earth · Oil and Watercolor

Burnt Umber

A warm dark brown. Replaces black in many mixtures without going dead.

IndexPBr7

Color#46281B

Tinting strength6/10

Opacitysemi-transparent

Lightfastnessexcellent

Dryingvery fast

In watergranulates

Middling strength: it mixes politely and does not take over.

With white, step by step

pure #46281B 6:1 #5A3726 3:1 #68412F 2:1 #724A36 1:1 #875C45 1:2 #9D725A 1:3 #AA8168 1:6 #BE9A81 pure #F8F7F3

From pure Burnt Umber on the left to titanium white on the right. Watch how much chroma you lose on the way — that is the cost of lightening with white, and the reason a tint often needs a trace of something warm putting back.

What to mix it with

These are the partners that take Burnt Umber furthest towards neutral, which makes them the ones you reach for when you need a shadow or a gray rather than a color.

with Mars Black quietest point #1E1C1B with Zinc White quietest point #FBFAF7 with Payne’s Gray quietest point #333533 with Titanium White quietest point #F8F7F3 with Ivory Black quietest point #23201E with Ultramarine quietest point #34383B

Every pair

Titanium White Zinc White Lemon Yellow Cadmium Yellow Light Cadmium Yellow Deep Yellow Ochre Raw Sienna Naples Yellow Cadmium Red Light Cadmium Red Deep Alizarin Crimson (permanent) Quinacridone Rose Indian Red Burnt Sienna Raw Umber Ultramarine Cobalt Blue Cerulean Blue Phthalo Blue Prussian Blue Phthalo Green Viridian Chromium Oxide Green Dioxazine Purple Ivory Black Mars Black Payne’s Gray

Is it on your palette?

Tick off what you own and every recipe is worked out for that set, from a color you pick out of your own photo.

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