Although I love bright bold colors I must admit that when it comes to making art, I’m color-challenged. I seem to have no intuitive sense of color properties, use, or mixing. It took me nearly 5 years of art lessons, for example, to get a handle on the concept of ‘cool’ and ‘warm’ colors. I still need to continually remind myself of the fundamentals.
I rely heavily on homemade swatch samples of all my oil pastels and colored pencils.
My homemade oil pastel swatches
I also use online tools such as this one based on website design. (There are many more like these to be found through Google.)
Blue and Yellow Don’t Make Green
, by Michael Wilcox, brought me a long way toward a better understanding of using color when I’m painting.
It helped me understand why mixing my favorite red and my favorite blue created mud instead of purple. With the help of this book (to which I’m constantly referring), I have a lot less trial and error when trying to find the specific gray or brown I have in mind.
I also learned that the name on the paint label is almost meaningless. What matters is the pigment used in the compound. The pigment is designated by letters and numbers, like PY3 or PB27. The label names given by the manufacturers are not standardized and they can name the hue any fancy name that appeals to them. However, the pigment designations are regulated by the ASTM. It’s the pigment in the tube or stick that makes the hue.
As an example, I have these 2 containers of acrylic paint. Both are Liquitex Basics brand. Both call themselves Cadium Yellow, although the one in the jar is ‘medium’ hue and the one in the tube is ‘light hue.’ (And although actual cadium is no longer used in paints at all.)
Two Cadium Yellows
However, the problem came when I was trying to mix them with various blues and getting drastically different results. When I checked the pigments in the small print, the jar contained PY74 and PY83. The tube contained PY3, which is usually marketed as Hansa Yellow. And even I can tell a difference in the hues when I look at them side by side. But this is a clear example of misleading color names.
For a terrific reference to everything about this, check out the Color of Art Pigment Database. It was also invaluable to me in coming to better understanding paint and color and pigment.
Back to the book. Wilcox fills the book with color images depicting every possible combination an artist will ever need and a series of mixing exercises designed to help you learn the combinations that will yield the results you’re looking for. The book was recommended to me by my art teacher because it had helped her. It helped me. And if you struggle with mixing your paints in any medium, this book can help you, too.
