How to Choose & Use Red in your Watercolor Paintings

Red is a glorious, vibrant color, so why is it sometimes so hard to paint with it? I’ve made a LOT of mud out of my red paints over the years, and I’ve learned a few things about using red that I’m excited to share with you in this free video lesson.

If you find that your paintings featuring red tend to look muddy, or that mixing red doesn’t give you the bright colors you were looking for, I have some solutions that will help you paint with red more confidently and keep this amazing color vibrant, rich and beautiful.

Top tips:
1. Remember that red is a dark value color. To create contrast, surround it with light value hues, or dilute it to make it lighter.
2. Choose cool reds for brighter mixes of color.
3. Dilute red paint with water to make it look brighter or to create a more luminous, light value of red or pink.
4. Mix red with green to create neutrals and near-blacks.
5. Start light and build up to create richer reds.

Mindset matters, so when you’re working with red, paint with confidence and energy to see your paint and brush respond with authenticity.

Supplies Used: (some links are affiliate links, I receive a small commission when you order using them. Thank you!)

[brijbasi]

I learnt a lot from your demonstration Angela thanks a lot

[Znan]

I'm in! Free course?! You don't see that very often! You explain things very well, easy, enjoyable! Thanks so much, looking forward to learning more!

[jenniefrench]

I love my reds. Although I have quin pink, quin violet, quin coral, my transparent red (warm) is pyrol red, my lt cadmium red I like for mixing my greys. My quins are for balancing my purples to my fav quin coral (which I love for direct strokes that really don't lift). Very beautiful explanation of reds. Also the short fast points without brain overload. 🤗

[judybreedlove]

Thank you, Angela. I signed up for the bootcamp, even though I'm not a beginner. I think we all need reminders on how watercolors work best.

[EvaNichols]

Great topic and demo as usual! My favorite red is Quinacrodone Red - just a bit on the cool side, but close enough for me to use as my primary red. I like to use Permanent Magenta to darken it for the deep, dark reds, and it makes fabulous fire-engine red and oranges with Transparent Yellow or Nickel Azo Yellow (PY 150) which is my absolute favorite yellow because it's so vibrant and transparent.

[constellations]

thanks forward to watercolor bootcamp!

[marymulligan]

Thank you Angela for your Friday classes. Tonight's helps so much for mixing colors. I learn from them as well as your workout. Can't wait for bootcamp.

[rainazichterman]

This is wonderful Angela. Choosing colors to make a painting pop is an art in and of itself. Thank you for this gift ❤️

[cyanelowden]

Thank you Angela! I learned even more about reds than I dreamed about.

[simonnemason]

Thank you for all that info. Really helpful.

[eleniphotos]

You're such a great teacher! Red is my fav color (always as been in everything!) but I never thought magenta as a cooler red! Thanks for that.

[nanwool]

Thanks for a great video on reds. I have a hard time trying to decide if a color is a warm color or a cool color.

[TheTrishDavis]

Thanks for this demo on reds. I have also noticed how difficult it is to get an nice orange. I love magenta and now can mix it more confidently.

[jancorcoran]

Thanks Angela. You always simplify things in a way that makes it so easy to see and understand. Now I get it! I’ve had some trouble with this and now I know why. Love colour so much I sometimes forget that values are so important. The visual with the black and white was really a great way to illustrate this.

[alexthecat]

This is a super video for better understanding of values in color. Thank you as always for sharing. You are a generous soul & gifted artist and teacher.

[halinaopala]

Excellent video and explanation about how to use a red colour - thank you Angela.

[janishuntley]

An excellent demonstration of how to use reds. I have often had reds turn muddy and now I know why. There was so much information in your demonstration that I will need to watch the video a few more times but thank you for the help in understanding and using reds.

[thejoydecision]

Exactly the topic I needed right now. Absolutely brilliant 😊. I find my reds more temperamental in how their washes handle!

[salliewhitney]

I’ve done your Bootcamp and it was great, so great that I’m doing Watercolour Workout now. Super content. I’m loving it so much. I also enjoyed this discussion of “red” lol — I think I already made all the yuk colors possible from warm reds, but never quite understood that switching to a cooler red might work better. I just started buying mixed pigments. Let Daniel Smith do it. Anyway, thank you!

[sherrylee]

Hi Angela. I loved this video on color theory. I would love to see more demonstrations just like this one. I would also like to see more videos about color values. Thank you so much.