How to Mix Lavender Oil Paint
To mix lavender with oil paint, combine 5 parts Titanium White, 2 parts French Ultramarine and 1 part Alizarin Crimson. Lavender is a pale, cool purple. Mix the purple first, then lighten it with plenty of white; the white also cools it, which is exactly what lavender wants.
Opens the free browser simulator with these colors on the palette. Squeeze them out and blend with the palette knife.
Step by step
- Put down 5 parts of Titanium White. It is the largest amount, so it is your base.
- Add 2 parts of French Ultramarine.
- Add 1 part of Alizarin Crimson.
- Blend with a palette knife, folding the paint over itself until no streaks of the separate colors remain.
- Pull a thin smear out to the side. Thin paint shows the true color better than a thick pile.
Lighter versions of lavender
The same recipe with more and more titanium white mixed in, by volume:
#AFA1CA
#BDB2D2
#C6BDD7
#D1CCDD
#E3E1E7
Another way to mix lavender
With Cobalt Violet and Titanium White: 3 parts Cobalt Violet and 1 part Titanium White.
Tips for mixing purples
Purples go muddy when either the red or the blue leans toward yellow. Pick a bluish red and a reddish blue, and lighten with white rather than yellow.
Questions
What colors make lavender?
To mix lavender with oil paint, combine 5 parts Titanium White, 2 parts French Ultramarine and 1 part Alizarin Crimson. You can also mix it from 3 parts Cobalt Violet and 1 part Titanium White.
How do you make lavender lighter?
Add titanium white a little at a time. Adding the same amount of white as the whole mix gives about #D1CCDD. White also cools and softens a color, so you may need a touch more of the warm color in the recipe to keep the same character.
How do you make lavender darker?
Add more of the blue, or a small touch of a dark green. Adding black tends to make purples look dull and heavy.