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Color Mixing-Art or Science?

Is color mixing an art or a science?

And I don't know what that means. What science? Are colors systematized, arranged according to some set of criteria? If not, what is the science?  Do you disturb your equilibrium with attention to the chemical properties of different pigments and paints, or do you go with sight and experimentation alone? Elsewhere you mention using only two pigments to do entire multi-color paintings. How on earth did you discover that? And what is the art part? Do you mean the result of years of playing around and experimenting? Do you mean that ineffable thing that distinguishes a painter from a dabbler?

  Sidney Oliver

Both.

In Watercolor, I pay attention to the chemical properties insofar that they are staining and transparent. I mentioned the Wilcox book in an earlier post on Tips for Watercolor, but it is crucial to use non-staining and transparent watercolors. I think the tubes themselves contain this information. In oils, I don't worry about this as much and just use the best paints I can afford. 

You mention that I use only two pigments to do an entire multi-color painting. I use two color mixtures using two pigments each for a total of 4 colors. I've done this quite often using watercolors.  

In the painting above the same two pigments of Burnt Sienna + French Ultramarine Blue were used in the roof, windows, tree trunk, wagon, and some on the ground and other spots over a light, base wash of Raw Sienna. The shadows on the porch and elsewhere were a mixture of Brown Madder + Manganese Blue. 

Below are the various colors I can mix using just these tubes of pigment. Such basic everyday, inexpensive colors give an array of colors, tones, & shades.

More water, less water, more Burnt Sienna, more French Ultramarine

Experimenting with all of this is important. Perhaps I have said this earlier, but one thing I notice in many who try their hand at watercolor is no feel for how much water to use. Beginners tend to use too much. Some areas do require more water, some much less, and some only need a little dab. At times my brush is barely wet as in the darker color mixtures above.

Experiment without trying to produce anything. Take any two colors on your palette and do what is shown above: less water, more water, more of one color, more of another. Do NOT mix more than two colors together in watercolor. Get a feel for this stuff. It ain't gonna work if you don't.

This is a short answer for a long question, but please don't hesitate to follow up in the comments section. Perhaps I left out something crucial to your understanding.

Enjoy the process!

  Ruthie Windsor-Mann

This post is part of a series of Q & As between Ruthie Windsor-Mann and Sidney Oliver. 

We invite the reader to join in with other questions in the comments section. This needs to be interactive in order to work.

All photographs are by Ruthie Windsor-Mann unless otherwise credited.

Copyright 2019 Ruthie Windsor-Mann All Rights Reserved