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What colours would you use?

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Hang on Studio Wall
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Anjana Cawdell

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The calendar competition made me have a go at trying painting clouds and sky which I usually shy off. This is the photo it is based on(can you spot a bird and a dragon in the clouds?!). I started the painting with three colours - DS paynes blue grey, yellow ochre and lavender. Mid way through wanted something a bit more transparent for the blue so introduced WN smalt(Dumont's blue). If you had to choose three colours what would be your choice? Thank you in advance

Anjana Cawdell

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This is my attempt

Ellen Mooney

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It’s a beautiful photo.  Because I paint in acrylics not watercolour, I’d choose tones of ultramarine violet, davy’s grey, naples yellow and titanium white. Perhaps I’d use a touch red! I would also print the photo, turn it upside down and work from there, I’d match my colours on the brush by holding it up against the printed photo that I tape to the wall. I got the idea to work like this from an article/video in the Artist Magazine. I would also use a lot of imagination. I love the finished painting.... Ellen

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by Ellen Mooney

Anjana Cawdell

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Thanks Ellen for your kind words and valuable tips. Touch of red or a zingy yellow would bring  a bit of warmth. Perhaps ought to do a version in acrylics too 🙂x

noah enholm

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it's believe that sky should be blue or something like that
but if can, i would choose the colour in rainbow or such as pink, yellow, red, violet... 

Edited
by noah enholm

Moi 17

Linda Wilson

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I agree with Ellen on the Naples yellow.  Any other yellow could result in green if it gets mixed with blue, so Naples is a safe option.  Crimson is a good option for introducing a touch of red. I would mix the greys,  combining blues with browns.

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by Linda Wilson

With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, NAPA

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Always bearing in mind that Naples Yellow (a very useful colour, of course) is opaque - and that has considerable implications for painters in watercolour, because if they don't know that NY, or Yellow Ochre, are indeed opaque, they're going to run very quickly into mud.   In a sky, in watercolour, I would not use Naples Yellow, or Yellow Ochre - I'd use Lemon Yellow, or Raw Sienna (especially the latter), Indian Yellow, Gold Ochre, perhaps.   But adding Naples Yellow to a watercolour also introduces white - and you may not want that.   Of course, the paint can be thinned with water - but it really doesn't take long to turn it into a soup.   Experienced painters can handle this, but we're not all experienced - if you're a beginner, I'd leave the opaque colours for now - save the Naples, the Ochres, Light Red, the Cadmiums, until you know you can handle them.  

Denise Cat

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Now I know why I occasionally end up with a muddy sky when using a yellow, when doing a watercolour. I am going to jot this down for future reference.

Anjana Cawdell

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Thank you Noah, Linday, Robert and Painful for taking the time to comment I really appreciate your input. Valuable tips Robert about how to avoid mud, must give this another go armed with the new knowledge :-) thanks again.
Moi 17

Linda Wilson

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The secret is to experiment with colours before committing yourself, whichever medium you are using.

Anjana Cawdell

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That is a good tip too Linda, thank you

Colin Windale

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I love the effect of your painting, looks great.  I'd like to be able to do convincing skies, time to practice. 
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