How to Mix Salmon Oil Paint
To mix salmon with oil paint, combine 2 parts Cadmium Red, 2 parts Titanium White and 1 part Cadmium Yellow. Salmon is a pink with orange in it. Lighten a warm red with white and nudge it with a little yellow until it stops reading as plain pink.
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 2 parts of Cadmium Red. It is the largest amount, so it is your base.
- Add 2 parts of Titanium White. White lightens the mix but also cools and softens it, so add it gradually.
- Add 1 part of Cadmium Yellow.
- 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 salmon
The same recipe with more and more titanium white mixed in, by volume:
#EB8C74
#EEA08B
#F0AE9A
#F1BFAE
#F3DACE
Another way to mix salmon
With Cadmium Red, Cadmium Lemon and Titanium White: 4 parts Cadmium Red, 3 parts Cadmium Lemon and 3 parts Titanium White.
Tips for mixing reds and pinks
Reds are strong, and white changes them more than you expect: it cools them and pushes them toward pink. Add white gradually and compare against the color you are aiming for.
Questions
What colors make salmon?
To mix salmon with oil paint, combine 2 parts Cadmium Red, 2 parts Titanium White and 1 part Cadmium Yellow. You can also mix it from 4 parts Cadmium Red, 3 parts Cadmium Lemon and 3 parts Titanium White.
How do you make salmon lighter?
Add titanium white a little at a time. Adding the same amount of white as the whole mix gives about #F1BFAE. 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 salmon darker?
Add alizarin crimson or a little burnt umber. A tiny amount of green also darkens red, since green is its complement, but black tends to turn reds brown.