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| Completed Cadmium Yellow Light Color Chart |
Materials needed:
- Oil Colors
- Alizarin Permanent
- Cadmium Red Deep
- Transparent Oxide Red
- Cadmium Yellow Light (lots of it)
- Cadmium Lemon
- Viridian Green
- Phthalo Blue
- Ultramarine Blue
- Titanium Zinc White
- Canvas pad--I used Centurion oil-primed linen, 9"x12"
- Masking tape--I used 3/4" tape
Unit I, Lesson 5 took me about 2 hours to complete.
Step One: Divide the canvas
Divide your canvas pad using the method outlined in Unit I, Lesson 1. See my time-saving T-square trick here.
Step Two: Arrange the colors
The colors remain in the same order as in the first color chart.
Step Three: Mix the colors and apply the paint
The first column consisted of Cadmium Yellow Light, tinted to lighten its value down the rows. The second column was Cadmium Yellow Light + Cadmium Lemon, the next color my palette. Remember that Cadmium Lemon leans slightly blue. Adding the Cadmium Lemon to the Cadmium Yellow Light (which leans red) incorporates all three primaries: red, yellow, and blue. Therefore, the mix with Cadmium Yellow Light + Cadmium Lemon mix "grays" slightly, because red + yellow + blue = gray. You can see this most easily in the third row; the second column is "duller," or grayer, than the first.
Of course, because the amount of red and blue in the respective yellows is very small, the effect is very subtle.
Although I recognized it before, I had an "aha!" moment as I was mixing the straight yellows together and then added the green and blue. In this exercise, the top row consists of the color or colors straight from the tube (not tinted) along the top row. Therefore, regardless of its intensity (chroma), the top row will be the darkest value the color or mixture can be. The bottom row, in contrast, should be a light tint of the hue straight from the tube. Yellows are a lighter value straight out of the tube than red or blue. In other words, a yellow hue (irrespective of its intensity), starts out lighter than a blue or red. Regardless of what hue is used in the top row, the bottom row should end with a light value or slight tint of the hue. The value for the bottom row should be more or less consistent between the columns. Because the ending place should be about the same, but the value of the colors in the top row varies greatly, the size of the steps necessary to get from the top to bottom row likewise varies greatly. You can see the values clearly when I turn this image black and white.
You can see here that the steps lightening the value between the yellow rows are not as dramatic as the steps lightening the value between the Cadmium Yellow Light + Viridian Green and Cadmium Yellow Light + Phthalo Blue columns and rows. The Cadmium Yellow Light and Cadmium Yellow Light + Cadmium Lemon columns' top rows begin at approximately the same value as the fourth rows for the Cadmium Yellow Light + Viridan Green and Cadmium Yellow Light + Phthalo Blue columns. So, the yellow tints are simply not as dramatic. Although I knew this, I did not fully grasp how light in value the yellows begin. Yellow confuses me because it is so vibrant. So, I figured out how to use a value finder and a little bit of math to keep the steps between the darkest and lightest values consistent and even. I'll show you in the next lesson, here.
I completed the remaining columns and rows here.
Step Four: Remove the tape
Step Five: Let it dry
You can access all of the lessons in this unit from the Index of Lessons page here.
Step One: Divide the canvas
Divide your canvas pad using the method outlined in Unit I, Lesson 1. See my time-saving T-square trick here.
Step Two: Arrange the colors
The colors remain in the same order as in the first color chart.
Step Three: Mix the colors and apply the paint
The first column consisted of Cadmium Yellow Light, tinted to lighten its value down the rows. The second column was Cadmium Yellow Light + Cadmium Lemon, the next color my palette. Remember that Cadmium Lemon leans slightly blue. Adding the Cadmium Lemon to the Cadmium Yellow Light (which leans red) incorporates all three primaries: red, yellow, and blue. Therefore, the mix with Cadmium Yellow Light + Cadmium Lemon mix "grays" slightly, because red + yellow + blue = gray. You can see this most easily in the third row; the second column is "duller," or grayer, than the first.
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| Cadmium Yellow Light color chart in progress. Left to right: Cadmium Yellow Light; Cadmium Yellow Light + Cadmium Lemon. |
Although I recognized it before, I had an "aha!" moment as I was mixing the straight yellows together and then added the green and blue. In this exercise, the top row consists of the color or colors straight from the tube (not tinted) along the top row. Therefore, regardless of its intensity (chroma), the top row will be the darkest value the color or mixture can be. The bottom row, in contrast, should be a light tint of the hue straight from the tube. Yellows are a lighter value straight out of the tube than red or blue. In other words, a yellow hue (irrespective of its intensity), starts out lighter than a blue or red. Regardless of what hue is used in the top row, the bottom row should end with a light value or slight tint of the hue. The value for the bottom row should be more or less consistent between the columns. Because the ending place should be about the same, but the value of the colors in the top row varies greatly, the size of the steps necessary to get from the top to bottom row likewise varies greatly. You can see the values clearly when I turn this image black and white.
 |
| Cadmium Yellow Light color chart in progress. Columns left to right: Cadmium Yellow Light; Cadmium Yellow Light + Cadmium Lemon; Cadmium Yellow Light + Viridian Green; Cadmium Yellow Light + Phthalo Blue. |
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| Cadmium Yellow Light color chart in progress, black and white to show color value. |
I completed the remaining columns and rows here.
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| Cadmium Yellow Light color chart--all color applied |
Step Five: Let it dry
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| Completed Cadmium Yellow Light color chart. Columns from left to right: Cadmium Yellow Light; Cadmium Yellow Light + Cadmium Lemon; Cadmium Yellow Light + Viridian Green; Cadmium Yellow Light + Phthalo Blue; Cadmium Yellow Light + Ultramarine Blue; Cadmium Yellow Light + Alizarin Permanent; Cadmium Yellow Light + Cadmium Red Deep; Cadmium Yellow Light + Transparent Oxide Red. |
Upcoming Lesson
Unit I, Lesson 6--Cadmium Lemon Color Chart
Materials needed:
- Oil Colors
- Alizarin Permanent
- Cadmium Red Deep
- Transparent Oxide Red
- Cadmium Yellow Light
- Cadmium Lemon (lots of it)
- Viridian Green
- Phthalo Blue
- Ultramarine Blue
- Titanium Zinc White
- Canvas pad--I used Centurion oil-primed linen, 9"x12"
- Masking tape--I used 3/4" tape
Unit I, Lesson 6 took me about 2.5 hours to complete.
As always, please subscribe to follow along or join in. I'd love to meet you--please introduce yourself in the comments. Also, your feedback is most appreciated. Leave your questions, comments, and hate mail below. (I won't post the hate mail, ha!) Thanks for stopping by. Monique
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