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Transparent Watercolor Watercolor Paint

Which Watercolor Paints Are Transparent

I first learned which watercolor paints are transparent by reading Jim Kosvanec’s book, “Transparent Watercolor Wheel: A Logical and Easy-to-use System for Taking the Guesswork out of Mixing Colours” (affiliate link) first published by Watson-Guptill on May 1, 1994. They republished it in paperback on April 15, 2000. However, both editions are no longer in print. But, you can buy it from used book dealers on Amazon. You can also borrow a copy from your local public library.

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You can also determine what watercolors are transparent by downloading color charts from brand-name watercolor paint companies. My favorite brands are Winsor Newton and Holbein. Follow the links below to download their color charts:

Jim Kosvanec’s Color Choices

Jim Kosvanec did extensive studies of watercolor paints and developed a color chart that categorizes color names into “rings” on a color wheel, as follows:

  • Ring 1 – Transparent Non-Staining
  • Ring 2 – Simi-Transparent Non-Staining
  • Ring 3 – Transparent Staining
  • Ring 4 – Semi-Opaque & Opaque
  • Ring 5 – Whitened & Blackened

Transparent Watercolor Colors

There are two groups of transparent watercolor colors. They are “non-staining” and “staining” found in Ring 1 and Ring 3 of Jim Kosvanec’s color wheel.

Ring 1 – Transparent Non-Staining Colors

Ring 3 – Transparent Staining Colors

Beware When Mixing Transparent Staining Colors

Transparent staining colors in Ring 3 only mix well with other staining colors in the same Ring 3. If you try to mix Ring 3 colors with Ring 1 transparent non-staining colors, the staining color will overpower the non-staining colors. They will also overpower other colors in Ring 2 and 4.

Mixing Ring 1 & Ring 2 Colors

To quote Jim on what colors mix well, he said:

Transparents mix or glaze with other transparents without restrictions. Transparents mix well with all others pigments except staining colors, which can “dye” them. Semi-transparents may be used like transparents but with more restraint.

~ Jim Kosvanec

Ring 2 – Semi-Transparent Colors

Here are the semi-transparent watercolors Jim Kosvanec classified as Ring 2 on his color wheel. These colors mix well with Ring 1 transparent colors identified above.

I use Ring 1 transparent non-staining colors for glazing my first layers of color. Then I add colors from Ring 2 for depth and darker tones where needed. And, for my darkest darks, I use colors from Ring 3 sparingly.

Categories
Color Mixing Watercolor Paint

Prussian Blue

Use Prussian Blue for Dark Backgrounds

Prussian Blue is similar to Winsor Blue, but it is a neutralized semitransparent color. I mix Prussian Blue with Alizarin Crimson and Viridian to create strong darks for backgrounds and to darken other colors.

This dark mixture is almost black, but is still transparent. I use it instead of black tube paints such as Ivory Black, Neutral Tint, Payne’s Gray, etc. which have an undesirable flat appearance.

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Color Schemes Watercolor Paint

New Gamboge

New Gamboge is my favorite, warm, yellow. It sits between Aureolin and Cadmium Orange on the color wheel. Ultramarine Violet or Permanent Mauve complement New Gamboge.

I like to use it whenever a cheery yellow is called for and when creating 3-dimensional form for yellow-to-orange objects.

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Color Schemes Watercolor Paint

Winsor Violet

I use Winsor Violet as the INTERMEDIATE RED-VIOLET on the color wheel because it is a pure color that is perfect for its complementary color listed below.

The following color schemes are based on Stephen Quiller’s “Quiller Color Wheel (affiliate link)” and his book “Color Choices: Making Color Sense Out of Color Theory (affiliate link).”

Complementary

The complementary color sits on the opposite side of the color wheel. For Winsor Violet, the complementary color is:

Permanent Green Light
Winsor Green (Yellow Shade)

Split-Complementary

The split-complementary colors are the two colors located on either side of the complementary color on the color wheel. The following are the split-complementary colors for Winsor Violet:

Aureolin
Aureolin

Viridian
Viridian

Analogous

Going clockwise on the color wheel from RED-VIOLET to RED-ORANGE the analogous colors for Winsor Violet are:

Alizarin Crimson
Alizarin Crimson

Cadmium Red Deep
Cadmium-Free Red Deep

Triadic

This Triadic consists of three INTERMEDIATE colors. In addition to Winsor Violet, the other colors that make up this Triadic color scheme are:

Manganese Blue Hue
Manganese Blue Hue

Cadmium Orange
Cadmium-Free Orange

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Categories
Color Schemes Watercolor Paint

Permanent Mauve

I use Permanent Mauve as the SECONDARY VIOLET on the color wheel because it is a pure color that is perfect for its complementary color listed below.

The following color schemes are based on Stephen Quiller’s “Quiller Color Wheel (affiliate link)” and his book “Color Choices: Making Color Sense Out of Color Theory (affiliate link).”

Complementary

The complementary color sits on the opposite side of the color wheel. For Permanent Mauve, the complementary color is:

Aureolin
Aureolin

Split-Complementary

The split-complementary colors are the two colors located on either side of the complementary color on the color wheel. The following are the split-complementary colors for Permanent Mauve:

Cadmium Orange
Cadmium-Free Orange

Permanent Green Light
Winsor Green (Yellow Shade)

Analogous

Going clockwise on the color wheel from VIOLET to RED the analogous colors for Permanent Mauve are:

Winsor Violet
Winsor Violet

Alizarin Crimson
Alizarin Crimson

Triadic

This Triadic consists of three SECONDARY colors. In addition to Permanent Mauve, the other colors that make up this Triadic color scheme are:

Viridian
Viridian

Cadmium Scarlet
Cadmium-Free Scarlet

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