HOW TO PAINT COLORFUL GRAYS, COLOR MIXING TIPS by TOM BROWN

I like grays that have color and life to them! These rich grays can bring a painting alive – even one with muted color. And they help establish a particular mood that’s restful and exciting at the same time.

Here’s how I mix these grays. Rather than simply opening a tube of gray I use a wide variety of very subtle hues mixed from the “spectrum” colors on my palette: reds, yellows and blues combined with white. This results in mixtures much more exciting and varied than using a tube of black or gray.

This painting is an example. This 6x8 inch oil painting was done on location (en plein air) as a demonstration for other artists attending a workshop I conducted. It was a gray, rainy day and that was the feeling I wanted to capture in this painting. I liked the quiet moodiness of the day, with stormy skies and muted colors throughout the scene.

Look closely at the range of color within the “grays” in the detail images above. You can see additional detail images at this link:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CALIFORNIA-IMPRESSIONIST-PLEIN-AIR-LANDSCAPE-PAINTING-TOM-BROWN-/350532705606?pt=Art_Paintings&hash=item519d609d46

I hope you found these tips interesting. If you would like to comment, please email me here:
tombrownstudio@cox.net