The Beauty of Color: Learning to Mix the Shades of God’s Creation

Color is one of the greatest gifts God has given us. It surrounds us in endless variations—every sunrise, every person, every leaf, every ripple of water reflects His artistry. As artists, we are called to see those colors more deeply and translate them into paint.

Too often, we reduce the world into simple categories: the sky is blue, trees are green, skin is beige. But in truth, each of these holds a universe of variation. When you begin to look closer, to really see, you’ll notice how colors shift, overlap, and dance with the light. That’s when your art begins to breathe.

Color isn’t static. It’s relational. The golden glow of grass warms the shadow of a tree trunk. Water mirrors the clouds and takes on their hue. A person’s skin reflects the light of the room, shifting between warm and cool undertones. Training your eye to notice these subtleties is what transforms your work from flat to alive.

Let’s explore some of these grand colors of creation and how you might mix them on your palette.

Skin Tones Color

Skin tones are as varied as the people God created. There is no single “flesh color.” Every complexion contains undertones and reflections that make it unique:

• Fair Skin: Yellow ochre + crimson + white. Shadows with ultramarine or violet, highlights with soft peach or ivory.

• Medium / Olive Skin: Yellow ochre + burnt sienna + white. Shadows deepen with ultramarine or dioxazine purple, highlights with golden ochre.

• Deep Brown Skin: Burnt umber + alizarin crimson + ultramarine. Highlights with raw sienna + white, undertones of plum or green for richness.

• Very Deep Skin: Burnt umber + ultramarine + alizarin crimson. Shadows with cool violets, highlights with golden ochre or sienna.

Skin also reflects its surroundings—greens from grass, blues from sky, or warm golden tones indoors. Always observe what’s around your subject.

Hair

• Blonde: Yellow ochre + white, deepened with burnt sienna or raw umber.

• Brown: Burnt umber + ultramarine, warmed with sienna, highlighted with ochre.

• Black: Ultramarine + burnt umber (avoid flat black). Reflect surrounding tones in highlights.

• Red: Burnt sienna + cadmium red, highlighted with orange or gold.

Grass & Trees

Not all trees are simply green—some are grayish, others tinged with red or yellow depending on season and light.

• Grass (Summer): Lemon yellow + ultramarine, brightened with cadmium yellow.

• Grass (Dry/Golden): Yellow ochre + burnt sienna + white.

• Trees (Lush): Burnt umber + ultramarine, layered with sap green.

• Trees (Greyish): Raw umber + ultramarine + white (great for olive or silver-leaved trees).

• Tree Bark: Burnt umber + ultramarine, adjusted with sienna or ochre depending on warmth.

Sky

• Day Sky: Ultramarine + white, deeper toward the top, lighter at horizon.

• Sunset/Sunrise: Cadmium red + cadmium yellow, blended into ultramarine or violet. Add soft peach and lavender layers.

• Stormy Sky: Ultramarine + burnt umber + crimson, softened with gray.

• Night Sky: Ultramarine + ivory black + alizarin crimson for depth. Add touches of cobalt or violet in highlights. Stars pop against slightly varied darks, not a flat black field.

Water

Water is one of the most fascinating subjects—it never stays just “blue.”

• Ocean Blue: Ultramarine + phthalo blue, deepened with burnt umber.

• Greenish Water (ponds, shallow areas): Ultramarine + lemon yellow or phthalo green.

• Turquoise Water: Phthalo blue + viridian + white.

• Reflections: Always add hints of what surrounds the water—sky, sand, trees—because water is a mirror of its environment.

Sand & Beach

• Base Sand: Yellow ochre + white.

• Warm Sand: Add burnt sienna.

• Cool Sand: Add ultramarine.

• Shadows: Use complementary mixes (blue/orange or red/green) to keep them natural.

Developing the Artist’s Eye

As you mix these colors, don’t just memorize formulas—train your eye. Look closely at skin, grass, trees, or skies, and notice what hues are hiding in the light and shadow. The more you practice, the more your eyes will open to God’s endless creativity.

When you see the world this way, painting becomes more than technique—it becomes worship. Each brushstroke is a way of saying: “Lord, I see the beauty You’ve placed here, and I want to reflect it back.”

I hope these Color Mixing guidelines above are something you can use in your painter’s notebook —with space for your own observations. And if you aren't a painter, perhaps it will help you to see the colors around you with new eyes.

XO, Marie