Winsor Green BS (blue shade) watercolor is a transparent green with a cooler temperature than Winsor Green YS (yellow shade). It is Winsor & Newton’s equivalent of phthalo green and is an indispensable near-primary green.
Winsor Green BS is similar in color to Hooker’s Green from the transparent non-staining category, but it is a more saturated, intense, transparent staining color.
It is one of the “greens” in the transparent staining watercolor palette used for the glazing technique and mixing with other colors in its category.
Measured against a gray scale value finder, transparent staining watercolors range in value from 10% light to a maximum of 90% dark.
Colors in the transparent staining category can portray intensity and dark values without becoming muddy and are adequate for a full palette except for where opacity is desired.
PAINT CHARACTERISTIC
Winsor Green BS watercolor is a supersaturated, stronger color than watercolors in the non-staining category and more restraint is required when mixing or glazing it with other watercolors.
Transparent staining watercolors will stain the fibers of the paper they are applied to, and stain, overpower and dull non-staining watercolors they are mixed with.
For the best results, Winsor Green BS watercolor can be glazed and mixed with colors in the transparent staining watercolor category.
COLOR MIXING WITH WINSOR GREEN BS WATERCOLOR
Winsor Green BS watercolor, like phthalo green, is used in beautiful clear glazes and mixtures of a variety of browns, greens, grays, and luminous blacks.
Add Winsor Yellow to Winsor Green BS to mix a variety of lighter warmer green colors. Or, add Winsor Blue GS for darker green colors.
Mix Winsor Green BS with one of these reds – Winsor Red, Carmine, or Alizarin Crimson – to create interesting transparent gray and black colors.
Transparent staining watercolors can be layered one over another, wet over bone dry, successfully as long as the number of layers and density is controlled.
Before applying a layer of color from another category, use the transparent staining watercolor as the first layer.
Interesting textures and effects can be achieved by painting opaque colors over a layer of transparent staining watercolor and allowing some of the staining color to peek through using various lifting methods.
Semi-opaque or opaque colors are composed of coarser pigments that are stained and discolored when mixed with transparent staining watercolors. So, they are the least successful combinations.
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… and the recommended transparent staining watercolor for mixing grays with Winsor Green BS
… in addition to the above list of colors, the following transparent staining watercolors are best for glazing or color mixing with Winsor Green BS
- Winsor Yellow
- Permanent Yellow Deep
- Winsor Violet
- Permanent Violet
- Indanthrene Blue
- Winsor Blue GS
- Winsor Blue RS
- Permanent Green #1
- Hooker’s Green Light
- Winsor Green YS
To learn more about transparent watercolors, click the link to my blog post “Which watercolor paints are transparent.”
See my YouTube playlist “Watercolor Paint Characteristics & Color Mixing” for more videos. And, subscribe to my YouTube channel.
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