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Marion Boddy-Evans

Marion's Painting Blog

By Marion Boddy-Evans, About.com Guide to Painting

How Do I Mix Cream Colors?

Sunday July 12, 2009
"How do I mix creams and their shades? What is the starting point? Titanium white and then what?"
-- Ezr
Mixing creams My immediate reaction to reading Ezr's email was titanium buff. While it's certainly not a color everyone will have in their paintbox, I've found very useful for painting sandy shores in seascapes and sandstone rocks in landscapes.

The alternative is to mix a brown with some white. The result will depend on what you use -- and you'll want to start with adding only a tiny bit to some white. I'd start mixing with raw or burnt sienna.

What would your choice be? Share your "cream recipe" here...

Image: © 2009 Marion Boddy-Evans. Licensed to About.com, Inc

Comments

July 12, 2009 at 11:02 am
(1) StephZ says:

Soft Mixing White by Winsor & Newton mixed with a tiny bit of yellow ochre works well for me.

July 12, 2009 at 11:06 am
(2) About.com Guide to Painting says:

For those who don’t know, a mixing white is designed to mix in very easily with other colors. Some tubes of “regular” titanium white can be quite stiff — especially if it’s an older tube that’s started to dry out!

July 12, 2009 at 11:51 am
(3) Tony says:

Good question. there are so many off whites. I like to use yellow ochre a touch of cadmium red and may be some yellow. However the type of cream colour would depend on the subject matter, whether you need a bright cream for sunlit areas or a dull cream for shade areas. I think that umber is good for the latter but more yellow in the former. It is nice to have a ready made tube of cream like titanium buff though, it is a hassle to have to keep mixing up creams.

July 12, 2009 at 2:19 pm
(4) Dana Kirk says:

I like to use Titan Buff from golden and a touch of raw umber. I prefer the umbers when going for a more natural look.

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