De-mystifying Color Mixing Using a Color Wheel & Placing my M. Graham Watercolors

A quick and simple yet lasting understanding of how color mixing works can be had through studying the color wheel and taking a set of colors you typically use and placing them. Lets do that with my 10-Color M. Graham Watercolor set.
Mind of Watercolor, 10-color watercolor tube set (M. Graham) - wetpaintart.com/graham-wc-ste...
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thanks for looking.)
My Amazon Store of Favorite Products:
www.amazon.com/shop/mindofwat...
Watercolor Wheel - amzn.to/3xqVSxL
Quiller Color Wheel - amzn.to/2USsQbE
Princeton Aqua Elite 1/2" Flat - amzn.to/3A1eK7W
Mijello Airtight 18-well Palette - amzn.to/2Tkbt2E
I don't actively solicit merchandise or brand sponsorships like many KZbinrs. Instead I've asked if viewers would consider becoming my sponsors. If you would like to be a Minder Patron, I would be honored. You would be taking a tangible role in making this content possible. Head over to Patreon and sign up today. / mindofwatercolor
You can also make one-time donations here - PayPal.me/mindofwatercolor
___________________________________________
Latest Uploads
kzbin.info...
Watercolor Basics
• 5 Tips to Overcoming t...
Landscape
• Landscape
Spontaneous Paintings
• Spontaneous Watercolor...
Product Reviews
• Using the Water Brush ...
Other Playlists
/ mindofwatercolor
Subscribe:
kzbin.info_widg...
Show Theme Music
www.pond5.com/stock-music/2171...

[@wulfseig1864]

Can I add a heads up to mixing? Yellow has a low tinting strength. Tinting strength means, the power of a color to influence a mixture. So, if you don't want to waste your whole tube of yellow, any yellow, add the color(s) INTO the yellow. Example: put yellow out first. Then dab tiny amounts of the other colors into the yellow until your happy with the results. Especially if you're trying to mix with Pthalo blue or green. This rule applies to all pigments with low tinting strengths. Most of the reputable artists companies print this information on the tubes. Just some FYI. 🤓🙂

[@andreasmith2673]

It's so helpful how plainly you explain things. It's like sitting with a friend who wants to really help me understand. Thank you!

[@LilCraftyNook]

Seconded!!🙂🙌🏻

[@wulfseig1864]

Thirded!😁💕

[@linlippy3358]

The ten colors you chose to include give us the greatest variety in useful mixing; useful being the operative word. It's obvious you put a tremendous amount of thought into your choices and we appreciate it!

[@mindofwatercolor]

You got it!

[@lindathaxton1994]

Thank you - I’m learning - this was very helpful! 🙏

[@paulah317]

I had the good fortune to come across a Stephan Quiller book, Color Choices, at a really good discounted price. The color wheel is in the book and I forgot about it until you mentioned it. Thanks for all your tips.

[@millerscott2781]

I thought your color wheel explanation was great. I think learning with a split primary pallet is much less frustrating and more enjoyable. Looking forward to future lessons on your pallet. Thank you!

[@lerts22]

Hi Steve. I took your advice and swatched out all my paint. It got the swatch stamp and took the time to do one for every tube of paint I have. It was very instructional and I am glad I did it. But shuffling through them to find one was a hassle. I had a large business card holder that had several pages and I used that to hold my swatches. Just slid each swatch in a pocket -- two to a pocket actually because you can put them back to back. It's working great. They are easy to flip through, to see, and to remove or replace. Thanks for all your hard work. Appreciate it!

[@moma-b]

This was very useful, thank you for sharing! 😊

[@heidicook2395]

Thank you Steve. As a "newbie" I am still trying to get these ideas to stick in my head.

[@phathiker]

Hi Steve, again just wanted to give you my special thanks for making these videos. As always, very informative. Like you said at the beginning here, knowing your palette mixing properties is such an important skill, and I couldn't agree more. After 7 years of training, I am still trying to master the exquisite skill of color mixing. I'm getting there though. Thanks again as always.

[@followyourbrush]

Yep, it’s me, back to the future, rewatching. I like what you said about making the color wheel with your palette. Great info to review.

[@Wendy8888]

Steve I've been watching your channel for several years and I've learned so much from you. When I saw the palette reveal I was so pleased to see M Graham partnering with you. Congratulations! I'm looking forward to getting the set! All the best to you and your family.💌

[@callepaints7394]

In high school in the 90s my art teacher gave me some cotman tube watercolors to work with since I enjoyed the watercolor pencils so much--I still remember how the awe at creating my own colors led to indiscriminate mixing that only left me disappointed in the mud I was getting. Even though I understood why they were browning and graying each other out, I just couldn't shake the conviction that more colors must mean more brilliant magic. Lol. Fast forward to when I returned to watercolors in 2017 or so with the help of your channel and others, and I'm a lot more OK with the "rules" that keep the magic working. Plus I've learned to love the way complements can create unique and nuanced neutrals. But I'm glad as well that I learned early on how important it is to play around with the pigments you have and see how they work--mixing analogous colors for vibrancy, using a split primary palette or using magenta-cyan-yellow as the central primary set are all helpful rules of thumb, but in the end every palette is going to find ways to surprise you.

[@gardeneroflight]

Well you've inspired me enough to try watercolor again! Been a LOT of years. Your M. Graham set should arrive after Elsa has blown through. I should have lots of reference because Florida storm clouds are awesome! Thank you sir for sharing all your knowledge.

[@TheKittymass]

I bought this set and I’m very pleased how they mix it up. It’s becoming my go to palette. I was a Daniel smith girl Thank you

[@robertcochran7103]

Thank you very much for doing this video! I really appreciate it. I feel like the more I follow along with you and copy your mixing of colors for myself, the more I am really learning.

[@MadebyDawn23]

Thank you Steve for showing me the colour wheel, because I have one but to be honest I dont how to use it effectively. I appreciate this

[@The_Lion_And_The_Lamb]

I can totally relate! This video is very helpful.

[@chedoodles]

I have the same color wheel! Strangely enough, never even played with it. Lol. I think I need a compass to play with, to cut my papers into circle. Now that's fun

[@jobee9113]

I was practicing mixing my pallette on different papers, and the difference in colour intensity on cotton (Arches) was unbelievable. I'm definitely convinced!

[@grannysmithart]

Received your m. graham set this week and am thoroughly enjoying the mixing experience. I have been a "color nerd" for years , and am a big believer in the "split primary" theory. So have to say i was skeptical about the Pthalo green, how can it possibly replace Pthalo blue- but you are right, it does! So many beautiful colors can be made with it. This being watercolor month, i think i'll devote my daily painting to your set. by the way, fellow watchers, if you haven't tried m. graham paint yet, please do, it's a truely lovely paint

[@katpaints]

I wish I could find my old Dan Smith color wheel that came out in their old catalog, just to reinforce where my many tubes sit. It opened my eyes to how all over the place they were!

[@eileent8989]

Probably similar to this? dkatiepowellart.me/2017/03/26/tools-daniel-smith-watercolors/

[@robertcochran7103]

@@eileent8989 That is quite a web page at first glance!

[@LanaGoesArt]

I really like how you stated that colour mixing is not magic, but training to see colour and experience. For beginners a colour wheel can be a useful tool to learn how colours behave and why thex mix in a certain way. Beautiful video! Will recommend it when I'm asked again why purple and yellow create mud only :D

[@colleenmcchesney1482]

As a beginner I have not been mixing many colors yet. I have not been confident in being able to place my colors on a color wheel either. I have tended to use either Chinese White, Titanium White to tint my colors, or Black to darken them, along with using a Payne’s Gray & Buff Titanium for my neutral colors. I will definitely have to try to mix colors more. Thanks for the reference wheels and sharing this informational video.

[@brittabeningfield3472]

So love the way you share your experience and knowledge, Steve! As always so helpful. Remembering back to my total newbie days, am thinking it would have been illuminating to see you mix to fill in the last few spaces on the color wheel to complete the picture. Would have loved to buy your signature set; already have them based on your recommendations. Many thanks for all you do for us!

[@patriciarinaldi9390]

So happy to have you explain your thoughts about your paint set . I bought them...so excited to try them. 😊

[@LilCraftyNook]

Yes!! Thank you so much!! I have a color wheel but need to make one like you did!!

[@JayNathanWatercolor]

Great explanations. Thank you Steve. 🙏

[@barbarawinkle1042]

Love all your videos! This one makes color mixing so much more interesting Thank you once again!

[@gr8fng]

I've struggled with colour mixing and watching your video I realise I never grasped that mixing complementaries created neutral ... in fact I don't this I linked neutral & muddy colours. So thank you for helping me gain what is potentially a game changer concept 🐨

[@twenty-fifth420]

This…title felt like compulsive clickbait, it was such a mind opening title I literally stopped writing to watch this! Also, not first but love you Steve. Thank you so much for these technical kinds of video. 💙 I feel like I led myself to believe this for so long that it stunted my growth, I hope to re-learn and re-evaluate my perspective.

[@peggydid]

I love this! Very helpful! Thanks!

[@cherylj.harris4967]

This is so helpful. Thank you.

[@bobbiegraham7729]

Oh Steve, I love how you blew the " never use phthalo" naysayers out of the water. Pun intended I guess. Excellent video. Analogy to cooks was right on the money. From this day forward my quin. rose and quin. gold will be my onion crusted chicken. Enjoy your Independence day! Thanks for sharing.

[@gabrielajuarez7547]

Hello Steve! Awesome and helpful video! I've already made my own watercolor wheel. It takes me 1 month... but it was so fun to make! Thank you for sharin your knowledge :)

[@BornAgainFarmGirl]

So great I watched this on Patreon and here on KZbin Steve !!!!!!!

[@kathiegettinger8374]

So helpful! Thank you!

[@ginabadeaux9319]

i bought a 10 set of mgrahams and 6 set of danielsmith,i love my shinhans and missiongold ,thank you for your videos i trust you

[@gayane_igityan]

Thanks for a very detailed explanation, colour mixing is still something i struggle a bit.

[@AntaraArtCafe]

wow great .. thank you sir

[@1flyinglady]

Thank you Steve for putting all your colors on a color wheel. It was extremely useful! Would it be possible as a newer painter to start working with say only three of your colors to do a landscape? If so which colors would you suggest? Thank you so much!

[@flickaJay]

Thank you so much for this 'class'! I was on a Patreon channel for over a year and couldn't get an answer. This is so clear to me now. It's so simple, but I'm sure that color theory is quite complicated, or rather subjective else there wouldn't be so many books about it. I thought to join your Patreon channel after I learned a bit about watercolor since I'm completely new. It seems though that it definitely IS for just about all levels, right?

[@robinsamuelson3626]

Thank you for a very informative tutorial. I have the deluxe 10 set and the landscape 5 set. I have the same palette and am looking for 3 best compliments to complete my palette. I know I want neutral tint. What other 2 would you suggest? No pressure!

[@pr4360]

I have learnt so much from your videos! Thank you! Matching your colour palette with W&N Cotman set and exploring it has aways helped me understand colour. However, I hate how much I leave some on the side. E.g. I never use purples, despite having a dozen! Do you maybe have some advice for integrating interesting colours into paintings to bring interest?

[@eileent8989]

Hi, Ravin! Violets, slightly muted, make great shadow colors, especially in landscapes. It's pretty much the only color that I use for that purpose, especially the granulating violets. Violet is also the complementary of yellow, so it's the best way to neutralize a yellow. It makes nice darks of a number of colors. Steve's favorite neutral for darkening colors is Daniel Smith's Moonglow, which is actually a very dark, very muted violet. Break out those tubes! :=)

[@hannastocksick7395]

Thank you so much! I’ll be studying these since I really don’t know what colors to mix to get what I want. Just one question: how could i get something like red iron oxide?

[@lesleykuhn8345]

Hi Steve! Love the set! This tutorial was so helpful! Question: on the flip-side of the wheel, under the category how to use there are definitions of tint,tone and shade. If you use neutral tint as black for a shade what would you use for tone? Neutral tint or Payne’s gray? Thanks 🙏

[@mindofwatercolor]

Definitely Neutral Tint. Paynes gray has a distinct blue, blue-green cast.

[@eileent8989]

Hi, Steve! In composing a "mixing palette" does one try to avoid granulation? Is that why you chose dioxazine violet over the other violets? I love this palette and it has gotten me thinking about which factors must be considered in composing a "mixing palette" beyond, transparency, single pigment and "plays well with the others." Thanks!

[@mindofwatercolor]

Not necessarily. I don't. Depends on how much you dislike it. It's helpful to be aware of what is and isn't granulating. In the case of Ultramarine/Phthalo mixes for example you'll possibly see some separation of the pigments in washes with a lot of water.

[@eileent8989]

@@mindofwatercolor I love granulation, too. I was just wondering why you chose dioxazine instead of your more beloved granulating violets.

[@mindofwatercolor]

@@eileent8989 There are a lot of great violets but if I had to choose one, Diox is my favorite granulation or not. It’s a more intense violet for tint mixing and glazing, so in that sense I like it best. Other violets are just fine but weaker. I think I like how blue leaning it is over cobalt violet or ultramarine violet. Diox was not a choice for the Daniel Smith pan set or I would have included it instead. It’s really a personal choice though. No wrong answers. Granulation is also not something I take into account much when mixing.

[@eileent8989]

@@mindofwatercolor Thanks, Steve!

[@midgediener3461]

What is the purpose of using a neutral color or creating the neutral?

[@mindofwatercolor]

Knowing and understanding how to mute your colors if and when that is needed. For most painters, it's needed frequently.

[@StephenMarkTurner]

Party pooper, I was totally going to mention red vs cyan instead of green and so on. :-) :-)

[@mindofwatercolor]

It's only important if you want to mix with only 3 colors. Not on a split primary palette.

[@kathleendougherty8111]

Thanks for all your videos...they've often got me going again when stuck or uninspired. So, I'm wondering if you could test the new Roman Szmal watercolors? They are only available through Jackson's Art, though. They look really interesting! :) K

[@mindofwatercolor]

Yes, they do look interesting but I have too many paints. I doubt I'll review them any time soon. Check out Jane Blundell's post on them. I trust her reviews. janeblundellart.blogspot.com/2019/03/roman-szmal-aquarius-watercolours.html

[@halfpiint]

At the risk of sounding ditzy what is a “Neutral Tint”? Is it a grey?

[@mindofwatercolor]

Yes

[@marjoriejohnson6535]

Doesn't the ultramarine belong one block further from red,,,if it is your blue????

[@mindofwatercolor]

Nope, relative or approximate position is fine. Don't forget the purpose here to get a general bead on where your compliments are and what secondaries and tertiaries can be mixed.

[@barbarawinkle1042]

Where can one buy your watercolor set?

[@mindofwatercolor]

Thanks! It's listed in the video description.

[@hannastocksick7395]

Would it be phthalo green and scarlet pyrrol?

[@keweldogpdx]

Do you play the guitar? Your fingernail lengths indicate that maybe you do! 😊

[@mindofwatercolor]

Yes. A little. Classical, finger style.

[@coolcycles]

A colour wheel, that sets red, blue and yellow wrongly all as primary colours, as the one you present, is actually mystifying what is really going on. To make clear, which hues can and which can't be mixed from a given set of paints, you better show the whole picture.

[@mindofwatercolor]

It didn’t set them wrong. Mixing with primaries was not my topic here as I said!