How do painters use RYB primaries effectively?

Traditional painters use the RYB (Red, Yellow, Blue) color model, a historical approach to color mixing that predates modern color science. These three are called primary pigments because they can be mixed to create most other colors on a palette.
By combining:

• Red and yellow → orange
• Blue and yellow → green
• Red and blue → violet

These mixtures produce the secondary colors, forming the foundation of the painter’s color wheel. RYB works effectively in paint because it aligns with how natural pigments absorb and reflect light. Painters also rely on complementary colors (opposites on the wheel) to create visual balance — for example, using blue shadows to contrast warm orange highlights. Unlike digital color, which uses light (RGB), RYB deals with pigment interactions, where overlapping colors absorb more wavelengths and create darker, richer tones.

Artists master this by controlling paint thickness, transparency, and layering. So while modern color theory recognizes CMY as more accurate scientifically, RYB remains practical and intuitive for painters, offering expressive, harmonious results through centuries of artistic tradition.