12 
Red, yellow, and blue, when mixed together, will also produce brown, 
and even black, when in the following proportions, “ fifteen parts blue, 
“ five of red, and three of yellow;” or, without observing this nicety in 
proportioning the parts, which is rather speculatively than practically just, 
let your eye be your guide: it may be easily done. But Avhat may be 
surprising to those unacquainted with the nature of colours, all the seven 
mixed together will produce white; and though not a pure colour, yet one 
that can be called nothing else; and if not useful as a colour, it is of im¬ 
portance to know, that all the variety of tints, when mixed together, destroys 
the strength of each other, and produces a weak unmeaning one. There 
are other combinations also that produce white, as will be mentioned 
hereafter. But from what little has been said, a person, unacquainted with 
the theory, will have a more enlarged idea of the property of each colour, 
and will be better able to tell what effect the mixing such and such colours, 
on the pallet, will have. They will be aware, that the orange, though 
formed to the hand by the colourman, is a mixture of the primitive colours, 
red and yellow ; that green is a mixture of yellow and blue, and so on. It 
will be obvious also, from very little practice, that by dividing, or separating 
the particles of each colour, either by spreading them thinly with water upon 
paper, or by mixing white with them, any tint may be produced, from the 
fullest the colour itself will make, to the palest degree of it next to white; 
and it must be observed, that in objects which are all of one colour, for 
instance, all red or all blue, those parts of them that the light strikes full 
upon, appear paler and lighter than the other parts, which, without being 
in shade, are not so strongly enlightened. Now it is the business of a 
painter to imitate this effect of light upon an object, either by the artifice of 
spreading the colour thinly upon those parts, and leaving it thicker upon 
the others, or by using the colour, mixed with white, to make it lighter, 
which produces the same effect. How every colour and tint, to be met with 
in nature, is to be formed, either the experience gained by practice, or the 
seeing another person do it, must inform a learner; so many colours being 
produced by working one tint over another on the paper. Therefore 
we must leave this part of the business, and proceed to the arrangement 
of colours. 
