Back to Painting

Having had a barren last week as far as painting is concerned I needed to get the paint brushes flowing again, so after some little thought decided to attempt a flower painting. This was prompted by two nice plants of Phlox Maculata in the garden that had come into full bloom just as we returned from Devon. I cut two stems, stuck them in a jam jar and off I went.

For the initial drawing I had to restrain myself from making it too detailed as the flower heads are a mass of small blooms. I think I did slightly. I used a mechanical  07 Pentel 120 A3 DX with a 2B lead. I have a mass of drawing instruments but use this one quite frequently. Pentel do a very good range including the 120 series and the Sharplet.

Phlox Maculata - Centenaire 16" x 12" 140lb (300 gm) not

As far as colour was concerned this was fairly restricted, although I admit the shade in the painting is not quite right compared to the actual plant which is more of a lavender pink colour. Colours used were mainly Quinacridone Rose (Graham PV19), Ultramarine Violet (Rowney PV15) plus a little Cobalt Magenta (Rowney PV14) and Certulean Blue. The Greens were various dilutions of Hookers Green (Graham).

Brushes used were the Isabey 6228 Kolinsky Sizes 8 and 6. The whole painting took about 1 1/2 hours with breaks.

Plein air, Watercolour books and other bargains

Last week we were on holiday in Devon, which is in the South West of England. We already live in an area that is classified as the South West but Devon is further south, only Cornwall further away. I took a full painting kit even though the weather forecast was poor (or very poor). In fact the general area we were staying in near Newton Abbot had several red warnings from the Met office and some places quite close suffered devastating floods. Where is this heading? Essentially in a roundabout way I am saying that conditions, rain most days, although mostly intermittent,  precluded any substantial plein air activity, but I did get one short session in at Kingsbridge, which is further down near the coast.

This is the scene I was facing. I have more photographs.

 Unfinished sketch 16" x 12" Centenaire 140lb not

The previous day we had been to Trago Mills, a very well known major discount operation and something of an institution - they sell everything - close by. They have three such, the other two in Cornwall where the original one is on the site of what had been a large mill. Trago has an art section where a limited range of products are on offer including Daler Rowney Artists watercolours. The full range (79 colours) was for sale and I purchased two tubes of Cobalt Blue Deep for only £5.59p each! The RPP is £15,25p and even Jacksons are £8.80p, while most other artist quality Cobalt Blues are around £12.00p. Series A were £3.99p while B/C are £5.59p. See what Handprint say about Rowney Cobalt Blue Deep. Except for the fact I'm overloaded with paint at present I would have bought more.

And that isn't all! Trago sell books (what don't they sell) and amongst some art books I found a copy of  the  `The New Encyclopedia of Watercolour Tecniques' by Diana Craig and Hazel Harrison (Search Press 2011), originally published as `The Encyclopedia of Watercolour Tecniques' in 2004. I have recently been evaluating this book (both from the library) together with `The Compedium of Watercolour Techniques' by Robin Berry, again Search Press, for a feature on the blog and it struck me these are useful books and not just for beginners. I won't go into detail because I'll be covering, and comparing them, in more detail in the next two weeks. Trago had several copies most of which were £9.49p (RPP £12.99p). However quite by chance I picked up a brand new copy that was priced at  £5.99p and that was what I paid! I've left the best until last.

Paperback 128 pages AC Black , London 1985 (reprinted 1987) Size 81/4 x 103/4

These days it is very difficult to find a real book bargain. You do get some fair prices on Abebooks  but in general used booksellers have the market tied up and  finding a bargain is rare. In fact the reverse is true. Quality books tend to rocket in price once out of print and those by many well-known artists may be priced at several times the original cover price. UK sellers can be expensive and when on holiday to the USA and Canada I have found that used books are generally far more reasonable and availability very good..

With the mushrooming of charity shops in the UK in recent years many sell some used books. Stocks vary  but there is always a chance you might find something good. A couple of years ago in Keynsham two miles from my home, I found several which obviously had come from the same person, including a copy of `Watercolor' by John Pike. The late John Pike, he of the JP palette, is  famous in the USA and his books much sought after. I didn't buy it at less than £10 and have regretted this ever since, though as a matter of principle I don't tie myself in knots over what might have been. When I was in Kingsbridge a wander up the high street spied a charity shop with some books. The book above was the result. I have two John Blockley books, an A5 paperback published in association with Daler Rowney and the hardback `Country Landscapes in Watercolour' (1982). At this moment I also have `The Challenge of Watercolour' (1979), another hardback, on loan from the library. These latter two seem to be his best known and I confess I didn't know the book above which was published in 1985 so in many respects it supercedes the others. It has the advantage of being in colour whereas the earlier books are mainly monochrome. Just out of curiosity when  home I looked it up on Abebooks and found several copies for sale from different booksellers. The cheapest was £22.98p including carriage, and the others ranged from £31.35p to £51.35p!!! I paid £2.99p for a mint copy with just a pencil inscription on the inside cover.

The weather might not have been great last week and the plein air painting plans a washout but there were other compensations!

Still Life

With only four weeks to go to my Charles Reid course in Cornwall I am stepping up the (practice) painting and also intend to view several of his videos again. This was an attempt at a still life with a mixture of fruit, my favourite milk jug and a coffee mug.

Fruit and Things

Initial Drawing

Fruit and Things

My wife says the fruit is too much in line and the apple on the right should have been brought forward. I'm sure this is so but, as CR says, `mistakes are part of it'. 

Colours on the jug were a mixture of Cerulean Blue, Ultramarine, Cobalt Blue Deep (Rowney PB72)and some diluted Permanent Mauve (Rowney PV23). The mug was similar but more so. The orange is Cadmium Orange (Maimeri PO20) and Raw Umber. The apples a mixture of Permanent Carmine (W & N), Cadmium Yellow Light, Permanent Green (Maimeri) and? I used a red watercolour pencil to put in some texture on the apples. The peach on the left has strong mixes of  Perylene Maroon as well as Permanent Carmine and some yellow, also Burnt Umber.. The grapes a mixture of Perylene Maroon (Rowney PR179) and Quinacridone Rust (Gaham PO48) The shadows are mainly Cerulean Blue. Usual brushes with the No 6 & 9 Rosemary Series 33 Kolinsky predominating. I think it okay but nothing more than that. Comments welcome.

Greens

The use of greens, primarily in landscapes, is one of the challenges in watercolour painting. Some avoid them entirely but  are they such a problem? I don't suggest mine is an expert view, just various thoughts and suggestions that may help. This is  a recent exercise as I felt I needed to revisit the subject. The colours were mixed on the paper, the first put down and then the second added. If you mix them in the palette the result will be different and a more homogenous colour will emerge.

 There are several basic approaches although mixing blues and yellows is probably the most popular. Another is to add other colours, starting with the earth colours, to a convenience green like  Hookers Green, in my case the Maimeri version. Sap Green could be another choice. This is generally a lighter mix than Hookers although the pigments are often the same. Each manufacturer has a different view of what constitutes a Hookers or Sap Green and formulations aren't identical.  I have also tried Viridian, which is a single pigment (PG18) paint, and there are others like Olive Green (PG17) and Cobalt Green (PG50), the latter coming in several shades.

 Another method is to start with either the blue (PG7) or yellow form (PG36) of Phalo Green and mix touches of, for example Burnt Sienna or Raw Umber and see what happens. PG7 mixes darker shades. Obviously the proportion of each colour determines the final result.  Why not use these straight green colours? The obvious answer is that they are nearly all to a greater or lesser degree unnatural looking, especially compared to Natures greens in the UK. I should add convenience greens abound, particularly from makers like Old Holland who list over 20. Most contain one or other Phalo greens. Unless you have a very limited palette you can probably mix many of these shades from existing paints.

The paper used is Fabriano Artistico Extra White Not. I have numbered the swatches 1 to 46 but a few `experimental ones'  aren't relevant.The first column on the left starts with Hookers Green from Maimeri. This is purportedly PO49 (PV49 in the literature) and PG7. As PO49 is now unavailable they must be using some other pigment. From top to bottom Gold Ochre (W & N PY42), Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber and finally Burnt Umber. The second row is Viridian with the same colours added. There are some interesting mixes here. The next five columns, excepting the single swatch of Ultramarine Violet/Transparent Yellow, are blues.  The darkest are those mixed with PB60 Indanthrone Blue, here the Maimeri Faience Blue, which you would expect as this pigment is very dark valued, only exceeded by black. If you click on the photo to enlarge it you should be able to read what the mixes are. The final three columns are experimental (19, 29, 39) and include mixes where reds like Permanent Carmine, Permanent Rose (Both W & N) and Avignon Orange (Maimeri), have been added to Hookers. The yellows used were Indian Yellow (Rowney PY153), Transparent Yellow (W & N PY150), Cadmium Yellow Light, Hansa Yellow Medium (DS PY97) and Greengold (Rowney PY129), actually a yellow green.

These swatches will give some idea of what to expect and they can be varied considerably depending on what proportion of each pigment is added. They are also affected by the order they are put down, yellow on blue or blue on yellow. If you don't want the bother you can mix on the palette and add small amounts of either colour until you get what you want. Comments welcome.

More Flowers and Fruit.

I tried another flower painting the other day allied with my usual additions of fruit. This time the flowers came from my small garden and I picked them with two things in mind. They were shapes and colour.

I first of all made a faint outline drawing then started with the centre dark leaves moving from there  to the other areas. I had no intention of drawing (and painting) flowers that are readily identifiable. The only ones that are are the yellow Coreopsis.  This is about shapes and colours which are identifiable as flowers but not specific. My drawing was the modified contour method pioneered by Charles Reid, but I realise I have a way to go as I don't have his sure touch. I also tried to link everything together in a balanced way. 

 Flowers & Fruit 140lb (300gsm) Centenaire 16" x 12" Not

Various colours were used including Indian Yellow (Rowney PY153) for the yellow flowers darkened in places with Raw Sienna. The centres are Burnt Umber. The purple flowers were Permanent Mauve (Rowney PV23) with touches of Permanent Carmine (Winsor & Newton PR N/A). Pinks are Permanent Rose (W & N PV19) and the greens were based on Maimeri Hookers Green with Green Gold (Rowney PY129), and some blue. The dark leaves are a mixture of Avignon Orange (Maimeri PR206) and Burnt Umber. The jug is Cerulean (W & N PB35) with touches of Cobalt Blue Deep (Rowney PB72). The apples were mixtures of Permanent Carmine and Hansa Yellow Medium (Daniel Smith PY97).  The orange was Cadmium Yellow (Maimeri PO20) and Raw Sienna for the darker areas. The grapes were mostly Perylene Maroon (Rowney PR179). Mostly mixed on the paper. I've probably missed some colours out.

Brushes were my usual Rosemary Series 33 Kolinsky Sizes 6 and 9. Note also my second try with Centenaire paper. On this subject I also think it worked well. 

I'm very happy to receive comments. What do you think?

Wildflowers (and Fruit)

Being very discontented with my last offering I followed my normal procedure and instead of sulking pressed ahead with another painting. There are some wonderful wild flowers in a large open meadow, part of the Community wood, near my home. Last week I collected some intending to paint them, but fate intervened in that my youngest grandson was unwell so grandparenting duties intervened.  Fortunately he has recovered but by then the flowers were dead! I determined to have another shot and there were still plenty of fresh flowers so I collected a bunch yesterday. I'm not sure as to the exact legality by doing this  but I didn't dig them up and none were rarities so ........!

  

Wildflowers with added fruit

I added the fruit as I felt the area around my favourite jug looked a little lonely.

I did the intial drawing with a loose outline to start, erasing some of the marks later and then commenced the drawing proper, avoiding becoming too detailed, with the pink flowers in the centre. Once completed I started painting those same pink flowers.

 

Wildflowers & Fruit. Fabriano Artistico 90lb Not 15" x 11"

As you will note I painted on 90lb Fabriano and find this weight perfectly satisfactory for my sort of painting with no large washes. Colours used were Permanent Rose and Opera Rose (both W & N) for the pink flowers. As they had a violet tinge, particularly in the shadows I added Ultramarine Violet (Rowney PV15). Yellows are mainly Hansa Yellow Medium (Daniel Smith PY97) and a little Indian Yellow (Rowney PY153). Ultramarine Violet was also used for some of the flowers plus Permanent Carmine (W & N PR N/A) with a little Cadmium Orange (Maimeri PO20). The greens were mainly Hookers Green (Maimeri) adulterated with eithers Burnt Sienna or darkened with Faience Blue (Maimeri PB60), Burnt Umber also. The jug was mostly Cerulean (W & N PB35) with some Ultramarine Violet. On to the fruit with the grapes Perylene Maroon (Rowney PR179), the orange Cadmium Orange and Raw Umber and the apple mainly Permanent Carmine with touches of yellow and green. Raw Sienna in the background.

Brushes used were Rosemary series 33 No 9 and Da Vinci Maestro Size 6.

I'm much happier with this than the previous painting. I intend to do more still lifes incorporating flowers but also studies of fruit and  possibly vegetables. I like the shapes and brilliant colours of peppers. Having been studying Shirley Trevenas work recently and her treatment of fruit, together with that of my guru Charles Reid, I will be striving to improve my treatment of these subjects.

Wild Flowers

The other day I wandered along the lane near my home and collected a bunch of wild flowers, both from the verges of the road, down into the farmers field, and beyond into the community forest. I have done two  paintings with flowers collected from my small garden in the last two weeks, but wasn't really that enamoured of them. Recently I have started to question whether I was becoming too focussed on portraits to the detriment of other subjects. What exactly do I want to paint? I like doing portraits in the loose manner but also  still lifes, incorporating flowers and other objects in the manner of Charles Reid. Pure landscapes? Not really as I prefer old buildings with thatched roofs, and small boats on the rivers and canals around here.

 I managed to collect a good mixture of wild flowers, including a dark-coloured geranium from the verges outside one of the very old buildings along the lane, that may have been a garden escapee. Here is the result.

Wild Flowers- Fabriano Artistico Extra White Not 16" x 12"

I used a lot of colours in this painting. Transparent Yellow (W & N PY150), Cadmium Yellow Pale (Rowney PY35)), Indian Yellow (Rowney PY153) plus Green Gold (Rowney PY129). Reds were Permanent Carmine (W & N PR N/A), Opera Rose (W & N), Permanent Rose (W & N PV19). Greens were mixed partly from  yellows and blues except for Hookers Green (Maimeri PO49/PG7)) which was modified with Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna and darkened with  Faience Blue (Maimeri PB60). The geraniums were Permanent Mauve (Rowney PV23) with some Carmine added. Other blues were Cerulean (W & N red shade) and French Ultramarine (Rowney PB29). A lot of the colours were mixed on the paper. The limited palette artists might flinch but flower painters usually have larger palettes and so do I. Opera Rose? A paint with limited lightfastness, although W & N say it is still better than many paints used in the past. I used it sparingly.

Conversely I only used three brushes. All Rosemary, Series 33 Kolinsky rounds in sizes 6 & 8 and Series 44 pure Kolinsky rigger size 7. Although this brush is called a rigger it is quite full bodied compared to most riggers and more like a very long No.6. I have bought a Da Vinci Series 35 No 8 specifically for flower painting but not used it yet. I quite like the result. Comments welcome.

Alizarin Crimson - Pigment Red 83 (PR83)

We know about `lightfastness' or more commonly `fading' in watercolours. This means that in so-called fugitive paints the original colour changes if exposed to sunlight. The most common effect is the colour just bleaches away. The above book cover is an example of what can happen. Obviously I don't know what the  colour is composed of but it is almost certainly a dye. Paints are not generally offered in watercolour made of or including dyes, although there are a few, Opera by Holbein is one example. The spine of the above book was originally exactly the same colour as the rest. The book has been in my north facing study in a bookcase with only the spine exposed to light, actually facing East. Despite being exposed to very little sun the colour faded in a very short time. This is a perfect example of a fugitive colour and what happens when exposed to light. This is also what happens to Alizarin Crimson PR83, a very popular colour over the years and still offered by such major paint manufacturers as Winsor & Newton, Holbein (Carmine, Rose Madder), Daniel Smith, Sennelier, Graham, Rowney and others.

 Sennelier offer at least four paints with PR83 so do Shin Han. Sennelier claim the paints that have PR83, some included in mixtures, are `moderately lightfast'.  Shin Han claim paints with PR83 are `permanent' or `absolutely permanent'. Sometimes instead of Alizarin Crimson we have names like Carmine or Rose Madder, Madder Lake etc. Holbein claim that their Carmine and Rose Madder, both PR83, are `absolutely permanent' despite what Bruce McEvoy, the ASTM (now known as ASTM International formerly American Society for Testing and Materials), Hilary Page, Michael Wilcox and others have found when testing this pigment. Rowney claim it is `normally permanent' and Winsor & Newton `moderately durable'. Daniel Smith call it like it is and list Alizarin Crimson PR83 as`fugitive'. Charles Reid has used Holbeins Carmine for years and this is pure PR83. He says that he has never had any complaints about fading. I think though he has now switched to the `Permanent' version, possibly from Winsor & Newton.

Read what Bruce McEvoy of Handprint says, having extensively tested this pigment,  with illustrations of what happens when it is exposed to light. His recommendation AVOID. If you use this pigment I urge you follow the link,  read what he says and view the examples he gives. www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/waterfs.html. The ASTM, the recognized authority on such things said in 1999 that PR83 was `not sufficiently lightfast to be used in paints' and `poor' to `very poor' in watercolours. If you continue to buy and use it that's a personal decision, but if you sell paintings is it ethical?

 There has been some discussion on Wetcanvas about this pigment and its suggested replacements. The consensus seemed to agree with the ASTM and Handprint findings. How do you avoid it? All the majors put pigment information on the tubes. Very small on many and a magnifying glass may be necessary (!) to read the details but it is there. You can also download pigment charts from virtually all paint manufacturers, although hard to find in some instances.  To their shame the SAA, the `Society for ALL Artists' does not give this information on the SAA range of watercolours, although I did, some time ago, finally receive a sheet giving details after I complained.

I was intending to cover the suggested replacements for Alizarin Crimson PR83 but have decided to do this in a separate piece next week. Interestingly the so-called student makes of Cotman, Van Gogh and Venezia do not offer any paints with PR83 and have switched to more lightfast alternatives.

Flowers ... and Things.

Flowers..and Things.- Canson Fontenay 16" x 12" Rough

The other day I decided that I needed a change of subject and went into my small garden to select some flowers as part of a still life. I added some fruit and two jugs. This isn't a specific flower painting just a painting with flowers in it a la Charles Reid's approach..

I first made a loose drawing and then painted. Not much preparation apart from juggling the still life about and the whole thing was completed in less than two hours. Yes possibly I should have spent more time on planning,  but I have a personal conflict between spontaneity and  deliberation. I should be more deliberate and think more about what I do I realise that, but on this occasion just wanted to get paint on paper with a changed subject after a lot of portrait work in recent months. Hopefully this will open the door to more considered paintings with a similar theme.

Colours used included Cerulean, Cobalt Blue, Indian Yellow (Rowney PY153), Ultramarine Violet (Rowney PV15), Permanent Carmine (W & N PR N/A), Permanent Rose (W & N PV19), Transparent Yellow (W & N PY150) with various blues for the greens. A touch of Greengold (Rowney PY129) and some Burnt Umber for the dark stems and white flower centres. Also touches of Gold Ochre (W & N PY43). I think that's more or less it. Usual brushes with Rosemary Series 33 No 9 prominent.

A word about the paper. I like Canson Fontenay a lot. It has a rough surface on one side and a not on the other. You can choose whichever side you want facing out when you order the blocks. A word of caution. The rough side is not very rough, more like a not on some other makes and the not surface moderately smooth. This suits me but may not suit everyone.  It is also available in sheets. I haven't looked very hard but the only source from the usual suppliers I deal with is Great Art www.greatart.co.uk . The other problem is the price has been increased in the last year and it is now more expensive than both Fabriano Artistico and Waterford, the other two makes I use most often. Still it is a very nice paper. Comments welcome.

Model Portrait

Last weekend the Guardian colour mag had a lovely cover photo of a beautiful model with fantastic hair. I was so taken with it I decided to try and paint her. Unfortunately due to copyright restrictions I can't show the original photograph so you'll have to use your imagination!

Stage 1 & 2. The drawing and first try at the features.

Hair (!), face and lower area.

THE MODEL! Waterford 16" x 12" Not



She has quite dark skin and striking eyes. As for the hair. Wow! The hair was painted mainly with a combination of Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine Blue mixed partly on the paper. There is a little Burnt Umber, Cerulean Blue and Ultramarine Violet (Rowney PV15) plus some Viridian (Rowney), but the main colours are various mixes of the Burnt Sienna/Ulramarine Blue combination.  The face colour is a mixture of Cadmium Red Light, Yellow Ochre, Quinacridone Gold (PO49) and Quinacridone Rust (Graham PO48). with Ultramarine and Cerulean to darken. The colours in the dress are Ultramarine Violet and Cerulean, heavily diluted. Also small touches of Burnt Umber and Burnt Sienna. I used mainly two brushes. The Isabey Size 6 retractable for the features and Rosemary Size9 Series 33 Kolinsky for most of the rest. I also used a long-handled No 4 W & N Cirrus. Comments welcome.

More on Daniel Smith Watercolours

I have now received two Daniel Smith paints, Quinacridone Gold (PO49) and Quinacridone Fuschia (PR202). Five others have just been ordered Cobalt Teal Blue (PG50), Quinacridone Coral (PR209), Quinacridone Pink (PV42), Burnt Tigers Eye (Primatek) and Indigo (PB60,PBk6). Due to the price being so high compared to other leading makes, including Windsor & Newton, I am being selective. Indigo may not seem so but I am intrigued that the DS version is based on PB60, the darkest blue of all, Certainly paints made with PR209, PG50 are available in other ranges but come highly recommended.

Interestingly Daniel Smith offer a `66 Try-it Color Sheet', available from Jacksons at £3.99p  http://www.jacksonsart.co.uk/   . This comprises four rows of Primatek colours at the top, four `Quinacridone, Cadmium & More' ' in the middle and three Luminescent colours at the bottom.

Daniel Smith 66 Try-it Color Sheet

A closer look.

In addition a small three colour sheet is free. This comprises Indigo, Hansa Yellow and Quinacridone Burnt Orange (`One of our most popular colors').

Three Colour Trial Sheet.

On the trial sheet the most interesting one is `Quinacridone Burnt Orange (PO48). This is a fairy new pigment only offered I believe by Smith, Graham and DaVinci at the moment. I would describe it as a `glowing' Burnt Sienna - bright red-orange is Smith's description - , Hansa Yellow is PY97 and Indigo is PB60/PBk6.

I am intrigued by the Primatek range but they are expensive and before buying  I suggest you read what Bruce McEvoy has to say in his very extensive analysis of this range.  www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/primatek.html . Many of the American artists who post on the Wetcanvas forum love Daniel Smith watercolours. The unique paints like the Primateks also have many fans.

Jacksons have already been out of stock of some sizes, including Q Gold and currently Q Rose so I suspect these paints are already moving. For amateurs though price is a big problem, probably also for some professionals. Currently the Daniel Smith paints are more expensive than W & N, Daler Rowney, Maimeri and Scminke to name just four leading makes. Are they worth it?  A full list of the Daniel Smith range is available on the website with full pigment details www.danielsmith.com/item--i-G-284-600Q