Mixing Colors that Match What You See

In this lesson, watch as color mixing expert and instructor Scott Gellatly demonstrates putting color theory into practice by mixing up oil paints that exactly match the colors of a lemon and a blue-gray fabric. To start, Scott takes you through an easy-to-follow explanation of the different elements of color—hue, value, and chroma—explaining the different properties of each and how these three categories make up the world of color space.

Scott then takes you through his process for using these concepts to mix and adjust his paints to capture colors in nature. You’ll see how he uses complementary colors to neutralize when an object has too much chroma (intensity,) how Scott makes warm and cool adjustments to his mixtures, and how to hold the paint mixture up next to the object itself to determine which adjustments need to be made. Scott also explains the benefits of using a limited palette, especially for artists just beginning to explore color mixing!