If you can mix them, you don’t need to buy them
Could you say which version of the colors is the original pigment and which is the mix?
I think the color palette of cool, natural tones and a rich yellow is just the perfect match for autumn. But there's even more to our color palette today, because I want to show you how to extend your palette without buying new colors.
The three colors Perylene Green, Raw Sienna and Indigo, are a fixed part of my personal watercolor box. But if you don't have them, I will show you how you can mix them from two different colors, so you don’t have to buy them.
For the Perylene Green use Winsor Yellow and Payne's Gray.
For Raw Sienna you can mix Burnt Sienna and Winsor Yellow.
The vibrant blue of Indigo can be recreated with French Ultramarine and Payne's Gray.
It can take a bit of testing to find the right balance between the two mixing colors. You have to reach the right amount of every color to match the target color.
Of course, the mixes are not the real pigments, and they do look a little bit different. Often, mixes are less vibrant than the original. But still, it gives you a lot to play with and opportunities to use colors without buying them.
Starting with a limited set of colors isn't a bad thing. You will learn a lot of mixing, and over time, you can grow your palette. That's why I always recommend buying a few high-quality paints rather than a lot of cheap ones.
Trying to match a color through mixing is a great exercise to get to know your pigments better. It can be a pigment you already have, like in my example above, or a color from any object in your home. If you would like more guidance with your exercise, follow the step-by-step instructions in the ‘Watercolour Beginner Guide’:
Free PDF Guide with 3 step-by-step Tutorials
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Enjoy these beautiful step-by-step paintings. From the best material to color mixing, everything you need is covered.
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Inside the Guide
List of the best Watercolor supplies
Colors Mixing recipes
Step-by-step tutorials with pictures & text
printable drawing templates