How can I get a better color mix even when I need a lighter or darker value? Why do I keep getting muddy (or chalky) colors? How do I fix this? These are the most common questions painting students ask me. The answers are all there when we look back to color theory.
Don't worry! Learning what makes colors work will make you a better painter, not a boring painter.
Take a look at the 2 paintings below. The colors are equally vibrant in both paintings of Hollister Peak, one of my favorite scenes to paint. Even though they depict nearly the same scene, they have a different feel and tone to them.
Which of these two paintings are you drawn to?
How does this one make you feel?
Does this painting feel different to you?
I painted these at different times of year, the lighting was different on each painting day, and I'm sure I felt different on both days, too. Nonetheless, I'm the same painter. That is to say that I used my skills as a painter - my knowledge of color - to mix the colors in a way that represented not only what I was seeing on each day, but also the mood I wanted to evoke with each painting in my own style.
In this post, I'll go over hue, value, and temperature while giving you some of the tips and tricks I've learned over the years.
Here's what will help you mix clean, vibrant colors no matter where you need them on your painting.
Tip #1 - It's all about the dominant color
Hue is another word for a generic color, such as "red," "blue," "yellow," or "green."
For example, in the paintings above, what color do you identify most strongly in the foliage at the base of the rocky peaks? In both paintings, the main color there, or dominant hue, is green. Whatever you are working on in your painting, remember to identify the dominant hue of that section or object. In the paintings above, the rocky peaks are painted with different dominant hues (red and blue). Even though they are the same rocks, my color choices evoke something completely different in each painting.
Tip #2 - Reduce your use of black and white
In the study of color theory, black and white are not considered true "colors" but should be viewed as "mixing agents" instead. Use them to darken or lighten but remember that they are likely to dull colors - one cause of muddy or chalky colors. Use them sparingly! - only to make minor adjustments in value.
Tip #3 - Know your values
Even if you're not a painter, no doubt you've seen a value scale. The value scale is to painters what playing the scales is to musicians. Get familiar with it! It's a great value to you.
PRACTICE #1: Paint your own value scale. Start by painting the two end value keys, one with pure black and one with pure white. Next, paint the middle value key, adjusting it with black or white until - by your estimation - it is a grey that seems to be "halfway" between either end. You can ask yourself if it "looks" more black or more white and adjust until it seems right to you. At this point, you can work either side - from black to middle grey or from white to middle grey. Either way you work, aim to mix a value mid-way between the value keys you already have mixed.
PRACTICE #2: After painting the grey scales above, now paint the scales with colors using the same methodology as above. Start with a color of your choice and add black or white to it to create the values in the scale.
Identify the value of the area or object you're painting. You can do this on location by holding a value scale up in front of you to the part of a real-life scene you're about to paint. Then, squint your eyes and assess which of the grey values most closely matches what you see in the landscape. This is an over-simplification but that's roughly the value you'll be aiming for as you paint that area or object. Keep in mind that you may choose to adjust values within your painting depending on your overall painting plan.
Tip #4 - Check the color temp
When you look at a scene or an individual area or object within the scene, assess the color temperature of what you're seeing.
Try squinting your eyes to look at this painting. What are the dominant hues here?
The overall temperature in this painting is warm. It leans toward reds, yellows, and oranges.
Try squinting again with this next painting.
Do you see that it leans to a cool temperature overall, with dominant hues of blues, greens, and some light purple?
Tip #5 - Mix color with color for vibrant values
Let's bring it all together now. Once you've identified your dominant hue, value, and color temperature, you're ready to mix some paint. Here's a simplified "formula" but remember - practice is the key to mastery!
Start your mix with a bit of your dominant color on the palette
From that color, move around the color wheel to select a cool or warm color to add (one that reads lighter or darker in value) that will bring you closer to the value and temperature of the area or object you're painting. Add a bit of that to the dominant color
Mix the paints and test it out. Check the value of this mix against your value scale and by looking at the way it "reads" on your painting in comparison with other areas and objects around it
Adjust the value by adding more color - the dominant color or a lighter or darker cool/warm
Use black or white sparingly to make minor value adjustments
I'll cover how to change a color's value by using other colors in more detail with an upcoming post. Stay tuned!
Last, Most Important Tip - Keep painting!
Color theory is helpful, as is the study of any of the aspects of painting. Keep in mind, though, the best teacher is practice.
And remember - keep painting!
~ Anita
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