Variety in greens
Posted: June 7, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized 14 CommentsA few weeks ago someone asked if I could write a post about mixing greens. This pond scene seems like a good place to start.
There are really two parts to this answer. The first has to do with the pigments you use and the second with how you vary the greens in the scene. Let’s start with the pigments. Are you using tube/premixed greens? Sap Green would be an example of this. Or do you make your own greens from mixing yellow and blue? I do a bit of both. I have Azo Green (a lighter, more acid-looking green), Sap Green and Phthalo Green on my palette. I use them all, as well as mix my own greens from yellow and blue. I like the more natural greens that I can achieve from the mixes, and the combos I use most frequently for that are Azo Yellow and Ultramarine Blue, Azo Yellow and Indanthrene Blue, and Quinacridone Gold and Indanthrene Blue.
The reason I use so many combos to mix greens has to do with the second part of the answer. I want variety when a scene is dominantly green. I want some greens to be greyish (like the second layer of foliage below), some to be yellowish (like the grasses in the front of the pond) and some to be dark (like the shapes between the leaves). I can’t get that variety with one tube of green. If you notice, I’ve added some red in the foliage too, which— because it’s the complementary colour to green — really enlivens the greens.
And a little reminder: today is the last day to enter the draw to win my online video class “Sketching Landscapes in Pen, Ink and Watercolor” for free on the website Craftsy.com. Here’s the link: http://www.craftsy.com/ext/ShariBlaukopf_Giveaway Hopefully I’ll be announcing the lucky winner very soon.
Absolutely exquisite Shari 🙂
You can see all the wide variety of greens in your Baie d’Urfe pond 🙂
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Thanks Mary. I was wondering if I might see you going by on your kayak today. There were so many people out there on the water. And of course cycling by behind me.
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Aside from the helpful hints on mixing greens, this is a beautiful composition. So much to see but it retains a real clarity. The reflections and water surface are very convincing. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and skill.
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Thanks so much Jeff. I was thinking of you today because I just posted the info for the Stewart Hall sketching day in July. Here is the link in case you decide to come. I would love to see you.
https://urbansketchersmontreal.wordpress.com/2015/06/07/outings-for-june-and-july-petite-italie-and-stewart-hall/
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Your greens are BEAUTIFUL.
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Thanks Monique. I think I have an easier time with some colours. Reds are always more problematic but greens are so easy to work with.
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I’m looking forward to your Craftsy class!
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Thanks so much Sylvia!
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Shari, I know nothing about Craftsy but I’m curious how much the course costs?
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I believe that the 2.5 hour course is about $35 but I will offer a discount code on the blog. That will certainly help. And once you buy it you have access to watch any time.
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I really admire your work and I hope to meet you sometime at the Plein Air days. This painting and so any others just bring a vibrant visual presence through your medium and expertise.
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Thanks so much Irene. I hope to get back to the Plein Air group soon but I won’t be there for a few weeks. Hope to meet you one of these days.
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Thank you Shari. I registered for your new video workshop and I am looking forward with respect to your artistic and practical teaching and amazing techniques, and as always, your personal touch.
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Excellent green watercolor….
Regards
Mark de Zabaleta
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