Novice Requires help please

[guitarman]

I am a true beginner,and I have great problems with mixing colors.At present I am trying very hard to mix colors for an old stone church,I cannot get the color of stone right.Can anyone help Please?.Thanks

[llis]

Because their are so many variations of stone, it would be hard to give you a color recipe that would be "THE" stone color you are looking for. On top of that, throughout each individual stone there are color variations. Pick up a stone and look hard at it and see if you can guess which colors might make up that particular stone. Then make a small color chart using those colors and try different combinations to see how the colors you choose work.

Example: A basic gray stone color might be .... Ivory black, White, Thalo Blue and some Burnt Umber. Then you might find that adding in some Burnt Sienna, Cadmium Orange, yellow Ochre, or Raw Sienna would give you the variation you want.

Again: I would suggest that you make your own color sample test page. This is one good way to learn about color anyway and you will have a record that you can refer back to the next time you need color recipes that you discover.

Start with the first colors you choose, and mix them in various parts. Example: one part white, one part black ...see how that looks...then in the next test block add in some Thalo Blue....see how that looks.... then in the next test block add in some Burnt Umber.... then in the next test block go back to your original two colors and just add some Burnt Umber without the Thalo Blue.

You have to keep testing until you find "YOUR STONE COLOR". Your stones might not be gray, they might be more in the yellow family. You just have to start with what you think your base color should be and then do little test blocks until you arrive at your solution.

What I have found to be useful to me when I first began exploring color was to keep all my test blocks in a notebook. I labeled what I did. That way I could refer back to my notes if I got lost.

Now days, color is much easier for me. Don't give up and get frustrated. Remember, everyone starts somewhere and no one is born with all the answers. Even seasoned painters learn new things every day.

[Patrick1]

That was a good reply. They way I do most stones is to first make a grey by taking titanium white and mixing into it some ultramarine blue and burnt umber or burnt sienna. If the grey is too blueish, add more brown. If it's too brownish, add more blue. You can darken it by adding more of the blue and brown (these two colors make a very dark grey, almost black). Obviously you can lighten it by adding more white. There's your base grey.

Most rocks aren't just grey, they often have a bit of other colors thrown in...often purples, reds and oranges, which gives the grey a bias toward a certain color (for example, granite is often pinkish). So add a bit of one or more of these colors to your grey to get the right flavour.

[Winty]

To further complicate matters, don't forget the lighting changes colors too. So stone in sunlight is not the same as stone at sunset/rise, or in gloomy, stormy weather.