Quick Tip 4 - Getting To Know Colors

[@annewright8184]

Thanks! I just recently found you on KZbin and am now enjoying your Quick Tips!

[@Vintagecharm57]

Love the chart idea! As a beginner, I'm definitely going to do this with all of my tube paints.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Have fun with it!

[@victoriacamargo5100]

Dianne estoy feliz. Aaprendi a traducir sus tutoriales a español. Ahora me doy a la tarea de verlos desde el principio. Mucho aprendere. Muchas gracias. Admiro su generocidad. Desde colombia

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Victoria, I had Google translate to translate your message. I'm delighted you have a way to translate our Quick Tips. Enjoy!

[@veaudor]

Adding white to watercolor!! I've always thought that to be an abomination! What a concept, must try that right now (I do think Turner beat us to the process). Thanks. your instructions are wonderful!

[@gavinreid5387]

My set of pans has a white .

[@irinakuznetsova5115]

Thank you for your tips. Watch and practice along whenever possible.

[@mayhamarnah6073]

Thank you very much and I am looking forward to seeing the new

[@luzaguzman6306]

Love your tips!

[@AnneGoggansQHHT]

I love making color charts when I get new colors. Also cut cheap watercolor paper into little rectangles. Paint a color sample on each one and put it on a binder circle. I have color charts and a card deck with colors with white/or water. Most watercolorists detest adding white to colors if worked in “pure” form because it makes it into more of a gouache. I say, use whatever you like! I also like adding the complement to a color and across color wheel to learn color mixes. My color charts keep getting bigger and bigger 😂. But actually a small page for each color with its mixing possibilities. It has allowed me to reach out and use combos I wouldn’t have normally liked.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Thanks for sharing this.

[@tekoanow]

When would you choose to use a transparent vs an opaque color? I greatly appreciate all the time you take to help us both in the technical knowledge and simply in the enjoyment of painting

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

There are too many tube colors both transparent and opaque to answer this. For example, alizarin crimson is transparent whereas cadmium red deep is opaque. I'll do a Quick Tip to show you how to discern these, but since we film these several weeks in advance, it will be November before it appears. Meanwhile, using a black, permanent marker, draw a line then over it paint a stroke of a color. If you can see the line through the color stroke, it is most likely transparent. Also keep in mind, there are degrees of transparency and opacity, so the clarity with which you can see the line will help determine that.

[@TyTy24TyTy]

Hi. When I do split complimentary I always dip into the adjacent colors at the top of the Y but never the compliment. I find you always get a harmony in this manner. Like with blue violet I dip into some umbers and even red sometimes and it still looks great and doesn’t inspire any anxiety when my eye feels the relationship. What are you thoughts being in the field for so long? I’m 25 and have been passionate for awhile about art. Would like to connect :-) thank you Dianne !!

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Oh yes, @TyTy24TyTy! What you are doing is using the split complement rather than direct complements. It is a beautiful way to go for getting neutrals.

[@joanistotler8804]

So, I'm not sure, except for knowing what paints can be used for glazes - i.e., transparencies, what you would find from the testing. Like when would you use an opaque or semi opaque paint?

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Joani, the transparent colors allow the light to pass through them whereas the opaque colors cause the light to bounce back. What that means is that if you are wanting to show depth of a color, transparancy can help do that. However, glazing is the main reason to know about transparency of color.

[@joanistotler8804]

Oh, okay, thanks Dianne!

[@ayandas5342]

Hi, I have started oil painting recently. I watch your quick tips and try to apply them in my work. Could you please tell me the variations in proportions of linseed oil and turpentine oil in different layers while painting wet-on-wet.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Ayan, the traditional proportions are 50/50 linseed oil to turpentine. These days, artists use a refined solvent like Gamsol rather than turpentine.

[@candacetroystudios]

Question: when you add linseed or other medium to the color ....even though it is now transparent and thin, is this new mix considered fat to be used over lean? If so can you paint over it with a thin mixture of paint with no oil. I have heard so much about using fat over lean, but what about the opposite? Thank you Dianne as always a good tip.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Candace, the fat over lean principle has to do with how much solvent is in the paint, not cohesive mediums. There are two concerns: One is that solvent thins the integrity of the paint, making it less secure on the canvas. A top layer of paint composed of a lot of solvent can be scratched off with your fingernails once it's dry. Painting fat over lean assumes the solvent evaporates from the lean layer by the time the fatter layer is applied. The second concern is the way oil paint dries. Oil does not evaporate like water based paints, rather it oxidizes, but solvent evaporates, so if thin is between two fats, the paint is likely to crack and even flake off, depending upon the thickness of the top fat layer. Generally, solvents are turpentine and mineral spirits. They have no cohesive properties. Mediums however bind with the paint and for the most part retain the paint's cohesive properties. I hope this helps.

[@candacetroystudios]

In the Studio Art Instruction thank you so much for your time and knowledge.

[@romy14anand]

Thank you so much... Very informative

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

My pleasure.

[@tekoanow]

sorry for not making myself clear. I understand that when I pain something translucent or a portrait I should use a some transparent paint in the layers but is there any reason to use any in a landscape ? Would it add anything to water for example ?

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

We use the transparency when we want another color to show through the paint or when we want to build a layer of colors for depth. A Quick Tip on transparent colors will appear in November.

[@Anaelitg]

I see that you use a wooden palette box. Do you leave the paint there for a long time?

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

See Quick Tip 115 for a complete answer. Thanks.