by John McLaren | Apr 29, 2022 | Many Ways to Gray
I love grays and muted tones. Grays emphasize the colors nearby. Jeanne Dobie refers to this as ‘mouse power’. The ‘mouse’ colors are the supporting cast for the jewel-like colors. Whenever selecting a simple palette for a painting, the first test is to make a...
by John McLaren | Apr 30, 2022 | Many Ways to Gray
Over the last several years, there has been an influx of new ‘neutral tints’ introduced by manufacturers of artist paints almost as though there has been a new pigment discovered. In a way there has. There are new (20thC) pigments that are more transparent, which...
by John McLaren | May 20, 2022 | Many Ways to Gray
Whenever you want to mix any color, the easiest path will always be to mix two colors which are close to the color you desire. As a simple example, consider mixing a violet. You would choose a red that had a bluish component (like a rose or magenta), and a blue that...
by John McLaren | Jun 21, 2022 | Many Ways to Gray
Let’s look at some of the most popular Neutral Tints and their formulas. Most of the neutral tints on the market are analogous dyads combined with a complement, or dulling pigment. An analogous dyad means two colors close together on the color wheel (like a blue and...
by John McLaren | Jun 30, 2022 | Many Ways to Gray
Grays with ‘Character’ This section is not about neutral tints at all, but an approach to mixing grays with character. I’m sure at some point every watercolorist has mixed up a batch of paint thinking it will be a nice color only to end up with a very...
by John McLaren | Jun 21, 2023 | Many Ways to Gray
Over the years each artist will undoubtedly develop many of their own favorite gray mixtures. Often these formulas are what paint manufacturers are using. With the constant influx of new pigment options, there are always new ways to make neutrals and grays. If I just...
