Basic acrylic colour mixing: how to mix a perfect purple| Part 2 of 2

www.willkempart... | colour mixing with acrylic paint. Learn how to mix the perfect bright purple with acrylic paint colours with professional artist Will Kemp.
Basic colour mixing with acrylic paints to learn about complementary color, colour wheel and colour theory.
Colour used: Titanium White
Cadmium Red Light
Permanent Alizarin Crimson
Alizarin Crimson
Quinacridone Red
Ultramarine blue
Phthalo Blue (Green)
Cobalt violet (hue)
Golden Acrylics
Winsor & Newton artists acrylic paints
Will Kemp Art School Channel
/ willkempartschool
Music by Elly from Folding Stars. "Kinda sucked anyway"
www.myspace.com...
Check out her other band hello big world!
www.tumblr.com/...

[@karynmittens5199]

Lordy. This has literally changed my entire color mixing understanding.

[@willkempartschool]

Good one Karyn, so pleased it helped. Cheers, Will

[@TheProfRobin]

Hi Will. As a physicist I can agree with you - purple is a fantastic colour in art and science. Red (longest visible wavelength) and blue (shortest) together, make the eye see purple when they are emitted as light. Two extremes. If you zap the eye with red and green, it sees yellow. So do not underestimate the eye when mixing colour. But red acrylic paint absorbs most blue light and blue paint absorbs most red. This explains why most red + blue mixes give grey. Then we have the ink-jet scenario where you can rely on the CMY colours to behave and give you the colour you expect when you mix. It is the M of the CMY that is the clue. M, magenta, a fancy name for not green. Not green is R + B so magenta ink-jet is already half way to purple paradise. It can be nudged to the purple you need with a small additive. You finished off here with the tube of readimix "purple" and that is the safest ! Living in S of Fr I encounter lavender a lot and I asked a few people what colour they see in lavender. I was surprised by the fact that many people said "I see grey or "I see ash. The same thing is happening in the lavender blossom as in paint, the red and blue are wiping each other out to give grey. Back to ink-jet - they work because the inks are translucent and in the best printers, the colour dots are displaced so they dont self absorb each other, like a daub of mixed paint does. Oh and PS, I drew up a matrix of what colours I needed for a starting palette - Lowry, Will Kemp, Whatsisname along the horizontal axis and the colour tubes (pthalo etc) along the vertical axis. I then bought the most heavily populated pigments & dyes in this matrix. I couldn't get a purple from these top price tubes - missing the right red. But then I had a brainwave. I went back to my starter kit, Amsterdam student basics and mixed their cheap primary red and cheap primary blue and a 1/3 of titanium white and voila! a decent purple. Being cheap student colours, the reds had all the hues you might ever want, as per the blues. The hues were left and right spectrally, so grey and - cometh the need, cometh the purple. Oh, and paint has physical depth, so that layer of red pigment blocks the blue light coming off the pigment below and vice versa for top blue layer. It's all in the top layer of molecules. My solution? Just squeeze tubes and mix till you get the colour you want and then write down how you did it in your notebook so you don't have to go through the whole rigmarole next time!

[@maezeppa]

Wow. In conjunction with the video, your post tells me what I was always so curious/frustrated about in my acrylic blending. I get it now, so thanks. It's also good information about cyan, magenta and yellow. They, too appear to be a way of looking at primary colors. Thanks for your generosity.

[@nannybetty19]

I just learned why I couldn't make purple - I made that awful gray and now know why - thank you!!

[@roberemy]

You are a great teacher Will! I really appreciate your informative videos. I really had no idea that mixing colors could be so complex. Makes sense why I mostly feel frustration in not getting the color I hope for. So very interesting! Thank you!

[@willkempartschool]

Cheers Robin, yes, there are a few different hidden elements when mixing paint colours but once you've got a good understanding of the basics you'll be away! really pleased you found it helpful. Cheers, Will

[@willkempartschool]

Hey Katherine, Nice to hear from you. The second red is Permanent Alizarin Crimson not a mix of Cadmium Red Medium and Alizarin Crimson. I have added Cadmium Red Medium in the comment above by accident! The Colours used: Titanium White, Cadmium Red Light, Permanent Alizarin Crimson, Alizarin Crimson, Quinacridone Red If you watch how to mix a pink video at the beginning I go through the colours used, which are the same for this video, Sorry for the confusion, Cheers, Will

[@josephlowry4320]

Wow! Now I know how to avoid colour errors when I'm painting in art class or in my own time and if I forget I just go and watch the video again to remember, thank Willkempartschool.

[@willkempartschool]

@this1is1me There is a lot to remember when you first start, but the same principles pop up again and again, but it is just good fun mixing paint colours!

[@jkwatcher47]

After a very frustrating painting session with my wife the other evening, I spent this evening experimenting trying to get a good purple and just could not do it. Then I found your video and it is like night and day! Now I'm just frustrated that the other color theory tutorial videos I've watched didn't explain this at all! Thank you

[@willkempartschool]

@IVMoMoIX The music is by my friend Elly from Folding Stars. "Kinda sucked anyway" If you click the show more tab above there's a link to her my space page. Will

[@NeffTattoo]

I learned more about color mixing in practical terms than in my color and 2-dimensional design class from college!!!! I never really understood the difference between ultramarine blue and pthalo blue! I'm getting back into painting and I've been watching your videos to understand color and painting with acrylics better. You have been a huge help!!!!!

[@willkempartschool]

Pleased you've been finding them helpful Stephen. Cheers, Will

[@ARTPAINTING101]

Will Kemp is a must for beginners. My two biggest stumbling blocks in achieving great results are color mixing ( getting better) and brush techniques. These vids are indispensable and I found it is good to review them every 3-6 months because you will likely have a new Ahah! moment after practicing the idea that you thought was the one intended. Anyway that's what I found

[@willkempartschool]

Thanks so much James, very kind of you to say so. Keep well Will

[@chriswhitehouse8982]

This is why making a color chart with your palette colors is a good idea and a good reference to have.

[@AndyLaw1Freeforall]

Thanks for this video. I never really understood why people were fussing so much about colour mixing. This video opened my eyes.

[@the_Melpomenea]

Wow! I started painting with acrylics a while ago but I never noticed the thing with the undertones! That's so amazing and I finally know what they are for!

[@alaysiakayebutler6299]

The first WK video I ever caught, and Im back for a refreshment; this was the most eye opening, informative, impressive edu-vid I had run across, and led me to the ability to see other potential outcomes with other colors too. My college student son had begun painting. I refered him to the WKA website. Most watchable and knowledge packed.

[@willkempartschool]

Thanks so much for your kind comments Alaysia, much appreciated. Really glad you've been enjoying the videos, hope your son finds them helpful. Will

[@Graysunshinecries]

Thank you, this is a great guide to understanding the colors and how they compliment each other. I'm glad I'm learning this now as a beginner. Cheers

[@willkempartschool]

Pleased it helped with your colour mixing. Cheers, Will

[@MayFint]

Wow! I should watch all the videos so i learn a lot of different color and how to mix it. You are amazing ang fantastic teacher..

[@adamonline45]

Wow! My herotofore unnoticed "Blue is Blue" mindset may have led to some muddy paintings...

[@willkempartschool]

+Adam Richards Hope it helps to get some fresh mixes in your paintings Adam. Cheers, Will

[@gwen25]

Ahhh, I see. Now I know why my purple looks so muddy and nasty. Thanks so much for the info! This helped me alot😇

[@skoofer]

so glad I stumbled upon your color mixing videos! It's been close to a decade since I last painted and this was an excellent refresher...lots of chromatic grays on my first palette which was NOT what I was going for, haha.

[@willkempartschool]

+skoofer pleased it helped Skoofer. Cheers, Will

[@willkempartschool]

Hi reilpfan, it's called a 'tear off palette' and is a disposable palette of 50 tear off sheets, the paper has a waxy surface to the paint mixes easy on it, then you can throw the palette away. (it saves on washing up!) Will

[@katharinamjaggi328]

Will, it is an absolute pleasure to watch and listen to your lessons. Thank You!

[@willkempartschool]

Kind of you to say so Karen, pleased you enjoyed it. Will

[@katharinamjaggi328]

The whole family got in on it. We did your landscape lesson. Very pleased with our outcomes.

[@willkempartschool]

Karen Jaggi Great that your family got involved aswell Karen. Cheers, Will

[@kiunch]

This explains why all the color I mix look "dead". Last time when I needed a purple, I ended up buying 6 different shades of purple just to get the color I need. Thank you.

[@willkempartschool]

kiunch You're welcome, pleased it helped.Will

[@rowlandadelagun-manwomanmy892]

I'm so impressed with this phenomenonal understanding of the possibilities of mixing colours!

[@grannieannie1371]

Even a nine yr old video is still helpful. Thanks Will.

[@willkempartschool]

Glad to help!

[@unconventionalsenshi]

So just yesterday I was trying to get a beautiful purple with ultramarine and cadmium red and I got a greyish poop color :P Extra helpful video, thanks so much!

[@reilpfan]

Thanks for the prompt reply Will! I love your painting tutorials since I learn so much from you compared to my painting teacher. So far, I've done all your tutorials and I hope you'll upload more in the near future. Thanks a lot and keep doing what you do! You are an inspiration! :))

[@andtipidee]

Thank you so much. I am a beginner with painting, and I now understand it not only matters which color you are using, but also what KIND of color you are using. The undertone colors really affect the overall vibrancy of my painting.

[@willkempartschool]

So glad it was helpful!

[@willkempartschool]

Hey TheRawFoodMommy, thanks for your kind comments, pleased that the videos are helping you to understand the principles of colour mixing. Thanks, Will

[@alicenirvana]

Amazing video. I've only taken a few basic art classes back in middle school and high school and I wanted to get back into painting. I always thought blue + red = purple because that's what I was taught! Had no idea colours even had a bias. The whole complimenting and muting of colours is still a bit confusing to me but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it, these videos and your article on colour mixing are very helpful. Cheers.

[@thenotsoemogod5185]

Thank you sooooo much. As im at home because of the corona we didnt learn how to mix colours yet. But this helped me sooo much thank you!

[@willkempartschool]

So pleased you enjoyed it. Cheers, Will

[@magickittensjuju]

I love you man. I was about to give up with paints because I just never understood the mixing. Thank you

[@willkempartschool]

magickittensjuju Thanks very much, pleased you enjoyed it and found it helpful in your paint mixing Will

[@willkempartschool]

Cheers, great to hear you've been inspired! Will

[@ApoorvaKirti]

I was always making the first purple while I wanted the second one!!!

[@rebeccaelliott4332]

No purple can ever be nasty! Great video ..thanks.

[@kikilemoncia3157]

it's been over 10 years since you uploaded ths video and you're still helping people - ty so much

[@willkempartschool]

You're very welcome!

[@chamaeleont]

I've always found it hard to mix nice purple hues, ever since kindergarten - now I understand why! I never thought about the red and blue having undertones/that it would affect the outcome of the purple.

[@pixie89]

This is so satisfying to watch 🤗

[@willkempartschool]

Pleased you enjoyed it Pixie

[@willkempartschool]

Hey calin, Yes if you look at the video at 5.43 you'll see me introduce Cobalt Violet which contains Dioxazine Purple, which is more saturated. You can get very close by just using a limited palette and understand how colours work, Thanks, Will

[@tisakniskern3484]

NOW I finally know why I was getting muddy purples. THANKS!

[@Tyler711]

Very useful video. Ive been having trouble with making purple and this gave me some perspective on what I was doing wrong.

[@willkempartschool]

Glad it helped. Will

[@this1is1me]

wow! it's good to see theory in application. so many things to keep in mind when mixing

[@elisakrivas]

Thank you so much! This is exactly what I was trying to discover for what I did wrong! A whole lot of other videos were stating the obvious blue+red and that's it!

[@willkempartschool]

Cheers Elisa, hope it helped with your colour mixing, Will

[@willkempartschool]

@bostonpollypen For the canvas you're using you don't need to apply another coat of gesso as it has been pre-primed (this means a coat of gesso has already been applied in the factory.) You can apply a coloured ground straight onto your canvas. If you go to my website you can read a post I've written about gesso. Hope this helps, Will

[@willkempartschool]

Brilliant stuff Monica! Glad it helped, Will

[@sanderstar1000]

wow that is incredibly helpful, even if you don't have the exact shades used.

[@alexandrasanches2473]

Excelent explanation.... I learned soo much, and I am really grateful. Thankyou. Many blessings.

[@willkempartschool]

You are so welcome Alexandra

[@alart977]

Your videos are very useful. Thanks for making them.

[@willkempartschool]

Really pleased you found them helpful Will

[@willkempartschool]

You don't need to use a glaze on all colour mixes, solid colour is the best way to learn about colour mixing, then you can tweak the mixes with coloured glazes. Will

[@nikkiisrael4364]

This was super helpful, thank you so much. I couldn't get why my purple wasn't looking right!

[@nicolamarini]

I will try this one ! really interesting and clear explanation.

[@willkempartschool]

Good one Morgan, pleased you found it helpful to your colour mixing. Will

[@geetabansal6761]

very helpful and fantastic colour fusion

[@morgandennis6116]

Thank you so much--this completely explains why some of my home-mixed colors are so muted. Incredibly helpful! Thank you!

[@janeuk2716]

Just starting to paint and for the life of me can't mix purple. This is brilliant!

[@willkempartschool]

Glad it helped Jane Will

[@debrajol3585]

Thank you sooo much for sharing your information. It would be great if sometime you would make a new video with labels on each color. For people that are newer to mixing keeping the reds straight is a big job. If they had names and possibly which way the bias. Two blues is a little bit of an issue as well but 6 colors is a lot lot lot ...lol Thanks again! Happy painting 🎨🎨🎨

[@willkempartschool]

Hi Debrajo, in part 1 you can see labels for the colours kzbin.info/www/bejne/oni1g51ujNOSa9k the colours are listed in the 'show more' section under the video. Hope this helps. Will

[@sophiaconwell4275]

now I know why I kept making a muddy color instead of purple thank you

[@joyabbott5844]

Wow I have really learned something useful. thanks for your time making this video!

[@madabouthollyoaks411]

That info about the undertones was so useful!

[@willkempartschool]

Glad it was helpful!

[@GabriellaMarpaung]

thank you very very much willkempartshcool, I learned a lot of useful stuff here! Stay awesome! :)

[@Geekabibble]

I guess I'm not that much a fan of pure purple or red purples. I tend to see the magenta (Barney purple) in them and don't like it. My favorite purple is a blurple color like the second from the right in the bottom row. Thank you so much for this lesson! It really shows you how unexpected colors can turn out when mixing them. Especially if you are not well versed in color bias and how that changes things.

[@willkempartschool]

Hi Rawfoodmummy, Sorry I thought you meant Glaze, as in thin veil of colour rather than a glaze medium, something that you mix in with Acrylic paint. I use water for 80% of the time in all my acrylic mixes, I do use a glaze medium but just when I want to blend colours towards the end of a painting. Thanks, Will

[@willkempartschool]

Pleased to hear it, glad the video helped your colour mixing! Cheers, Will

[@anthoni5757]

Great video. Thank you for your time to help us become better at painting.

[@willkempartschool]

+Anthoni Bennett Thanks Anthoni, really pleased you found it helpful. Cheers, Will

[@therealheylesley]

SO interesting and helpful! Always love your indie background music, and your voice. Relaxing and truly a pleasure to watch. I took a college level painting (acrylic) class at a small school in the states, and never learned this much about mixing color. Seems like essential information for any beginning painter. Why buy Cobalt Violet when you can mix Quin Red, UltraMarine Blue and white, right? Many thanks.

[@tahakafeel1101]

U explain soo well!! Thank you so much

[@SarahWallraven]

This video really helped me understand the purples here in Appalachia

[@koldemig]

this is amazing i now i understand why my colors almost always goes to a kind of brown puke color there are blue and stuff in black and so on ive ben to painting classes and they never showed me these hints thanks man now i have no reason for not start painting again thumbs up your the man

[@jimsol1]

I just love this video! thanks a bunch!

[@willkempartschool]

Yuval Solomon Pleased you enjoyed it Yuval, Cheers, Will

[@jimsol1]

I actually sat all afternoon to paint the still life cherry challenge :) came out OK, but i still haven't figured out the glazing technique. maybe it's because i didn't use the exact crimson (I used cadmium red light to mix with a bit of burnt amber to get the crimson effect) - it was too opaque. Thanks! Yuval

[@leungkandice495]

I thought I need a purple paint before. Now I know that what I really need is another red paint!

[@nayasartspace7241]

No wonder I get this weird grey. Thank you so much for sharing 💞💞💞💞💞

[@willkempartschool]

My pleasure Naya

[@AlexYorim]

Am I the only one who mixes a muted purple, or in my case, a royal purple by choice? So far in watercolor and poster paint, I'm mixing a purple using a carmine red or a neutral-leaning bright red, and an ultramarine or even phthalo blue that's not too green. Somehow, even when it it dulls a big when it's dry, it gives out a lovely royal purple.

[@lauracastell2449]

Fantastic to see this, very useful, thank you so much!

[@willkempartschool]

Glad it helped Laura

[@BillizMuzic]

And they are ALL beautiful wonderful colors. :)

[@willkempartschool]

Hi Vinny, I haven't got a downloadable colour wheel at the moment but it's a great idea, i'll look to putting one on the site. If you google 'blank color wheel template' there is a range you can download, Will

[@meiko_chan]

I wasn't getting the purple I wanted and you explained how to get the purple I want now! Thanks so much :D

[@TheSilversocks1]

Thanks Will, your videos and website are fantastic!

[@kayparmee1374]

Can you help my confusions on white? I have read that to use white to mix it should be 'mixing'white? Thank you for all your very helpful videos.

[@willkempartschool]

It depends what you're trying to mix and how you paint, mixing white is less opaque so can be good for subtle shifts in colour, titanium white gives you more opacity if you're painting clean colours on top of each other. You might find this white paint tutorial of interest:kzbin.info/www/bejne/gaOxdXqdpc2hZ8U Cheers, Will

[@cdorothy444]

I just love the brightness of quinacridone

[@freshto6400]

Thank you so much. I was trying to make purple but it turned grey but after watching your video I got the purple I want….thank you

[@willkempartschool]

Fresht O That's brilliant to hear. Cheers, Will

[@jihyosbrain5470]

I was struggling for months now... Thank you for this

[@nightdreamer210]

honestly this helped a lot! I now know what I was doing wrong to get the bright purple I was looking for , Thank you! :)

[@willkempartschool]

Good one! really glad it's helped. Will

[@BlackCat_2]

This helped me a lot though I am mixing colored clay to achieve the purple shade I want. :) - Heidi

[@CraziiFohYa]

thanks for the video :) i couldn't make a nice purple before and this really explained quite nicely ^^

[@willkempartschool]

Cheers Kevan, Pleased the videos are helping, Will

[@howardevans7397]

I just spent an hour trying to mix a vibrant purple without any luck so I thought I would punch in my problem on Google and guess what ? you came to my rescue. Many thanks. Howard

[@fatimasughra2840]

This is definitely very helpful. Thank you!

[@craftylucinda6589]

love the song and the info is good too

[@user-so7yp5pv7u]

lucinda sara

[@acbarahona]

This video was EXTREMELY helpful :) What color you suggest, could replace Cobal Violet Hue in Color Wheel?

[@willkempartschool]

+CortoMaltese Hi CortoMaltese, pleased you found the video helpful, here are some alternatives: From Winsor & Newton Artist acrylic Ultramarine violet with a touch of either (ideally) permanent rose, or permanent alizarin crimson added into the Ultramarine violet. It is a bit blue when it comes straight from the tube so will need warming/ redding up a bit to match the Cobalt violet hue. From Liquitex heavy body 'Quinacridone blue violet' is very close replacement for the cobalt violet hue, it might need a slight touch of permanent rose (Quinacridone red) into it or Permanent Alizarin crimson from Winsor & Newton. Also, 'Medium Magenta' toned down with a touch of Ultramarine Blue will get you very close. From Sennelier Quinacridone Red light toned down with a touch of Ultramarine Blue Hope this helps, Will

[@acbarahona]

Thank you!!!

[@sarangeshanthini7558]

Thanks a lot.It helped me sooooo much

[@ehgiiii1529]

This helped so much! I just used the red and blue to make that nice bright purple for my painting =)

[@aihakan]

Woooooow thank u soo much finally I understand the since behind mixing and no more wasting color

[@willkempartschool]

Good one Tasnim, glad it helped. Will

[@ruthystiles]

This was so helpful and your accent is so nice to listen to! Thank you so much :)

[@willkempartschool]

Ruthy Stiles Thanks Ruthy, great to hear you enjoyed it. Will

[@elizabetch1]

This was fascinating to watch!

[@willkempartschool]

elizabetch1 Good to hear you enjoyed it Elizabeth. Cheers, Will

[@rastaman2722]

everything cleared! thanks!

[@alanapayten5132]

Thank you great watching how you make all different colours Alana Australia

[@willkempartschool]

You’re welcome

[@willkempartschool]

Hey Howard, Brilliant stuff! Glad the video was useful, Cheers, Will

[@willkempartschool]

Hi efarzaneh, if you click the 'show more' tab above all the colours are listed there, Thanks, Will

[@vickiewilliams6794]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Wonderful advice - and so generous with your expertise Will.

[@willkempartschool]

Vickie Williams Thanks very much Vickie, so pleased you're finding the lessons helpful. Cheers, Will