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Want Your Colors to Look Like Fine Art? The Magic is in The Mud!

If your paintings feel flat, chaotic, or a little “meh”, it might not be your skill level. It’s probably your color. 

And before you go buying another tube of paint … pause. 

Because the secret to rich, sophisticated fine art is not more color, it’s dirtier color. It’s layered color. It’s …. Mud.

I used to avoid muddy colors like they were going to personally ruin my career. I thought if my colors weren’t bright and clean and straight out of the tube, I was doing it wrong. Add in a whole lot of self-doubt from not going to art school, and whew … it was a mess. 

Or, I guess you could say it wasn’t messy enough.

Over time, I learned that the magic is in the mud, and this changed everything. When you start mixing complementary colors and creating those less saturated, neutral tones, your paintings shift. They gain depth. They feel intentional. They start to look like fine art instead of just … color on canvas. 

Mud is the Secret Sauce to Color Mixing for Fine Art

Most artists are obsessed with bright, saturated colors. And listen, I get it. Color is FUN. 

But when everything in your painting is loud, nothing stands out. 

When you introduce neutral, desaturated tones, everything changes. Your bright colors pop more. Your composition breathes. Your work starts to feel elevated instead of chaotic. 

And that mud you’ve been avoiding? That’s where your most interesting, sophisticated colors are hiding.

Here’s what you’ll take away from this episode:

• Why fully saturated color is actually holding your art back
• How mud creates depth, richness, and color cohesion
• A simple way to mix 10+ stunning colors from just a few tubes

Until next time, y’all!

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Have a question for Jodie? Ask it here: https://forms.gle/hxrVu4oL4PVCKwZm6 

Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review so I can keep bringing peeps all the need-to-know about Honest Art®. We artists have to stick together, right? 

Interested in being a guest on a future episode of Honest Art®? Email me at amy@jodieking.com!

Resources Mentioned: 

• Join The Color Course for Rebels Between May 4th – May 17th, you’ll also receive the Mother Color Bonus + 10 Best Abstract Painting Techniques Bonus: https://www.jodiekingart.com/ccfr  
• Enrollment is NOW OPEN for my Austin 2026 and Australia 2027 in-person workshops! Join me?
• Make Better Art. Sell More of It. Feel DAMN Good Doing It with the Honest Art® Society
• Check out Episode 146: The #1 Painting Mistake: Choosing Color over Value: https://jodieking.com/episode-146-the-1-painting-mistake-choosing-color-over-value/ 

• Have a question for Jodie? Ask it here: https://forms.gle/hxrVu4oL4PVCKwZm6 
• How are you liking the Honest Art® Podcast? Leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform and let us know!    
• Watch this full episode on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMquJfuMsSg0fr46BRdia1cWd-81GThzF

Want more from Jodie?

Learn from Jodie:

🎨The Color Course for Rebels: https://www.jodiekingart.com/ccfr  

🎨Honest Art® Society: https://www.jodiekingart.com/has 

🎨Studio Elite: https://www.jodiekingart.com/studioelite  

See some of Jodie’s favorite resources:

✍🏻Check out my free guide on how to hang and wire a painting: https://www.jodiekingart.com/how-to-hang-a-painting 

✍🏻Get my top 10 studio tools here: https://www.jodiekingart.com/10-studio-tools-opt-in 

✍🏻Learn 5 things they don’t teach you in art school: https://jodieking.com/work-with-me#free-rescources.0  

✍🏻See Jodie’s favorite things: https://www.amazon.com/shop/jodie_king_ 

🧘🏼‍♀️Guided Meditation for Creative Clarity: https://www.jodiekingart.com/guided-meditation

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