PaintwellPaint mixing, from the tubes you own

How to mix taupe 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.

Taupe
#8b7d70
Oil, any brand
  • 72%Naples Yellow Williamsburg
  • 28%Ivory Black Gamblin
Very close match
Winsor & Newton oil
  • 49%Rose Madder Genuine
  • 38%Naples Yellow
  • 13%Ivory Black
Very close match
Gamblin oil
  • 70%Van Dyke Brown
  • 25%Radiant White
  • 5%Ultramarine Blue
Very close match
Acrylic, any brand
  • 85%Light Violet Golden
  • 15%Hansa Yellow Opaque Golden
Very close match
Golden acrylic
  • 85%Light Violet
  • 15%Hansa Yellow Opaque
Very close match
Liquitex acrylic
  • 60%Light Portrait Pink
  • 27%Ivory Black
  • 13%Vivid Red Orange
Very close match

How to get there

Put out the Naples Yellow first: it is 72% of the mix.

Add the Ivory 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

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