Mixing Believable Greens with Water Mixable Oils

Green colors are perceived more easily by the human eye. Some scientists believe this is an evolutionary trait handed down from our ape ancestors.

This may may also explain why most humans find green to be a soothing color.

Green is the most predominant color in nature with its numerous shades and tints. But ironically, mixing believable Greens tend to be the most challenging for landscape artists to mix.

In printing, two colors which make Green are Blue or Cyan plus Yellow, making Green a secondary color. However, when painting the options are endless.

Wikipedia explains it well: Varieties of the color green may differ in hue, chroma (also called saturation or intensity) or lightness (or value, tone, or brightness), or in two or three of these qualities. Variations in value are also called tints and shades, a tint being a green or other hue mixed with white, a shade being mixed with black.

Here are some interesting facts I learned years ago, The Color Green: How to Use Its Meaning For Art And Design. Lately, I’ve been exploring my own palette and broadening my color mixing knowledge.

Talented landscape artist, Skip Whitcomb suggested an interesting triad palette (Yellow Ocher, Cad Lemon, Indian Red, Red Rose Quinacridone, Blue Black). I modified the palette a bit because I use Cobra Water-Mixable Oils by Royal Talens.

Using Titanium White, Cadmium Yellow Lemon, Transparent Oxide Red, Madder Lake and Paynes Gray, I came close. (I just realized I forgot to use Yellow Ocher!) PS. You can mix your own Paynes Gray with Ultramarine Blue and Ivory Black.

Look at the beautiful Greens I mixed with this unique palette. Next time, I will add Yellow Ocher to the palette to get even more green variations!

I tested out the new palette on this little 6×8 painting below. Notice the subtle Greens and Grays I was able to mix with the addition of Paynes Gray as my Blue!