So much paint and color to choose from

There are so many paint colors on the market in just about any medium you want to paint in. That can be overwhelming to artists and especially beginners.

Many new artists often feel like a medium can be so expensive because you need so many colors to paint. But that is not the case.

If you take the time to get some basic colors and spend some time making color mixing charts you will find out that you can make many colors with a small number of paint colors.

The color chart below was made using Windsor newton colors of manganese blue, lemon yellow, and magenta. these are the colors your printer uses to make all colors.

Each company makes their colors slightly differently so these very same colors in another brand might yield slightly different results.

You can see there is quite a variety of colors to be made from just three colors and I did not makeup all the colors on can from these paints.

The benefit of color mixing

You will learn so much about color and color mixing when you take the time to make up your own color charts. These mixes were done in oil paints because that is my new medium I am working on learning this year.

I don’t want to own a million tubes of paint nor can I afford to. So in order to see my wide variety of options, I decided to take on this fun endeavor.

I put each color at the top by listing the name and brand and in paint so I can see the color visually.

Just because I have one red does not mean they will all yield me the same shades when I go to paint.

And if I need a particular color or shade this chart will be invaluable in my painting process.

I do not make all these color mixing pages all at once. I take a couple of paints at a time and I sit and paint up some mixing. And sometimes I mix odd colors together just to see what I get.

Often you hear be careful what you mix you will get mud. Well sometimes you need those colors, I call them grey tones and its important to know how to mix the ones you want.

It may seem like subtle differences but it can make your painting come together better if you have the right color.

What colors do you need to start mixing up your own

I would say you need some basic colors. Here is just my list and certainly not the only things to start with.

Cad yellow med, Lemon Yellow, Cobalt blue, Cerulean blue, ultramarine blue, cad red med, Magenta, perm rose of quin rose, phthalo blue, cobalt teal, phthalo green cad orange, raw umber, dioxazine purple, and titanium white.

You can mix a vast array of colors starting with these basic colors. I have added a few more to my collection that I wanted to have and I try to make mixing charts for all of them.

Here are my pages so far that I have mixed up. I also make up pages of mixed greys just to have on hand. In doing this I have found so many interesting greys.

If you mix colors as you paint you will find that you have more color harmony by using the colors in your painting to mix other colors, shades, and tones to use.

This is a fun process and one that teaches you a lot about paint and color. I recommend doing this no matter what your medium. Especially if you are new to painting, this will help you understand color mixing and layering better.