Stopping Muddy Colours One of the quickest ways to make watercolours look more confident (especially in landscapes) is simply keeping your colour clean. What am I talking about? When I talk about muddy colours or ‘creating mud’ in watercolours I mean when you have lost the vibrancy that watercolour paintings are renowned for. The colours on your painting might appear dull, lifeless or just lacking in vibrancy. In short, they just look a little off. Good quality paper and paints do make a difference. Terry almost always used Bockingford Watercolour Paper, it was his go to paper - I have a folder under my desk here stacked with maybe a hundred of his old demonstrations and they are all on Bockingford Paper. Quality watercolour paints contain more pigment and less fillers - this will help with maintaining a vibrancy that lower quality paints just can't deliver. However, putting those two aside, the other reasons are likely going to be down to a few small habits that dull your mixes and washes. The good news is that once you know what causes mud, it’s very easy to avoid, and your skies and distance will immediately start to look fresher. When colours go muddy, it’s usually down to one of three things: - Too many pigments in the mix (everything starts to neutralise each other)
- Over-brushing (scrubbing and reworking while it’s half-dry)
- Dirty water / a not-quite-rinsed brush (although the latter is more of a culprit than just dirty water given the intensity of the pigment left on the brush!)
How do we fix them? 1) Use the 2–3 pigment rule As a default, try to keep most mixes to two pigments (three at most). It forces clarity. There are very few colours that require more than three pigments to mix, is all about choosing the right colour and the right quantities. If you want a really good example you can check out Fiona's descriptions on how to mix some of the older colours that Terry used to use with our current range. Mixing Raw Sienna Mixing Burnt Sienna Mixing Burnt Umber If you’re mixing a colour and you find it’s starting to look lifeless, try to avoid adding more paint to “fix” it — that usually makes it worse. Instead, pause and ask: - Do I actually need a new colour here?
- Or do I just need a lighter/darker value of the same mix?
2) Glaze instead of stirring on the paper If you want more depth or richness, it’s often better to: - lay a wash,
- let it dry,
- then add a second transparent layer (a glaze).
That keeps the colour luminous. Stirring and scrubbing while it’s drying is one of the fastest routes to mud. 3) A quick note on greens (because they catch everyone out) Greens go dull when we keep “correcting” them. A simple approach is: - start with a clean green mix (often a warm + cool combination),
- then if it needs to be more natural, neutralise it with the tiniest touch of its complement (often a red/brown).
The key is tiny. You’re aiming for natural, not grey. Terry spent a lot of time developing his own set of Greens. He designed them to be the perfect shades for the landscapes that he was so well known for. They are not only brilliant on their own but complement each other and are incredibly versatile. you can find them here. 4) - How much does dirty water affect your colours? - Why not experiment? - Pick two colours you use a lot (one warm, one cool) and mix 3 clean mid-tones.
- Now mix the same mid-tones again, but rinse your brush between every mix.
- Compare the two sets side-by-side — which looks fresher?
Please do let me know how you get on if you have a go — you can share it on our Facebook group which you can access using the link below!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/507681213309249/ If you’d like to see any of Terrys step-by-step demo's, you can browse our full video library here: https://www.terryharrisonart.com/videos/ Happy Painting
Martin
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