It’s Spring and with that we enter the green season. Green is a tough color for some painters. However, it doesn’t have to be so hard. I try to keep it simple. My color mixing approach is based on the color components of intensity, temperature and value.
Intensity is the purity or brightness of a color. Color temperature ranges from warm to cool. Value is the shade of the color (light, medium or dark). Understanding these three components goes a long way in helping us become efficient color mixers.
Let’s make some basic green observations using these three components. Intense greens are ones that scream green. Think of Pthalo Green, Permanent Green Light, Emerald Green, etc. When you see these greens you have no doubt what color family you are looking at. High intensity is usually easy to define. Ask yourself, “Is that color I am trying to match green?” If the answer is obviously yes, then we can assume the intensity is higher. If the answer is not so clear, then the green is somewhat neutralized. Any doubt when identifying a color means something has happened to the base, inherent color. Bright green becomes olive and if we keep moving away from our intense green, we can get an earthy green that could pass for an earth tone. Color temperature is how warm or cool is the green. Simply stated, if it’s warm, we use more yellow in the mix and if it’s cool, more blue. Value is easy to understand. Is it light, medium or dark green?
The reason I prefer to mix my greens is because I feel like I have total control in coming up with the green to satisfy the three components. With that said there are many great tube greens. I love Sap Green as a shortcut. However, for anyone struggling with green, I advise against relying on tube greens. Tube greens have already decided intensity, temperature and value for you. You then must understand how it fits into your color mixes. This can be tricky. Starting out with just yellow and blue allows you to understand the intensity, temperature and value of your greens.
Here is my approach. Based on the subject, I first create a base green with decent intensity. I like using Cobalt Blue and Cadmium Yellow Lemon. This could also be done with any blue or yellow. The key is that you want this mix to be generally the most intense green in your painting. I put this in the center of my palette. In one direction, I go warmer, more neutral and lighter. The opposite side of the mix is cooler, more neutral and darker. On the warm side add more Cadmium Yellow Lemon, beside it, mix your base green with Cadmium Yellow Medium or Deep. We could also add Yellow Ochre with our base green to get a less intense green. Adding white as we move away will give you lighter and more neutral versions. Going in the other direction, add more Cobalt Blue. You can also mix Cad Yellows with Ultramarine Blue for a darker and less intense green. Adding a bit of cool red like Alizarin Crimson or Quinacridone Red will lower the intensity. If you want something very dark, you can add an earth tone.
One of the keys to using this method on the palette is to keep all your color mixes connected or sliding into one another. That is how nature displays the colors. There is a dizzying amount of variation. Having this variety on your palette will allow you to compare the color with the subject and not stop and mix every time you need a new green. From these base mixes you can add other colors. I like to have other blues available like Pthalo Blue, Sevres Blue and Kings Blue. This is especially helpful in shadow areas. In warmer sections of the painting, I like to add Cadmium Orange, Transparent Orange or Transparent Red Oxide.
This method of color mixing is just one approach. There are countless ways to arrive at the same place. I like it because I am thinking about the components of color as I am mixing. It feels like you end up with a better understanding of the subject. If you are a painter suffering from the green blues, I hope this approach helps.
Here is a step by step that shows the process.
