Natural greens

Studio · Foundations · lesson 6

Tube greens look fake. Mixing your own greens from blues and yellows (plus a touch of red or brown) gives the range that makes leaves and meadows come alive.

Watch: Easy watercolour tips, mixing greens
Wendy Powell-Jones

A green chart: 3 blues (Prussian, Ultramarine, Phthalo) across × 3 yellows (Lemon, Cad Yellow Dark, Yellow Ochre) down. Then repaint one allium leaf using three of your new greens.

Then: A photo of the chart and the leaf.

What you'll need

Brushes	W&N Sceptre Gold rounds (sizes not given) → Your medium quill/mop
Brushes	Rigger → Tiny round (0 or 1) from the synthetic set
Suggested colour	Blues: Prussian / Phthalo (Pébéo), or Intense Blue; Ultramarine
Suggested colour	Yellows: Lemon Yellow Hue, Cadmium Yellow Hue, Yellow Ochre

From the teacher's own description, matched to my kit. Her general materials list: Cotman tubes (colours not named), Bockingford paper. It also lists masking fluid and white gouache, which aren't needed for mixing greens.

Backup video: The Secret to Mixing Natural Greens in Watercolor · Brienne M Brown