SIMPLIFIED COLOR MIXING FOR OILS & ACRYLICS: Sandi Whetzel, Colorist,, Takes the Mystery out of Mixing Vibrant Chromas

Through the Eyes of a Child... 20x16 acrylic © Sandi Whetzel

Learn an economical system for consistently mixing the colors you want, while avoiding trial-and-error mishaps.  Whether you work in oils or acrylics, beginner through advanced are encouraged to participate in these hands-on exercises to create vivid chromas, complementary neutrals, lively blacks and various flesh tones to suit your individual style.  We'll explore color without pressure to perform.  With over 13 years of instructing and painting experience, colorist Sandi Whetzel takes the mystery out of color mixing.  Raise your paintings to the next level with eye-pleasing color choices.

ALL PAINTS ARE PROVIDED for this class.  Just bring a canvas tablet pad, a brush, palette knife, (if you have one) and mixing palette or shallow glass baking dish 9x13 or larger to mix colors.  Call Sandi Whetzel at 541-825-3525 for details.

Total cost for the class is $49, payable to Umpqua Community College.  To register, visit or call UCC at 541-440-7744 and reference class #10316.  The class will meet Wednesday and Thursday, July 14 & 15, 2010 from 9:30 am - 12:30 pm in the Roseburg Senior Center located at 621 Madrone St., Roseburg, OR.

My art is brimming with bold, vivid, clean, beautiful colors.  I learned to mix all my own colors from a very talented artist and instructor who became my mentor, Bonnie Hill of Roseburg, OR.  After seeing her students struggle to mix clean predictable colors, Bonnie spent many hours exploring pigments to find the cleanest, strongest pigments to to mix the purest,  most intense chromas of all twelve colors of the color wheel spectrum.  This method makes it possible for students to achieve universal results every time.

Bonnie and I use only eight pure pigments.  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.  The specific pigments are the least toxic versions of the gambit of pigments to choose from.  We can make virtually almost any color, including rich, beautiful, harmonious blacks and any flesh tones desired.  Another bonus with this method of mixing is that we always know which partiular pigments were used to make all of the colors of the spectrum.  This is invaluable when going back into a painting to rework it and match the original colors.

I am looking forward to meeting and working with anyone living close enough to attend this class.  Students  had a great time and learned a lot the first time I instructed it last summer.  If you can't attend this class I do cover the same material briefly in my regular classes, Painting with Oils and Acrylics, Fall, Winter and Spring Terms.  For information about those classes contact UCC or the class schedule for each term.

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.