Grays – how to make

Hi Folks,

I bet For those of you who have taken any of my art classes you never thought I talk about Gray . I know I am always going on about NOT seeing Gray as I am always trying/ hoping you will see colour.  When folks find Paynes Gray – they feel they have found manna from heaven as all they have to do is mix it with White and they have Gray!  Groan!  Or even worse they simply add White to Black to create Gray! Bigger groan!  So what’s a person to do when there is Gray?  Yes, I used the Gray word and didn’t choke or turn into a toad.

Making ‘Gray’ came about from a student experimenting with paint a few weeks ago.  I was making my rounds as usual around the room and came upon this student and looked upon her palette and there it was ‘Gray’.  I pounced in my polite way and asked ‘ how did you make that’. She said she was mixing Cadmium Orange and Ultramarine Blue to make Brown and then she added White to try and lighten it and it turned Gray.  No way I said. Couldn’t have happened.

But here I am to announce to one and all I learned something new and it has been there for all of us to make all along – those illusive Grays.  How odd we start with trying to make brown using Cadmium Orange and Ultramarine Blue and then add lots of White and then more Blue as needed.  It makes a very warm and lovely Gray.  Add more White to lighten and more Blue as needed.  You can make a Green Gray using Cadmium Orange and Hookers Green which makes a lovely soft Orangey Green great for those areas in the back ground and then add White to make a greeny Gray.  To make a purple Gray use Cadmium Orange and Dioxazine Purple which again make a very soft orangey purple again great for back grounds and then add lots of white for that purpley Gray.

I am always saying I learn as much from my students as they do from me and here is a great example of it!  So embrace your new Grays created through using colours.

Have not heard enough or tired of learning more about me, go to this new web site www.kccplaybook.org.  It has been created to offer news about our community and the folks in it and I was honoured to be selected to be part of this newly designed site.  Enjoy!

Happy Painting

Cheers Georgia

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