of this post for more specifics of color names in particular brands of acrylics.)

I've listed all the specific pigments I use, but for the real nuts and bolts on how to mix the purest colors of the color spectrum using these purest of pigments you'll need to read my next post about color mixing simplified.  I hope to get around to that before too long.