Your eyes play tricks on you. When painting, you need to outwit your eyes. You may think a cup is red. When you see it in everyday light, it is. When the cup sits in shade, however, it isn't. It could be brown or even deep violet. That's because color has another element. It's not just the quality of the cup. Color is impacted by the qualities and amount of light. To paint what you see, you must forget what you think you see. Eliminate extraneous information with a pinhole device, so you can view the true hue.
Instructions
1. Punch a single hole the cardboard with the nail, in the center. You needn't measure; get as close as you can.
2. Face your subject. Hold the cardboard about 6 inches from your eye.
3. Direct the cardboard to see the point you wish to paint, and examine the color. In normal light, you will see the color you expect. In dim light, or should the spot be in shadow, it will appear darker. In brilliant light, it may even wash out and be very whitish.
4. Mix your color. Start with the color closest in the tube to your color. Add necessary colors to adjust. For a red lying between pure red and pure orange, begin with red and add a touch of orange. To lighten, add a bit of white. To darken, add a dark brown. Black will often over-darken or otherwise alter a color, especially yellows.
5. Scoop your mixed color up, employing the palette knife. Hold it at arm's length before you. Close one eye. Line the palette knife up with the spot of your subject you are matching. Compare it and adjust as necessary, as above.
6. Apply the final color with the brush.
