I am just getting back into oil painting after a long time off. I am in Australia.?

Question

Seem to be having trouble with differing shades of green and feel I would be better off having different tubes of green hues , like green-grey, green-blue, lawn grass green, etc. Is this cheating??? I seem to be inclined to maybe muddy up the greens when mixing on the palette. What are the separate shades I should purchase for some of these differing shades of green or at least could someone tell me the colours to put together for grey/green for distant greens??? Thank you.

Answer 1

Don't feel bad. I wasted more oil paint mixing greens than any other color. I've worked in watercolor for the past 25 years, and the greens are just as horrid to work with in that medium. But at least I use less paint now. :D

By all means, buy as many different tubes of green as it takes to make your life easier. It's not cheating. You're going to end up mixing anyway.

For greens in the distance, I recommend first getting the appropriate value, and then desaturating the green with a little purple or red (which is first mixed to the same value). I used a lot of viridian and sap green when I worked in oil, you might like them too.

Answer 2

Mixing greens and an assortment of other colors often turn the color into a muddy green.

Consider getting tubes of pthalo green, emerald green, light green, forest green, verdant green, et cetera.

For distant foliage consider using a light pthalo green and finely daub gray on it. Experiment on an old canvas for the right effect before going for the permanent addition.

Answer 3

Hi there,

Achieving realistic greens is not as easy as some may think
To darken a green you may use it's complement : red.
Now, when mixing colours as not to make mud it's important to know their pigments since too many pigments (usually more than 3) will probably make mud.
For insteance, if you're using a sap green and want to darken it, try using alizarin or a vermilion. Not a light cad, I think.
You can also try a mix of sap green, allizarin and a bit of ultramarin blue.
On the Wetcanvas site's forums there's one about Colour Theory.
Also on my site, under Resources, you'll find lots of info (there are three pages with resources).
http://sitekreator.com/hushcolours/resources.html

Kind regards,

José
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/showdown/index.php?showpic=87100