Mixed Greens
Picture this:
The sky is heavy with rainclouds, you’ve just painted the first layer of a moody purple-grey landsape, when the sun comes out, bathing everything in warm light. Pull off your (now sweltering) coat and gloves, look up to see fluffy white clouds, mocking you from cerulean sky. Look ahead, and puzzle over cast shadows that definitely weren’t there 10 minutes ago. If you are by the sea, the land may even have slightly disappeared under a rising tide.
That’s all part of the fun… do you take a mental snapshop and stick to what you saw first, or do you chase the light?
Something that really helps is being able to mix any colour you want in the time it takes to say ‘flask of hot tea’.
I find it tricky to paint rich dark greens, like the shadows under gorse bushes, using my normal colours - so in a recent video I put a call out for advice.
These four artists came to the rescue with some really practical tips, shared here with kind permission together with examples of their brilliant work. If you like what you see, click the links to their websites to view, buy, and find exhibition information:
Julie Dunster
“I just look very carefully and push my mix warmer or cooler, more or less saturated, just using my normal (split primary) palette. As long as you have the value and temperature right you don’t need the exact colours, I feel. Have fun!”
Last light over the Exe valley
Julie Dunster is “passionate about painting from life, on location, in all weathers”. Visit Julie’s website
James Stewart
“Try good quality Sap green. Also try mixing Black and yellow that creates a good green . And a bit of red in the mix or paint on a red / ochre ground . There’s a lot more red in foliage than we perceive .”
James Stewart’s self portrait is in the Royal Portrait Society 2022 exhibition. To see more work visit his website
Yeside Linney
“To make my green mixtures look more natural and harmonious I add a red element into the mix. Very often I will round off my green mixture with a colour that contains red such as cadmium orange, quinacridone crimson and / or burnt sienna.”
On The Edge Of Autumn
Yeside paints “what I like, when I like and where I like”. Visit Yeside’s website
Helen Tarr
“For rich, deep greens I start with Ultramarine blue, bright yellow lake and a touch of magenta to desaturate it. Also cerulean blue instead of Ultramarine is good for a lighter grey/green for distant landscape. I try to avoid adding a lot of titanium white to lighten green as it goes chalky and cool, a bit more yellow helps to balance it. Michael Harding’s Bright Green Lake is a heavenly starting point for vibrant spring greens”
In Blue Shade
Helen is “a British painter and art tutor with a YouTube channel and flower obsession”. Visit Helen’s Website
One from me? Try to keep in mind that colours appear very different in nature/mixed on a palette/next to others on the canvas. So if in doubt, I hold a loaded brush with my ‘best guess mix’ up against the view for comparison.
I’d love to know in the comments your favourite landscape location. Here’s one of mine:
Maceley Cove, South Devon
