Advice on mixing colour swatches please

David it sounds like you made the burnt umber and ultramarine too strong. these two colors in a strong mix make a black or a brown mud colour Try try again and be careful as you go until you get it right. mixing two,colours is easy and mixing three needs a bit more care. Remember that red yellow and blue make a black. In your case the umber contains a little red and you add yellow raw siena and blue . You see why it needs care or you make mud very easily. . hope this helps ....Syd

David. Use a palette with quite a lot of wells, put one of your colours in first well add water continue to add water in small measured amounts . Do the same with your other two colours , then mix them in the different dilutions one at a time. Rather than a wheel I would use lines of squares and start with the deepest on the left and continue across the line mixing a lighter mix as you go, Next line add another colour and follow a line across once more with more and more water added. then a third line . mix your colours as you go. i dont think this is a very good explanation , I know what I mean !!!!!. Just add different amounts of water gently and carefully. , don't just chuck them all together in a mudsy heap... Make of that explanation what you will. ;-(