tiJ i^fa)'H^v^HH^AI^^HTw^b--^4 H^^w^S.('^I^^^^HHay TorMixing c oloursIwent to Hay Tor on Dartmoor because it's anideal place to show you one of the basictechniques of watercolour - painting a wash. Butfirst it's important to learn about mixing colours.There are literally hundreds of colours in alandscape, but don't let that worry you. You canget almost any colour you need from just the threeprimar}' colours: red, yellow and blue. You can, ofcourse, buy ready-mixed shades of green, orange,purple, brown and so on, but forget these and startwith the three primaries.The colours 1 use for the series are shown onthis page. The primaries I use are CrimsonAlizarin, Cadmium Yellow Pale and FrenchUltramarine. I also use two other primaries. YellowOchre and Cadmium Red, and one ready-mixedcolour, Hooker's Green No. 1. Just six colours, butthese can provide all the tones and colours youneed for watercolour painting.An important rule for mixing colours is to putthe predominant colour that you are trying tocreate into your palette first. For a yellowishorange,start by putting yellow into your palette,then add a little red. If you reverse the process,you'll find that the red overpowers the yellow, andthe result is a reddish-orange instead. By followingthis simple rule from the start, you'll avoid a lot ofextra mixing, ruined paintings and frustration!Since watercolour paint is transparent, the onlyway to make a colour lighter or paler is to dilutethe pigment by adding water. To make a colourdarker, you simply do the opposite and add moreCrimson Alizarin Cadmium Yellow Pale French Ultramarine1p^Hooker's Green No. 1 Yellow Ochre Cadmium Redpaint. In the colour chart opposite, I have startedwith my three primary colours, added water tothem to make them paler, and then mixed them toshow you some of the basic colours thai can beobtained by mixing just two or three primarycolours. Then I have added Hooker's Green No. 1,and I've also shown you how to mix a 'black' byusing the three primaries together. In this case, thefirst colour must be blue, since it's the darkest,then add red and then add yellow. To make it grey,add more water. I don't use ready-mixed Black andwould recommend you avoid it, too, especially atthe beginning. It can become a short cut todarkening colours but will only make them 'dirty'.You'll get far better results if you find out whatyour primaries can do for you.Some people are born colour mixers, whileothers find it a little difficult at first. But, withpractice, it's something we can all do. So, have a go- sit down with your paintbox, brush and a cleansheet of cartridge paper. Tr\' mixing the colour ofthe wallpaper, the cushion - anything you can see!20
Three PrimariesSome colours that can be mixed usingTWO and three primary coloursCadmium Yellow Pale French Ultramarine Crimson Alizarinadd more wateradd more wateradd more wateradd more wateradd more wateradd more water add more water add moreCrimson Alizarinadd more waterCadmium Yellow Pale French Ultramarine Crimson Alizarin addadd French Ultramarine add Crimson Alizarin Cadmium Yellow Paleadd moreFrench Ultramarineadd moreCrimson Alizarinadd moreCadmium Yellow Paleadd more blueadd more blueadd rtibreCadmium Yellow Pale•*add more wateradd more wateradd moreFrench Ultramarineadd moreCrimson Alizarinadd moreCadmium Yellow Paleadd more wateradd more water21
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