welcome to mix greens with ease - celebrating color€¦ · color tips: cobalt is not is good...

© Carol A. McIntyre. All Rights Reserved 1

WELCOME TO

MIX GREENS WITH EASEA 5-STEP APPROACH

Excerpt from my forthcoming book:

I Just Want to Paint! Easily Mix the Colors You Want


“Greens are so hard to mix!” It’s a

lament I hear often from painters. You

don’t like the greens that come out of

tubes and you don’t like the mixtures

that result from sincere attempts of

mixing blue and yellow.

This e-book Mix Greens with Ease:

A 5-Step Approach, will release you from

this color mixing frustration. Soon you

will love to mix green no matter what

your medium is.

Sentinels on the Pond, 36x 24 oil, ©Carol A. McIntyre

Notice the variety of greens in this painting.


Why are greens difficult to mix? Here are some possible reasons:

• Like candy, tubes of paint are irresistible. There are many tubes of green available. The overwhelming choices available in the art material candy store makes it diicult to buy paint with color conidence. I remember being frustrated after buying several greens and none of them worked for me because they look so un-natural.

• Green appears nearly everywhere in our environments. Hence, we expect it to be easy to mix.

• Seeing the subtle diferences in a landscape of multiple greens is not easy.• There is little instruction available on mixing green that can be applied immediately.• There is an on-going debate: I hale from the latter school of thought.

You are not alone, even Kermit bemoans the challenges of being green, yet ultimately

surmises that green is beautiful! Can you mix Kermit’s green? You will be able to if you

follow the steps I outline.

“Bein’ Green” (also known as “It’s Not Easy Being Green”)

Having to spend each day the color of the leaves

When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold

Or something much more colorful like that

It’s not easy being green

It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things

And people tend to pass you over ‘cause you’re

Not standing out like lashy sparkles in the water Or stars in the sky

But green’s the color of Spring

And green can be cool and friendly-like

And green can be big like an ocean, or important

Like a mountain, or tall like a tree

When green is all there is to be

It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why

Wonder, I am green and it’ll do ine, it’s beautiful And I think it’s what I want to be

Joe Raposo,

Songwriter, ©1970

© Jim Henson 1955


A 5-Step Approach to mixing greens:

1. Identify the color bias of your yellows and blues

2. Mix bright greens

3. Mix dull greens

4. Mix a variety of natural-looking greens

5. Choose and simplify your tubes of paint

Step 1: Identify the color bias of your yellows & blues

What do I mean by ‘color bias?’ Color bias refers to the color encroachment into a primary

color from a neighboring hue on the color wheel. It refers to the additional color the

primary color (in this case your yellows and blues), carries or leans toward.

Most primary colors from out of a tube include another color. In other words, they carry

a color bias. For example: yellow tubes of paint are either an orange-yellow or a green-yellow

and blue tubes of paint are either a green-blue or a violet-blue. There are very few pure colors

on the market.

Vocabulary note: the adjectives used to describe color bias are the secondary colors

of orange, green and violet. Hence, I use violet-blue instead of a red-blue, and

orange-yellow instead of red-yellow throughout this e-book. Using the secondary

colors as adjectives is easier to understand when looking at the color wheel.

As you can see in this color wheel, the primary of yellow can be

encroached or inluenced by either orange or green. Blue can be encroached by either green or violet.

• How well do you know your tubes of blue and yellow paint?• Do you know the color bias of each?

Now is the time to become intimate and

fall in love with your blues and yellows to

learn their color biases! They come in all shapes, sizes, and brands.

I encourage you to treat every tube of paint as if it is a tool, much

like you treat your brushes and palette knives.


To learn how to mix green, start by asking these two questions.

• Which ones are encroached by or carry an orange bias?• Which ones are encroached by or carry a green bias?

By identifying the color bias of each tube of yellow, you can start grouping them

accordingly.

The best way to evaluate the color bias of your tubes

of paint is by comparing color swatches that are side-

by-side. Creating a color chart of your yellows similar to

the chart below makes it possible to see the color bias of

each yellow.

After studying this chart of yellows, can you see their

diferences and similarities? Do you see their color biases—they will lean either toward green or orange?

It is much easier to see these subtle hue diferences on a chart versus trying to see them on your palette or just

looking at the paint tube labels.

Regarding your blues, ask these two questions:

• Which tubes of blue are encroached by or carry a green bias?

• Which tubes of blue are encroached by or carry a violet bias?

Here is a sample color chart of blue swatches. As with

the yellows, you can see slight diferences as well as similarities between the blues.

Color swatch charts are a great way to become intimate

with your paints. Surprises and discoveries often appear

because you have all of your colors in one place on a white surface. After you create your

chart of yellows and blues, let me know what you discovered. For example, you may notice

if you have duplicate hues.

Color Tip: Unlike the yellow and blue charts I have displayed here, I recommend that you label each color

swatch with its tube color name and manufacturer when you create your own color chart.


When mixing green, seeing the subtle color bias diferences in the yellows and blues is important in order to determine which ones to use. To the untrained eye, this can be a

challenge. With practice and study it becomes easier. Seeing is a skill which does not take

long to acquire. Soon you will be in a grocery store noticing the variety of greens in the

produce section or looking up into an open blue sky and seeing the gradation of green-blue

to violet-blue.

The more you paint and mix colors, your skills in seeing will increase. Stopping to

consciously observe the world around you will also build your skills. When mixing, pay more

attention to color bias of each primary tube of paint and less to its name. For example, say

to yourself, “I need a green-yellow for this mixture.” Don’t say, “I need my cadmium yellow

light.” When you start consciously stating the color bias of primary you need, your color

mixing will become more proicient.

Disclaimer: Because you are reading this document on the computer, you may not

be seeing the colors as I describe them. This is usually caused by an inaccurate

calibration of your color monitor.

Color bias is the key concept to mixing color because it directly impacts the results of your color mixing. It will make the diference between mixing clean colors versus muddy colors. Once you experience mixing clean colors your levels of frustration

will decrease signiicantly.

Let me explain why.

This understanding begins with remembering the pairs of color opposites:

The opposite of Yellow is Purple

The opposite of Blue is Orange

The opposite of Red is Green

What happens when you mix the color

opposites of green and red? They start

to dull each other, right? The parent

colors of red and green decrease

in intensity as soon as a bit of its

opposite is mixed with it as seen here.

Ultimately, they mix into a brown or a

black as evident in the middle swatch.


Next re-visit the adjectives used in describing the color bias of yellows and blues. They are:

green-yellow, orange-yellow, green-blue, violet-blue.

Herein lies the secret! It isn’t a secret per se, but it is crucial to successfully mixing greens.

Color Tip: When the yellow and blue used to mix green carry some red in them, the resulting green will not

be bright and clean because you are mixing color opposites.

When I learned this secret, I experienced a wonderful sense of relief, release and elation!

I never dreaded mixing greens again.

As mentioned, comparing swatches of color within the

same hue family will further develop your ability to see

color. To expand upon this, consider creating a color

bias color chart like the one at right.

I have grouped my yellows and blues according to

their color bias. From this chart, choose two yellows

and two blues—each carrying a diferent color bias. Also, the color bias of these paints needs to be

obvious—the more extreme the better. You want: a

green-yellow, an orange-yellow, a green-blue and a

violet-blue. If you do not have one of each, you need

to buy what you do not have. The need for these four

tubes of paint is explained further in Step 3.

Color Tips: Cobalt is not is good choice for one of your blues

because it does not carry a strong obvious color bias. Most

blues on the market carry a green bias. Very few blues carry a

violet bias.

Now that you know the color bias of all of your

yellows and blues and have chosen your paints, you

will begin mixing natural-looking greens with ease.

It’s a delightful color journey.


Step 2: Mix bright greens

When mixing greens that relect our natural world, we need a wide variety of hues. This includes bright clean greens as well as dull and dark greens.

Starting with mixing bright greens, which yellows and blues are going to result in the

brightest greens? A or B?

A. Mixing a green-yellow with a green-blue?

OR

B. Mixing an orange-yellow with a violet-blue?

The correct answer is A.

Why? Because neither of the primaries in A carry the color bias of red which is the color

opposite of green.

Here are three bright greens

I mixed with a green-yellow

and a green-blue. The

second green from the left

has a larger quantity of

yellow in it, whereas the second green from the right has a larger quantity of blue. This is a

dual color mixture aiming to create variations of hues with diferent ratios of a green-yellow and a green-blue.

Now, mix a green-yellow with a green-blue from YOUR assortment of paints.


Try diferent combinations of your green-yellows with your green-blues. For example, mix cerulean blue with a cadmium light or a Prussian blue with a Hansa yellow. You are in store

for some delightful surprises. Enjoy the discoveries and let me know what you learn.

Another variation would be to

mix with just one green-yellow,

but then mix it with all of the

green-blues you have. Notice

which combinations you prefer.

The following image shows

various bright greens working

with watercolor. In the right

hand column, I mixed the same

yellow with cerulean made by

two diferent manufacturers. You can see the slight diference in the bright green.

Color mixing charts like these help you to decide which yellows and blues you prefer. In my

opinion, it’s a lot more satisfying making your own paint choices versus following what an

instructor or another artist says to do.

The image at left shows you a variety of bright

greens using oils. The green in the second row is not

as light because I used a very dark green-blue, yet it

is a clean green.

Note: Some of you may want to know exactly which

yellows and blues I am using. It isn’t really necessary

because we all have a diferent set of paints in our paint box. It’s essential that you become intimate with your

tubes of paint. This is the best way you can learn to mix

color while expressing your unique visual message.


In the painting below I mixed a variety of bright greens to convey the time of year. Aspen

trees in the spring carry a full range of bright, clean greens.

Ode to be Joyful Campground, 14” x 11” oil, ©Carol A. McIntyre


Step 3: Mix dull greens

Before I describe how to mix dull greens, I want to explain how your primary colors, which

carry obvious color biases, relate to one another on a color wheel.

This color wheel is referred to as a Two-Primary

Palette because it has two yellows, two blues and

two reds. They are strategically chosen because the

color bias of each is obvious. As mentioned, you

don’t want to use a yellow or blue if it is diicult to see its color bias. The reason for this will soon

become apparent.

In Step 2 of my approach, I demonstrated how

to mix bright greens. When referencing the color

wheel on the previous page, the bright greens were

achieved by mixing #2 with #3—a green-yellow

with a green-blue.

Referring to the color wheel below:

#1. Is an orange-yellow

#2. Is a green-yellow

#3. Is a green-blue

#4. Is a violet -blue


Referring to this Two-Primary Palette color wheel, which combination of yellows and blues are going to produce the dullest greens?

The answer is #1 with #4—an orange-yellow with a violet-blue.

Why does mixing an orange-yellow with a violet-blue create duller greens? Because both

the yellow and the blue used carry red in it. In this scenario, the color opposites are hard at

work dulling each other as they are mixed.

These greens in the next chart can look muddy and sometimes we do not like them because

it wasn’t the color we had in our mind’s eye. However, they are perfectly legitimate greens.

It’s marvelous when we know how to mix a dull green! Nature is full of dull greens.

How often have you wanted to mix a dull green, but did not know how? Or you dipped

your brush into yellows and blues by trial and error hoping for the best? Now you have a

strategy.

The left chart shows mixing dull/olive greens working with oils, the right with watercolors.

These are luscious natural-looking greens.


Because both of the parent primary colors carry an orange or violet bias—#1

orange-yellow with a #4 violet –blue, you can understand how just a little bit of color

encroachment (color bias) impacts your color mixing results.

Which orange-yellow and violet-blue tubes of paint do

you currently own? Go ahead and mix them. A typical

example would be mixing cadmium yellow (which carries

an orange bias) with French ultramarine blue (which

carries a violet bias) as seen here. Now you know why you

can never achieve a bright clean green using either of

these tubes of paint.

Here are additional color charts of bright and dull greens. Try experimenting and discover

the potential of your tubes of green-yellow and green-blue.


Knowing how to mix dull greens efectively allowed me to paint this watercolor of grapes.

There are even more greens to mix using this Mix Greens with Ease Approach. I want

you to be able to mix a full range of luscious natural-looking greens.

A Grape Bounty, 22” x 14” watercolor,

©Carol A. McIntyre


Step 4: Mix a variety of natural-looking greens

In the previous steps, we mixed #2 with #3, and #1 with #4 to achieve bright and dull greens respectively. Let’s expand upon this knowledge.

There are two more yellow and blue combinations to explore.

What hue of green is going to show-up when you mix #2 with #4—a green-yellow with

a violet-blue? Will it be bright or dull or somewhere in between?

And what will your greens look like when you mix #1 with #3—an orange-yellow with

a green-blue?


In this green color chart below, I have sectioned a piece of 16” x 12”canvas paper—

watercolor paper can also be used—into four quadrants. The four sections relect the four yellow and blue combinations I have described.

Try mixing these yellow and blue combinations using all of your tubes of yellows and blues.

Did any surprises surface? Isn’t it fun to see all of the possibilities? Now the trees, leaves,

plants, green abstract shapes, landscapes, etc., in your paintings can have lots of variety.

As you look at this chart, perhaps you have discovered how the four diferent combinations relect the four seasons of the year—summer, spring, fall and winter.


I developed this Mix Greens with Ease Approach to make the low of my painting go more easily. I also wanted to mix a variety of natural-looking greens conidently. Teaching and sharing this method with other painters is a joy. I could not have painted “Dancing with

Light,” without knowing and implementing this green mixing strategy. No tubes of green

were used in this painting.

Dancing with Light, 30x34 oil, ©Carol A. McIntyre


Step 5: Choose and simplify

After reading and working through the previous four steps and creating the corresponding

color charts, you:

• Know the importance of seeing all of your yellows and blues.• Identiied the color bias of each yellow and blue tube of paint. • Understand how color bias impacts the results of your color mixing.• Mixed and discovered a variety of greens with a few tubes of paint. • Know how color opposites play a role in mixing color.

Fun! Now what?

You may be asking, “I have all of these swatches of greens. How do I remember how I

mixed them?” Creating the 4-quadrant green chart is one way to help with this. It’s a great

reference. Keep it handy when you paint.

Let’s simplify:

Pick a yellow-green and a blue-green that resonates with you.

Next, paint what I call a ‘chromatic scale’ with this pair. Mix a scale of greens using

diferent ratios of yellow and blue as shown here. Painting chromatic scales are a great way to explore and discover the potential

of your tubes of paint. This

exercise also increases color mixing

conidence.

The next step of simpliication necessitates mixing an orange with your favorite pair of a green-yellow and a green-blue.

Now, as you can see at left, the green

mixtures in the bottom row have

become duller greens just by mixing

orange. With only three colors—only

3 tubes of paint—many variations

of green can be mixed.

Color Tip: When orange is mixed with green, the green immediately becomes neutralized or duller.


Do the same with your favorite pair of orange-yellow and violet-blue paints. With this pair,

mix the greens with an orange. The green becomes even duller, right?

By choosing one pair of yellow and blue that mix into bright greens and one pair that mix

into dull greens, you end up with just four tubes of paint. This simpliies color decision making because you have fewer choices. A set of paints could be: Hansa yellow light and

cadmium yellow medium, and Prussian blue and ultramarine blue.

A wonderful variety of greens can be mixed with

these four tubes of paint. Then by adding a little

orange, your green possibilities have expanded

signiicantly.

Experiment mixing greens using these four

combinations and discover how it opens up

possibilities and colorful doors! By simplifying—

choosing a balanced number of yellows and

blues—you can mix green with ease!

In this palette knife painting, again I mixed a

variety of greens while letting some of the orange

show through.

Above Vail Valley, 14” x 11” acrylic, ©Carol A. McIntyre

When painting on location, I need to pack fewer tubes

of paint because of my balanced palette; this is another

beneit of knowing this approach to mixing green.


A Review of Mixing Green with Ease: A 5-Step Approach

Are you excited about trying out this approach to mixing natural-looking greens? In summary, you have learned to:

1. Identify the color bias of your yellows and blues

2. Mix bright greens

3. Mix dull greens

4. Mix a variety of natural greens

5. Choose and simplify

It’s time to be in control of your greens. Now you know what the outcome will be when you

select a particular yellow and blue to mix. Hopefully learning how to mix natural-looking

greens efectively will convince you that you don’t need to own any tubes of green. For example, you now know how to mix sap green.

When you are ready to buy your next tube of yellow or blue, you’ll go in knowing the color

bias you need. By being strategic in choosing the tubes of paint, you will experience more

color mixing success. Also, you will be less tempted to buy a sparkling tube of color that you

don’t need. LOL!

Color Tip: Remember that few primary tubes of paint—yellows, blues and reds—are pure. In other words,

nearly every yellow, blue and red carries a color bias.

These are more examples of my paintings demonstrating how greens can be mixed with

ease and conidence when using a balanced palette of strategically chosen yellows and blues.

Visions of Paris, 20” x 20” acrylic/mixed media

©Carol A. McIntyre


Nature’s Candy Land, 14” x 11,” oil,

©Carol A. McIntyre

Thank you for joining me on this colorful journey.

Gratefully and colorfully yours,

CAROL A. MCINTYRE

Artist & Color Expert


Do you want to learn more about color mixing and how to

avoid making mud? If so, you are invited to take my online

video course produced by Craftsy.com. Click http://craftsy.

me/2igakVk to view the introductory video. The course is

entitled Acrylic Color Mixing Made Easy! It always sells

for less than $40.00. It’s applicable for painters using any

tube-based paints—watercolors, oils, water-mixable oils—

not just acrylics.

Good news!Everyone on my e-book list automatically gets irst notiication when my new book—

I Just Want to Paint! Easily Mix the Colors You Want—is released.

www.CarolAMcIntyre.com • www.CelebratingColor.com/blog • [email protected]

In 1987, Carol McIntyre traded her corporate suits in for an artist’s smock,

unlocking the artistic vault she had kept sealed for over 15 years. Driven to

develop her painting skills, she became frustrated when she could not ind a

color theory instructor. Not to be deterred, she studied color independently

which led her to develop live and online courses. Visit www.CelebratingColor.

com/blog where she frequently writes about color. As a ine artist, Carol’s

watercolor, acrylic and oil paintings have received multiple awards including

the cover artist for Watercolor Magazine. She is passionate about helping

painters end their frustration with color.

Together, let’s bring more beauty into the world!

http://craftsy.me/2igakVk



http://www.CarolAMcIntyre.com

http://www.CelebratingColor.com/blog

mailto:[email protected]



welcome to mix greens with ease - celebrating color€¦ · color tips: cobalt is not is good...

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