How to Mix Plum Oil Paint
To mix plum with oil paint, combine 3 parts Cadmium Red and 2 parts French Ultramarine. Plum is a dark, red-leaning purple with a muted, fruity depth. It is less saturated than a pure violet, so an orange-leaning red or an earth color in the mix helps.
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 3 parts of Cadmium Red. It is the largest amount, so it is your base.
- Add 2 parts of French Ultramarine.
- 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 plum
The same recipe with more and more titanium white mixed in, by volume:
#6A354A
#905375
#A46C8D
#B98EA8
#D7C2CD
Another way to mix plum
With Cerulean Blue, Raw Umber and Alizarin Crimson: 4 parts Cerulean Blue, 3 parts Raw Umber and 2 parts Alizarin Crimson.
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 plum?
To mix plum with oil paint, combine 3 parts Cadmium Red and 2 parts French Ultramarine. You can also mix it from 4 parts Cerulean Blue, 3 parts Raw Umber and 2 parts Alizarin Crimson.
How do you make plum lighter?
Add titanium white a little at a time. Adding the same amount of white as the whole mix gives about #B98EA8. 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 plum darker?
Add more of the blue, or a small touch of a dark green. Adding black tends to make purples look dull and heavy.