Confused by Color mixing? Let’s make a color wheel!

Hi friends! I get asked about color theory a lot so today I decided to show you how I mix colors and tell you what 6 colors I recommend for watercolor but it can be applies to any paint medium. I also recommend white if painting in acrylics or oils.

I even have a free printable handy-dandy checklist of supplies for watercolor here. Now, watch the video to see the color mixing magic happen!

Video!

Trust me, play with your paint and start mixing. Watching a video is good but you will learn by doing. Your color may have different names or maybe your color are in pans and you do not have the names BUT you do have eyeballs so simply look at them and see what the undertones are in your primarys.

Red
Warm: Cadmium Red, Scarlet, Vermilion (any red that looks more orange than purple)
Cool: Alizarin Crimson, Quin. Magenta, Red Rose Deep (a red more purple than orange)

Blue
Cool: Pthalo, Prussian, Turquoise (A blue more green than purple)
Warm: Ultramarine, Cobalt (a blue more purple than green)

Yellow
Cool: Lemon (a yellow more green than orange)
Warm: Gamboge, Cad Yellow, Indian Yellow (A yellow closer to orange than green)

Once you can spot the colors undertones you will know what paint to pick for mixing the color you want.

I also like Sap Green, Yellow Ocher and Burnt Sienna because I use a lot of these colors and it would take a lot of time to mix these (although you totally can) on every painting. Play with the paint, it is the best way to learn. My dad always said the best way to learn how to build a house is to build a house. It’s the same with painting (and he was a contractor and I am an artist so you can totally trust what we say!)

I hope are less confused about color now. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Mixed Media Fun: Wax, Watercolor, Stencils, Stamping and Sprays!

Howdy friends. Time again to get out the art journal and have a play! I love working in a spectrum of colors, like the color wheel, putting colors next to their neighbors for really vivid results! The other neat thing is that you can get by with only 3 colors of spray ink and just let them overlap! This quote from Marc Chagall was perfect for this page: All colors are friends of their neighbors and the lovers of their opposites:

That quote means the the colors are pleasant with the surrounding colors on the spectrum but really pop when placed next to their complimentary color, that is the one opposite on the color wheel. Watch the video to learn some techniques with sprays, stencils, markers, stamps, wax and watercolor!

Here is the spread from the beginning of the video, I actually was doing a video of this and ran out of time and I felt that for the amount of techniques I was sharing it should be under 20 minutes…and I am too lazy to edit clips together LOL! Still, more than 20 minutes is a lot to ask you to sit through…in fact 20 is probably bad enough LOL!

Here are close-ups of the pages:

Before I forget I want to mention that I will be posting a giveaway for the most adorable stamps tomorrow, I do hope you check back for a chance to win. If you are afraid that you will forget you can subscribe to my blog (look for the subscription area in the upper left hand column, it’s free) and you will get an email when I post something new. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!