Try This: Mix It Up
(Page 2 of 2)
May/June 2007
By Susan Wasinger
Liquid pigments: Universal pigments or tints will color any medium from latex and enamel paints to oil stains and plasters. We used Mixol pigments (available at paint, hardware and art stores, or online at www.ArtStuf.com). Start with a small palette of the basics—red, yellow, blue, black and umber—then add colors that you gravitate toward, such as olive green, terracotta, orange or violet.
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Mixing stick and small paint brush
1. Measure paint.
2. Stir in pigment.
3. Record the pigment-to-paint formula on an index card and paint the card with the designated tint.
Tinting Tips
• The best way to create paint colors is to mix a small sample, see how you like it, then mix a larger amount for the paint job.
• Mixing your own paint is perfect for lighter colors. If you have your heart set on ox-blood red or midnight blue, have it mixed in the store as these saturated colors require a darker base paint and a lot of pigment.
• Test your mixed color often. What seems too subtle or light in the cup might be just right on the wall.
A little goes a long way
This chart shows how pigment affects color. The middle squares show how adding pigment to white paint affects how light or saturated a color is. The upper circles show how canary yellow turns almost orange when red is added. The bottom circles show how the addition of black tones down a color, making it more somber and neutral.
Thanks to Eileen Schnorr, brand manager for Olympic Paints, for her ideas and technical advice.
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