PaintwellPaint mixing, from the tubes you own

How to mix gray paint

The recipes below come from Paintwell's pigment model, worked out from the real tube paints named, in oil and in acrylic. Percentages are by volume of paint on the palette.

Gray
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Oil, any brand
  • 85%Flake White Replacement Williamsburg
  • 15%Chromatic Black Gamblin
Very close match
Winsor & Newton oil
  • 40%Rose Madder Genuine
  • 39%Naples Yellow
  • 21%Blue Black
Very close match
Gamblin oil
  • 91%Flake White Replacement
  • 5%Ivory Black
  • 4%Chromatic Black
Very close match
Acrylic, any brand
  • 50%Naples Yellow Light Amsterdam
  • 50%Graphite Amsterdam
Very close match
Golden acrylic
  • 70%Naples Yellow Hue
  • 17%Carbon Black
  • 13%Titan Buff
Very close match
Liquitex acrylic
  • 41%Unbleached Titanium
  • 33%Carbon Black
  • 26%Light Blue Permanent
Very close match

How to get there

Put out the Flake White Replacement first: it is 85% of the mix.

Add the Chromatic Black a little at a time, mixing fully between additions. The smaller shares are usually the stronger paints, and it is far easier to add more than to take it back.

Judge the color in the light you will paint in, and test a dab on the canvas: wet paint and dry paint can read differently, especially acrylic, which usually dries a little darker.

Every brand's version of a pigment is a little different, which is why the recipes change from brand to brand. If you own other tubes, Paintwell works the recipe out from those instead.

Match any color from your own photo

Take a photo of your reference, tap any color, and Paintwell gives you the recipe from the paints you actually own. Then point your camera at your mix and it tells you which way you're off.

Related colors

BeigeTanKhakiBrownChocolate brownTaupeCharcoal graySlate gray