Color swatch with alizarin crimson

I mentioned in my last blogpost that I want to do color swatches in order to find out the range of colors I can get by mixing the paints I have.

I started with mixing acrylic inks. I grabbed the bottle with alizarin crimson and the Dare Orange Molotow refill bottle. I used empty joghurt cups for the mixing (one for the Alizarin Crimson, one for the Dare Orange, one for White and one for Black). Adding the Orange to the Crimson results in a Warm medium red; adding the black results in a dark red which is still warm, not as muted down as burgundy. 

Then I added white and got some interesting pinks. 

What did I learn? First of all, liquid acrylics are harder to mix than acrylic paints out of the tube. The next thing I noticed was the importance of adding only a tiny amount of black to the red. Just touch the black ink with the brush ever so lightly, otherwise it will get way too dark. 

I'll continue with color swatching and will keep the paper scraps in a box. I write down the names of the colors which I used for the mixing and the steps I am taking. This is the beginning of something which I find useful and enjoyable!