Suggestions for Tropical Colors of the Ocean

Question: What colors would you use to get the beautiful colors of the ocean, especially the turquoise tropical waters ? I have the hardest time getting them real ! Thanks so much !
CW

Susie's reply: There are so many beautiful blues and greens available in many brands of watercolors. And when you combine these colors the possibilities are almost endless. My personal favorites for the painting tropical waters include: ultramarine turquoise, cobalt teal, cobalt turquoise, Antwerp, cerulean, manganese blue hue, rich green gold, and veridian. When I use these blues and greens along with the other colors in my palette and allow them to mingle on wet paper I am amazed at the results. I believe one of the secrets is to not over mix these pigments in your palette. When they mingle together on wet paper the results are usually better and anything I can mix up on my own.

I hope that helps! Have fun! Happy painting!

Undertones and Color Bias

HOW CAN I TELL THE BIAS ,OR UNDERTONE, OF DIFFERENT WATERCOLOR PAINTS? --Peter Russell, UK

Susie's Reply: Great question! I will try to answer this one as simply as I can. First of all, we all see color differently. When we talk about a color being biased we're talking about the color we see "within" this color. In other words, when we look at something that is yellow in hue and it looks a little greenish then we say the yellow is biased to green. On the other hand if they look at something that leans towards orange rather than green then we say it is biased to orange. We can also say that the yellow has orange undertones. Sometimes the bias or undertone is not obvious to the naked eye. A true color will often contain traces of other colors that are not as easy for us to detect.
Let's look at red. If you combine the cool red (quinacridone rose containing blue undertones) with a warm red (pyrrol scarlet containing yellow undertones) the resulting hue will be a true red. True red contains small traces of both yellow and blue. The best way to determine the bias or undertone of any primary color is to test or mix it to create a secondary hue. If we continue to use red as our example, when we mix the red we are testing with yellow to create orange, if the resulting orange is clean and clear then our red was biased to yellow. Had it been biased to blue the resulting orange would have been murky or dull. If we mix the same test red to create purple by mixing it with blue if the resulting purple is clean and clear then we could conclude that the test red was biased to blue.
Because true hues of each of the primaries colors do contain traces of the other two primaries creating clean secondary colors is almost impossible. That's one of the reasons I prefer using split primaries. With split primaries (a warm and cool of each primary color) the resulting secondary colors are always clean and clear. The secret is to choose a warm and a cool that are distinctively split and lean towards either a warm or cool hue. It becomes a matter of testing your colors and knowing your palette.
Because we all see color differently, recognizing undertones or bias can sometimes be difficult. Add that to the fact that different manufacturers use different formulas to create paints by the same name (example: cobalt blue manufactured by Winsor Newton and cobalt blue manufactured by Grumbacher will look different.)
I hope my explanation helps you to identify the undertones and bias of a color. Like everything else with watercolor the more you practice and know your paints the easier it will become.

Click here for more information on my split primary color theory and color chart.

Make Your Own Color Chart for Watercolor Paints

The illustration above shows a basic color chart for my core palette colors or what I call the Essential 7. This is a great way to find out what combinations you can mix from these seven paint colors.

To create your own color mixing chart:

• Use a pencil to draw eight rows and columns as shown above.
• To show how transparent or opaque each pigment is, make a black line using a permanent marker before you apply the colors. When you paint over the black line if the color disappears it is transparent, if you can see the pigment sitting on top of the black line then it has opaque qualities.
• Each ROW is about the color/hue in that row and what the other colors in the palette do when mixed with the dominant row color.
• Each COLUMN contains the same colors placed in the same order as in the rows.
• Mix less of the column color and more of the row color for the best results.
• Leave a little white space on either side of the pencil lines (between the color squares) to visually separate the colors.
• NOTE: Each color will be mixed with itself during this process.
• This chart shows the secondary and tertiary color combinations that are possible by mixing only two tube colors.
• It's possible to create many more neutral hues by combining three or more tube colors in the basic split primary palette.
• When the chart was totally dry I erased the pencil lines.

Of course you can make as many rows and columns as you want but I've found that when I want to add new colors to my core palette all I really need to do is add a new row and show how they interact with my 7 core palette colors. If they work with these 7 then I have a color that I can use successfully. If the color isn't compatible with my core palette then I need to be more careful and selective as to how I choose to use that particular paint.

Split Primary Palette

QUESTION: Susie, I was looking for watercolor palette suggestions and found your website. You mention a split primary palette. Would you please explain what a split primary palette is, what colors I need and how to use it? Much thanks for all your help! Judy S. Texas

SUSIE'S REPLY: Hi Judy! Here's what I refer to as a Split Primary Palette

Use a warm and a cool of each primary hue (a warm red and a cool red; a warm yellow and a cool yellow; a warm blue and a cool blue) to mix bright, high-intensity primary called a Mixed Primary Hue. The secret is in using the right split primary colors and not crossing over the lines into another section!

Here's how the Split Primary Palette works:

Let's start with a color wheel arranged like a clock (illustration above) and divided into three equal sections. At the top of the wheel (12 o'clock) a cool yellow, like Hansa Yellow Medium -- a lemony, slight bias to blue-green is on the right of the line; a warm yellow, like New Gamboge -- a golden, slight bias to red-orange is on the left of the line. Going clockwise around the circle (at 4 o'clock) there is a cool blue, like Phthalo Blue (GS) -- an icy, slight bias to blue-green is above the line; a warm blue, like French Ultramarine -- a purplish blue, slight bias to violet is below the line. Continuing clock wise, (at 8 o'clock) a cool red, Quinacridone Rose -- a rosy, slight bias to red-violet is below the line; a warm red, Pyrrol Scarlet -- a tomatoey red, slight bias to red-orange is above the line.

To mix the oranges, mix the red and yellow within the lines to the left of the circle. First mix orange, and then add more yellow for yellow-or ange and more red for red-orange.
To mix the greens, mix the blue and yellow within the lines to the right of the circle. First mix green (2 o'clock), and then add more yellow for yellow-green (1 o'clock) and more blue for blue-green (3 o'clock).
To mix the purples or violets, mix the pink or rose with the blue within the lines at the bottom of the circle. First mix purple (6 o'clock), and then add more blue for blue-violet (5 o'clock) and red for red-violet (7 o'clock).

Now here's the rule that makes this theory work: When mixing two colors on the wheel to achieve high-intensity color, don't cross over the line/stay in each section. Crossing over the lines and mixing the colors on either side of the line causes the mixtures to become less intense and slightly grayer. Cross two lines and even more graying occurs. This graying is called neutralizing. It is the result of a slight touch of that third color being added to the mix.


Hint: To mix earth colors, you simply cross over the lines or add a warm neutral to your mixtures. That's where Quinacridone Burnt Orange -- the seventh color of our essential 7 basics-enters the scene... it's a versatile warm neutral.

You have several good choices for professional artist grade watercolors to choose from.
My palette is currently filled with Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors.

Materials List for Susie's Split Primary Palette
DANIEL SMITH Extra Fine Watercolors
Seven 15ml Tubes - Essential Set offered by Daniel Smith at 40% off regular tube price)
Set contains:
Hansa Yellow Medium
New Gamboge
Phthalo Blue (GS)
French Ultramarine
Quinacridone Rose
Pyrrol Orange
Quinacridone Burnt Orange

Thanks for your questions Judy! Have fun painting and mixing up pretty colors!
SUSIE

For more information about Color check out Nita Leland's book EXPLORING COLOR

and her latest release CONFIDENT COLOR

Color Mixing - Simplified

QUESTION: About color mixing....I'm not looking for the chemical make up of paints but more for the "how to" of mixing paints. Which can be mixed without creating mud. Which colors compliment others visually. How to create a great black or green etc. That type of thing. Thanks.
SUSIE'S REPLY: These are multi-million dollar questions! I'll try to break this down and make it as simple as I can. A quick review of basic color theory reminds us there are three (3) primary colors: RED - YELLOW - BLUE.

We can not make these hues by mixing. We can create variations of each hue by adding one or both of the other colors but we can not mix up a true red, yellow or blue.
Secondary colors or hues (green, orange, and purple) are created by mixing two primaries. Red+yellow=orange; red+blue=purple; blue+yellow=green

Any time the other primary is added chances are the color will be muddy.Example: blue+yellow=green + a tiny bit of red= olive green; not a clean clear true green.
When we use a paint that has the third primary color already premixed into the tube the result is a neutralized or grayed or muddy looking color.

So, in answer to your question about what paint colors can be mixed together without making mud we do need to consider what's already in the tube of paint. Anytime you have a combination of all three primaries you will have a duller more neutralized color. The more equal the amounts of the three colors the muddier or grayer the color will be.

Think about it this way: if a color looks greenish, you know it has blue and yellow in it. If you mix that color with any color that has some red in it the possibility for mixing mud is greater. The more equal the ratio of red + yellow + blue the more neutral the resulting color will be.

Many times we create duller looking colors by over mixing them in our palettes before we apply them to our watercolor paper. If we allow these same colors to "mingle" on our paper and mix together naturally they usually do so in a visually pleasing way.

As for premixed tube color formulas: There are probably as many "formulas" for mixing visually pleasing neutrals as their are watercolorists. For a dark gray or black one very popular combination is Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Sienna. Another formula for black is Alizarin Crimson and Hookers Green.
Here are some tips:

• Testing the colors on your own palette to see what color combinations you can make will be helpful. Make a color chart. Avoid mixing more than three colors, better yet try not to mix more than two premixed tube colors.
• Read the labels on your paint tubes. If they contain two or more pigments know that they are good candidates for mud makers when mixed with additional colors using multi-pigments.
• Another thing to consider is that each brand of paint has different ingredients even though it may have the same color name. So one brand of cobalt blue may mix up differently than another brand of cobalt blue.

My personal recommendation for all new painters ( or anyone who is confused about mixing colors) is to use a limited palette of basic compatible core colors. The brand of paint isn't as important as the choice of your basic colors. Stick to using this limited palette for a period of time to allow you to get acquainted with color mixing and learn all you can about what these core colors will and will not do for you. If you are a prolific painter six months may be enough time for you to work with a limited palette. If you don't have time or don't paint very often you may need as much as a year of working with a limited palette to get the hang of color mixing.

For more information look for my article published by Daniel Smith Some Thoughts on Color and using a Split Primary Palette.


Hang in there! The more you practice the better you will get!

SUSIE


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Green is Green is Green

QUESTION: Susie, I am having the hardest time painting leaves. Green is green is green. I never seem to get enough contrast and my leaves never come to "LIFE". Can you help? Do you have a video on painting flowers and LEAVES? Shirley

SUSIE'S REPLY: Shirley, the DVD titled Painting Sentimental Roses goes into painting leaves on the stem of a rose. And I do mention adding some variety to the green leaves by dropping in more blue or yellow into a wet area.
But let's just take a few minutes to talk about greens and how to alter them.
First of all don't let yourself get into a habit of relying on tube greens. That green hue (such as Sap Green) may be beautiful straight out of the tube but it can be so "boring." Instead of using tube greens, try mixing your greens using the blues and yellows on your palette. Each blue will make a different hue of green when you add it to each of your yellows.
Experiment by making a little color chart or grid of greens and see the variations you have available to you without dipping into a tube green.
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Then make another chart for each tube green and see how you can adjust the hue of the tube color by adding those same blues to the green from the tube and then another chart by adding the yellows to the tube green(s). WOW! And think of how many more you can make if you combined the tube greens with any number of mixed greens from your first chart of just blues and yellows. (Shown in my example are Sap and Viridian mixed with six colors of a split primary palette.)

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So far we've been thinking about mixing wet colors. Now let's think about glazing or layering blue over yellow or green over pink or green over orange. You can get an endless variety of greens that are alive and exciting.
Dropping wet color into another wet color is called "charging." When the blue and yellow are allowed to "mingle" on your paper rather than being premixed on your palette the color will often be more exciting and have more punch to it.

Thanks for asking a question that so many of us need to deal with. I hope you will find out that with some practice with mixing and mingling your greens will become your friend and not your enemy.

Happy Painting!
SUSIE