Mixing Greens

I love the colour green and use tones of it throughout my paintings, green signifies growth, harmony, health, life, spring, wealth, and many other positive qualities, for me green is the colour of hope.

BUT, green is a troublesome colour to mix, especially when you are starting out on your painting journey. I think this is more a problem with how we perceive green and then try to mix and replicate the colour on canvas.

In nature, there is a myriad of green, warm yellow-greens like those found in sunlit leaves, cooler blueish greens like the shadows upon the grass, and then on from those shades, there are greys and reddish browns and purplish reds and a good deal of yellowish and orange hues too.

I have developed a Green Chart that I use to mix the exact greens I require, I use:

3 Yellows - Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Yellow and Raw Sienna.

3 Blues - French Ultramarine, Cerulean Blue and Phthalo Blue

3 Reds - Cadmium Red, Permanent Rose and Alizarin Crimson (red is a complimentary colour to green and is used to tone it down)

I hope you have found this inspiring for the next time you see a beautiful green aloe or a seascape that you would like to capture.

If you are wanting to perfect your technique or are just starting out on your art journey, why not join my art classes offered by @capepalette