One of the things Greta had us invest in early on was a notebook specifically for color mixing practice. I bought the “Strathmore Hardbound 400 Series Watercolor Art Journal” for this purpose.
In class with her, we did the first few pages which were rows of pure color (and values practice) as well as the primary mixing combinations.
For the Sketchbook “9 Views of The Hudson River” project I practiced a few color wheels.
I also experimented with the Umber, Sienna, and Blue mixes to create “black.
Recently I’ve been curious to list all of the essential primaries, which for Greta’s palette are:
French Ultramarine
Cobalt Blue (but the Daniel Smith brand??)
Alizarin Crimson
Cadmium Red
Cadmium Yellow
Winsor Yellow (which is Lemon Yellow in other lines)
Above is the order she has them listed in her own color labeling system, but I put them in my chart as R Y B.
Is there a specific order they should be in? If so, why?
Since she listed Daniel Smith Cobalt instead of Winsor & Newton Cobalt, I also wanted to understand the difference between those two. So I did a second test just mixing the different blues with the same primary reds and yellows.
I can see some subtle color differences (though that could also be how I mixed them) and the Daniel Smith seemed to spread in water a little more quickly than Winsor Newton. Plus the Daniel Smith seems to have slightly more granulation…
Although creating mixing charts and swatches like this can be a bit tedious, and sometimes feels like I’m wasting a lot of paint, I’ve found it to be more valuable than not. It gives me first-hand experience to answer my questions and to test the advice I hear and see, especially since each teacher has their own preferred way, brand, palette, etc.
-Lana
