PaintwellPaint mixing, from the tubes you own

How to mix lilac 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.

Lilac
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Oil, any brand
  • 73%Titanium Zinc White Gamblin
  • 21%Cobalt Violet Gamblin
  • 6%Winsor Lemon Winsor & Newton
Very close match
Winsor & Newton oil
  • 72%Titanium White
  • 21%Cobalt Violet
  • 7%Winsor Lemon
Very close match
Gamblin oil
  • 69%Titanium Zinc White
  • 18%Dioxazine Purple
  • 13%Cobalt Violet
Very close match
Acrylic, any brand
  • 69%Zinc White Golden
  • 31%Permanent Violet Amsterdam
Very close match
Golden acrylic
  • 86%Zinc White
  • 8%Dioxazine Purple
  • 6%Cobalt Violet
Very close match
Liquitex acrylic
  • 66%Titanium White
  • 34%Prism Violet
Very close match

How to get there

Put out the Titanium Zinc White first: it is 73% of the mix.

Add the Cobalt Violet and Winsor Lemon 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.

Because lilac is a light color, work the darker paints into the lighter one, never the other way around, or you will end up mixing a pile far bigger than you need.

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.

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