1. Mixing Colour & Acrylic Paint Tips
1. ADD WHITE OR A LIGHTER VERSION OF A COLOR TO ADD COMPLEXITY
Acrylic paint used directly from the tube sometimes looks flat and hard.
Add a touch of white or a lighter version of the colour you are using to add complexity to the colour.
2. ADD WHITE TO REINFORCE COLORS.
You may have noticed that some colours are more opaque than others.
Adding a touch of white paint to any colour will add opacity in addition to making it a more well-rounded colour.
3. DON’T USE BLACK TO DARKEN COLORS.
Black paint tends to make colours muddy and murky, so it’s best used in compositions where this effect will work to your advantage.
To create a darker colour that’s still vibrant, try adding brown or dark blue.
While this might seem unusual, the painted effect will be more vibrant and natural looking. 
4. MAKE A BASIC SKIN TONE USING PRIMARY COLORS.
The secret to making a great skin tone base? Combine all of the primary colours and white.
5. ADD A TOUCH OF GREEN OR BLUE COLOR TO SKIN TONES.
A tiny (tiny!) touch of blue or green paint added to a skin tone can add depth and complexity to the colour, making it look more realistic.
Really study the skin tone you’re trying to match to see if this might be a valuable tip for you. 
6. MAKE BLUES DEEPER WITH…RED?
A touch of red paint can be used to make give blues more depth.
The trick is not to add too much — otherwise it will become a deep purple. 
7. MAKE BROWN PAINT IN SECONDS WITH COMPLEMENTARY COLORS
Combine equal (or roughly equal) quantities of complementary colours.
Yellow and violet,
green and red,
blue and orange. 
8. MAKE A BASIC VERSION OF YOUR COLOR, THEN REFINE. 
Make a very basic version of the colour you’re going for, and then refine from there.
If you want a grass green, start by combining equal parts of blue and yellow paint. In this case, adding more yellow and a touch of white will achieve the colour you want.
Add colours little by little, refining a colour to suit your needs. 
9. MIX YOUR COLORS A SHADE OR TWO LIGHTER THAN YOUR DESIRED FINAL OUTCOME. 
Your paint will dry slightly darker than it looks on your palette.
Keep this in mind when mixing colours, and try to mix colours a shade or two lighter than you want for the final outcome.
To test the finished colour smudge a bit on paper to see how it dries. 
10. CREATE A FAMILY OF COLORS. 
Once you’ve mixed a colour for a key component in your painting, create a “family” of tones around it.
For instance, say you’ve created a perfect blue. Create another version of that blue colour with a little bit of yellow added, another version with a little bit of red, etc.
This will help you create the shadows and highlights in various parts of the painting with a natural colour progression.
Tips pinched from
Learning Intention:
We are learning to mix acrylic paint to achieve natural skin tones and refined colour.
Create your own crib sheet which should include:
‘Mother Colour’ = An even mix of all three primary colours
Tonal Variations suing each of the three primary's (add white and either red, blue or yellow for each one)
Combinations for the complementary colours.
Examples

2. Inspiration Artists: Definition of Impasto:
Impasto is a technique used in painting, where paint is laid on an area of the surface in very thick layers, usually thick enough that the brush or painting-knife strokes are visible. Paint can also be mixed right on the canvas. When dry, impasto provides texture; the paint appears to be coming out of the canvas.
Lucian Freud
Karen Appleton
Edward Hopper
Matthew Snowden
Painting Skin Tones Tips:
Make sure that you look carefully – all
skin tones are different and different
parts of each face / body will give new
colours to describe.
Making use of the mother colour will
allow you a base colour to work from
however you will always need to refine
the colours you use.
Don’t add too much white and never
black , skin is alive with colour and tone
so ensure that this is reflected in your
work.
Painting Check List:
Paint
Flat palette
Water
Tissue
Brushes / palette knife
Homework:
Due 19th Oct
Present samples from all paint workshops as an ‘Investigation into paint’
Choose one painting artist to look into more detail & create research page into their work in your book.
Due 16th Oct
Plan to respond to your artist and bring in all the equipment you need for the 16th Oct.