Do you find yourself in a rut with your colour schemes, always falling back on a familiar palette? Or are you frustrated with your range of printing inks because you can’t afford more colours?
This blog post will give you confidence to develop more subtle and satisfying colour schemes starting from just a couple of pots of printmaking inks.
Thanks to Jane Duke
I am grateful to Jane Duke, a fellow member of York Printmakers for providing the inspiration for this post.
Jane makes multi layered reduction lino prints, and while showing us one of her prints she casually threw in a comment about mixing a tonal colour palette using transparent ink. This made me curious so I found out more ….
Here is the print she made, using the two-colour tonal palette method. The first image shows the initial layer of ink and the plate. The second one shows the finished print with all layers overprinted, along with the last stage of the lino cut plate.
See more of Janes work here
We were all surprised when she told us which colours she used for this print….
Process Yellow and Payne’s grey, along with a good dose of transparent ink from Hawthorn inks.
Who would have thought it?
Vary the starting colours
I decided to experiment with this colour mixing idea on my ‘chalk horses’ mono print. I wanted a warmer more grassy green than the one Jane mixed so I took Payne’s Grey, and instead of process yellow I used cadmium yellow which is more orangey. This combination produced a lovely range of greens, which is due to Payne’s Grey being quite a bluey grey.
This works with different printmaking techniques
You can apply this ink mixing method for any multi coloured print no matter what printmaking technique you are using. So whether you are doing reduction lino, collagraph, mono print, block printing or screen print the approach will help you develop a unique and interesting colour palette each time.
The basic idea
The aim is to create a palette of about 4 colours where the tone shifts from light to dark and the hue also changes progressively from one colour to another.
This example shows a very light turquoise grading into a dark French blue. The proportion of French Blue increases, and the transparent ink decreases in the colour mixes from left to right in the picture.
Have a go at creating your own tonal colour palette
Choose two colours, one dark and one light. You can try any two colours you like, and once you get going you will discover lots of possible pairings.
You will also need a tub of transparent ink – an essential ingredient, and possibly some linseed jelly or oil to loosen the ink if it is stiff.
Clear yourself space on a glass slab and collect some palette knives and you are ready to start.
Example with cobalt blue and raw umber
that green is always a surprise!
- First put a good blob of transparent ink (aka ‘extender’) on the slab
- then a TINY dab of the lighter colour, (cobalt blue here)
- mix together well
Always add colour to transparent – it is surprising how little colour you need and it is easy to over-do it.
This is the first and lightest colour in your palette.
4. Next another blob of transparent and a bit more of the light colour than before, along with a tiny dab of the darker ink; mix together
The tone is getting darker and the colour is evolving….
5. Then less transparent ink, more of the light colour + a blob of the dark.
6. Lastly more of the darker colour and less of the lighter one. You are just aiming to adjust the dark colour a little bit and link it into the ‘family’ of colours.
Test and adjust the tone + colour mix
Use a palette knife to scrape a sample of each colour you have mixed onto some white paper. Adjust the mixes as you think needed. Aim for a good range of tones and an even progression of colour changes.
Nb. it is hard to make it lighter with transparent ink, you will probably end up using loads – much easier to add less colour in the beginning and add more as needed.
Play around with the palette
Once you are happy with your palette try rolling a patch of each colour out on the slab. Give your self time to play around with rolling the ink directly onto paper to get to know how the palette works together.
Making simple direct prints with rollers is a great way to get your creative ideas going at the start of a printmaking session.
Example with turquoise and French blue
I think both of these colours can be very overpowering, and it is hard to find other colours to use with them, however this two-colour tonal palette technique gave me some control over these strong characters!
Transparent ink vs opaque ink
The inks used in this activity are all transparent based; for a similar but different colour exercise which uses white to create opaque colours have a look at the blog post about printing with tonal colour.
Colour swatches – I copied these from hawthorns website, they are all stay open transparent based inks, however the colours on screen look a bit different from the actual colours, but it is just to give you an idea.
A life of harmony
By only using 2 colours as well as transparent, you will find your palette is quite harmonious. This is a way of creating subtle colours that go together well, and the tonal range will help to create depth and distance in your prints.
Expand your coIour horizons
I hope this exercise gives you a way in to feel confident about mixing your own individual palette of colours, and helps you look again at those familiar colours sitting on your shelf. You may be surprised how a bit of match-making between odd colours along with some light from transparent ink can really expand your colour horizons.
Please leave a comment below to let us know which colour combinations you discover….
Thanks for this post which is really helpful – can I ask which inks you use? I used Caligo safe wash and the range of colours doesn’t include some you mention here. I looked up Charbonnels which have a wider range and say they can be used for intaglio and relief print – at the moment I have to buy separate for each technique. So would you recommend switching to Charbonnel, and if I so would they mix with my caligo ones?
I would suggest you experiment mixing colour palettes with the inks you already have, all you need is two colours + transparent to get started. It is interesting to try a range of colours so there’s no need to have exactly the same ones I used in the blog post – hopefully you will discover some new and wonderful combinations!
I use Hawthorn Printmaker stay open inks, they also work for both relief and intaglio. It used to be that intaglio inks were ground more finely than relief inks, but Barry at Hawthorns told me that nowadays there is little difference.
I can’t really advise on mixing different makes of ink without knowing what the base is, although most of the modern ones are pretty similar I think (soya and linseed), so it is worth having a go to see what happens. However it is probably easiest to settle on one make for ease and consistency.
Thank you so much for that comprehensive and quick answer! Really. Helpful. I’ll have some fun playing around with what I have.
I have built up a mixed collection of inks and single pigment oil paints that work together for me….all are mixed with Safewash extender roughly 50/50-more or less whatever…..and everything washes up with warm detergent water (except my card plates). I have Intaglio Printmaker darks for the intaglio part of my collagraphs, which i find stiff (arthritic shoulders) , but better with the softer Safewash extender, and a little pea of IP wiping compound, which looks just like posh vaselene. I have Safewash Process trio of colours, but find strongly tinting oil paints mixed with extender work really well for transparent rollovers etc. First i had a tube of extender, but ran out so quickly i bought a 500g tub, which seemed more economical till i got in such a mess with it, annoying and wasteful. Now buy the 300g cartridge for a mastic gun (<£5 from B&Q) and have not looked back. Precise and clean and quick. I usually use intaglio ext., seems to do for everything. I do have the relief one, but haven't noticed much difference! This lot is all linseed based,, mixes and matches well, and washes up. I have read that the soya-based Akua also mixes in.
ps…..so experiment with what you have!
Thanks Heather – it is really interesting to hear other peoples methods. A very good suggestion to get a mastic gun, I can imagine this reduces waste and makes life easier.
I totally agree with your comment above – keep experimenting!
Hi Heather, thank you for your tips. I am interested in the mastic gun for extender. I cant see a gun tube in Caligo, so which extender do you buy for your gun ?
HI Sonia….I’ve had a headsup re your post here from Emily, who correctly thought i would miss it tucked away in here! Anyhow, Caligo Safewash extender/(clear ink) Is available in a 300g CARTIDGE (that’s the word you need) from Intaglioprintmakers.com (the folks near London Bridge). It doesn’t seem the cheapest way, but the ease of use and lack of waste compensate! The etching type rolls out fine if I need that, I hardly use my relief tube. You need to go gently with the trigger….perhaps buy a cheap mastic to practise loading and squeezing. (What would mastic squiggles on a board print like?) Extender is runnier than mastic, start with the tiniest of pressure. Best of luck! Heather
ps….spelling mistake above……..CARTRIDGE has 2 r’s!
Thank you, Heather for the reply.