For me brown is an elusive color. In my sketchbook I right down color combinations to experiment with and document what I come up with. I want a rich, lively brown not so much a poop color.
I find that brown makes other colors sing so in essence these are neutral colors.
Recently, there are two color combinations that I save come upon which I like: raw sienna/ultramarine blue/burnt umber and new gamboge/prussian blue/permanent red. These are both lively combinations and look well on their own against the white of the paper.
