Turquoise is a beautifully versatile colour that sits between blue and green on the color spectrum, making it a favourite among artists for everything from seascapes to vibrant abstracts. But how do you achieve that perfect shade? Whether you’re working with oil paints or acrylics, or watercolours mixing turquoise is an easy process when you know the right colours to blend.
Stephen is back with a new Colour Mixing 101 series and in this video he guides you through the steps of mixing turquoise. While this demonstration uses oil paints, the same principles can be applied to acrylics or watercolours (with some adjustments for how these mediums dry).
Here’s what you need to do:
1. Choose Your Base Colours
To mix turquoise, start with a blue and green base. Stephen uses Phthalo Blue and Cadmium Green in this video, but other similar hues will work too. Phthalo Blue offers a deep, vivid base that’s perfect for turquoise.
2. Add a Touch of White
Once you’ve blended the blue and green together, you’ll want to lighten the mixture slightly by adding Titanium White. This step is key to getting that bright, vibrant look that turquoise is known for.
3. Adjust to Get Your Desired Shade
Want your turquoise to lean more towards blue or green? You can tweak the mix based on your preference. If you want something more like teal, add a bit more blue. For something closer to aqua, increase the green.
4. Test Your Mix
Always test your mix before committing to large areas on your painting. Stephen shows how to do this by swatching the colour on a piece of paper. This way, you can adjust the balance if needed before applying it to your final piece.
Tips for Mixing with Different Mediums:
- Oil Paints: The process shown in the video is for oil paints, which give you plenty of time to adjust your colors before they dry. If you’re working in oils, take your time to experiment with the blend.
- Acrylics: Keep in mind that acrylics dry slightly darker than they appear when wet, so make your mix a shade lighter than you think you’ll need.
- Watercolors: Watercolours, on the other hand, dry lighter. So if you’re mixing in this medium, make your colour blend a bit more intense.
Whether you’re creating the cool tones of a seascape, mastering the art of mixing turquoise is a must. Watch our full video tutorial for more details and stay tuned for the next instalment in our paint-mixing series, where Stephen will tackle mixing orange brown.