Quinacridone Purple - Pigment Violet 55 ( PV55)

This is a new colour introduced by Daniel Smith in early 2011, who claim exclusivity, at least for the present.  It is a transparent non-granulating, medium staining, pigment described by the pigment website www.artiscreation.com/violet.html as a `Bluish Violet to Violet Blue'. Note there is no such thing as a `true' purple pigment which would be `PP' so we are in fact seeing a variation of violet. As a Quinacridone there won't be any of the possible lightfastness (fading) problems with dark violets like PV23 and PV37.

Up to now most purple shades listed by manufacturers have been convenience formulations composed of  a red and a blue. There are a few single pigment mixes, one being Dioxazine Purple (PV37 Graham) - but see previous comment. The usual method of creating a purple is to mix a red and a blue. But which red and which blue?  The Daniel Smith Purple is a mix of Ultramarine Blue (PB29) and Quinacridone Rose (PV19 - Violet Shade?) .For those who follow the single pigment argument - and not everyone does - the idea of such a purple holds attraction. Recently the colour has become available in the UK, initially it seems only via the SAA (Society of All Artists)  www.saa.co.uk/ I have just bought a tube and made the following swatches as well as giving small amounts to Yvonne Harry and Jan Weeks, fellow friends in Avon Valley Artists, to test. North American artists can obtain it from the Daniel Smith website and also their retail shops plus other designated stockists.

The swatches on the left are pure Quinacridone Purple with the strongest at the bottom. The orange is Schminke Translucent Orange, a sort of compliment although not exactly so. I haven't explored the possibilities for mixing with other colours. 

Yvonne Harry  `Fuschias' using Quinacridone Purple
www.yvonneharryfloralwatercolours.com
www.watercolourflorals.blogspot.co.uk

Yvonne's comments are:

".......I have used it on the attached painting as promised. There was enough for the top two blooms, mainly, and then I had to mix my equivalent for the bottom flower. You can see that it is much duller than the upper two. .........I expected it to be closer to a blue than a magenta, but why I should think that I have no idea. I mixed it occasionally with Opera Pink and where I needed darks I dropped a little Ultramarine into the wet paint. This seemed to do the job.

Like all Daniel Smith paints I have tried, it flowed well, remoistened easily and was a pleasure to use. I am converted to the Daniel Smith and Graham paints for the future.I think it makes lovely shades of purple/magenta and the fact it is a single pigment does give it more freshness.and transparency.. All in all I was delighted to use it and am having some of that. I have ordered a tube from the SAA as Jacksons had none in stock".

Jan Weeks has this to say:

" I have tried out the Quinacridone Purple, a lovely clear colour, and I would imagine it would be very useful for painting flowers, but would have limited use in landscapes and figurative work. I don't think I will be adding this one to my palette but enjoyed testing it".

Yvonne is mainly a flower painter with Jan more of a landscape artist so you have two viewpoints starting from different directions. I do think it will be very useful for flowers and possibly some still lifes.

ADDED 17/10/2019. After several months this paint went hard and could not be squeezed out. I discarded it but when it now happens, and it does with several other paints, especially those with added white, I cut the tubes open and use as pan paint. This works with the first tried the Daniel Smith Lunar Black. PV55 has now been introduced in other ranges including the budget one Van Gogh and also White Knights.

Gerard Hendriks - A Master of Watercolour

I continue to discover fabulous new artists - to me -  by the score.  One I have been made aware of in recent months is the Dutch watercolour painter Gerard Hendriks. Gerard is very well-known in Europe and has an enormous following. Although I subscribe to magazines like The Artist, and previously Leisure Painter and International Artist, I've never seen him mentioned, or many of the others, let alone featured. Why is this? Is it a language barrier or does it have deeper implications? Fortunately some changes are taking place and Gerard is highlighted in two of Robin Berrys  2011 books, including the `Compedium of Watercolour Tecniques' which I reviewed recently. Originally he painted in a very `photorealistic' manner in other mediums but gradually moved towards watercolour and his present  highly impressionistic and vivid colourist style.

Gerard Hendriks

I came across Gerard on Facebook, an incredible source of fabulous artists and their paintings. He is truly prolific with a wide range of subject matter that includes Sports, Flowers, Still Lifes, Birds, Wildlife and Landscapes. I have seen many examples of his work and his use of colour, together with a loose and adventurous approach appeals to me very much. We are friends on Facebook and when I contacted him with the idea for this post he was most helpful.

Poppies - Gerards most recent painting 57cm x 76cm although I'm sure this has now been superceded

Gerard at work.

 His Studio

He also paints in a more conventional position

What many artists are interested in are the materials that top artists use. In Gerards case he favours Hahnemuhle Leonardo 600gsm (300lb) rough. The only immediate UK source I knew for this paper was Ken Bromley but then found after some digging that Great Art, Jacksons, the SAA, Heaton Cooper and Artdiscount, all sell it although it isn't exactly prominent on their websites, nor does it appear in either the Great Art or Jacksons catalogues, despite them featuring several other Hahnemuhle papers. Viktoria Prischedko also favours Leonardo. The only reason I can think for this is that, being 300lb, it is expensive and not really a sensible buy for most amateurs so sales are in a niche market. Jacksons are apparently discontinuing this paper and are offering it at a cut price while stocks last.

Gerard only uses tube paints, a mixture of Rembrandt and Old Holland both well-known Dutch makes.

Rembrandt appears to be the main one with some specific colours from Old Holland. His palette is : Alazarin Crimson, Karmijn (Carmine), Perm Kraplak (Permanent Alazarin), Cadmium Red Dark, Cadmium Red Light, Cobalt Violet (Old Holland), Quinacridone Rose, Permanent Red Violet, Cadmium Yellow Dark, Cadmium Yellow Light,  Lemon Yellow, Gamboge (Old Holland), Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Blue/Green, Turquoise Blue, Cerulean Blue, Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Deep, Prussian Blue, Neutral Tint, Ivory Black, Chinese White. That makes 23 colours but he only uses a limited number in each painting, depending upon subject. His basic palette is Permanent Kraplak (Alazarin), Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow Dark, Yellow Ochre, Cerulean Blue, Cobalt Blue and Prussian Blue.

As for brushes they are long handled Chinese brushes, which he imports from China, together with cheap flat varnish brushes 2cm and 5cm, several others of which he doesn't know the English name however here we are. 

Gerard does most of his watercolours in the studio but also paints plein air. He says he has no big stack of sketchbooks but draws directly on the board with pencil b4 and "lets all the lines, also the wrong lines, stand on the board". He then begins the painting process, the dry paper sometimes upright, sometimes flat, using lots of water and pigment, splashing paint on and letting it drip off and always retaining the beautiful parts (happy accidents?) that occur. If necessary he uses nails, credit card, the back of a paintbrush or a pencil to draw or scratch in the wet paint, everything to obtain a good result. He admits he does all sorts of things that are supposedly `not allowed'  but doesn't worry about that as he considers only two things matter, painting in a way you enjoy and obtaining a good artistic result. His ethos is that painting is an exciting adventure, a kind of safari behind the easel. 

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Now for some of his paintings.

This  painting of the cheetah is actually acrylic all others watercolour

The above selection gives a good coverage of most of the subjects that Gerard paints. I have read that he `specializes' in wildlife, but flowers, still lifes and landscapes appear almost as frequently. I think them stunning.

If you are as taken by the above as I am then you can follow this up by visiting his website www.gerardhendriks.net/ where many more paintings are displayed, and also Youtube to view three demonstration videos. Just search on there for `Gerard Hendriks' videos. If you Google `Gerard Hendriks' lots more comes up.

My Paintings at Crantock

At this stage I'll bite the bullet and show you my paintings at Crantock. Actually I'm quite pleased overall and they are better as a group than those I did on previous CR courses, much better in some instances. I don't think anyone - well some may but not the majority of us - does their best painting on courses like this. The circumstances and pressures are against it and the true success or otherwise of the course will be evident over the next few months providing you work hard at the lessons learned.

Unknown Lifeboatman -Courtesy Crantock hotel

This is the photograph I chose to paint on the first day. There were no details of who he was or where but we can date it to around 1900. The only clue is the word `Whitby'. I assume this to be the well-known fishing village on the East Coast of North Yorkshire.

Lifeboatman Whitby. A3 Moldau 130gsm not.

I was pleased at the time and remain so after reflection. I learned a lot from the way Charles painted his figure, with the use of colour and the way the same colours were repeated in the rest of the painting. I just hope I can consolidate the lesson. At the critique Charles called the design excellent and commented on the placement of the darks. He made no critical comments or suggestions for change.

Simon. Fabriano Artistico Extra White 20" x 14" Not

 You can see a slightly different angle of Simon on my Day Two post. Although I'm pleased with it I realised the face was possibly slightly too full compared to the length of the head. In other words I should have made the head longer and the face narrower. At least I think so. Nevertheless I rarely get a chance to do a portrait from life, mainly photographs where I can use aids to get the dimensions right. On this occasion I used a pencil to measure proportions so it was a different experience. The left side of the face was in shadow but quite subtle and not pronounced so I didn't overemphasize. It isn't fully realistic but then this isn't the intention.  At the critique Charles was quite complimentary and even though I mentioned the proportion question he didn't think that significant. I should explain at critiques one is first asked how they feel about the painting. Simons wife, a fellow student, quite liked it. 

 Trelice - Fabriano Artistico Extra White 20" x 14" Not.

As I explained earlier on Day Three this was the least satisfactory day of the workshop as the weather conditions were very marginal. I did not paint at all in the morning just watched Charles, who was safely tucked under a large umbrella. I, like most others, didn't bring one to Cornwall. A mistake! After a break  at lunchtime conditions improved so I thought I must attempt something. It isn't overly serious and I only did a portion of the building. Although the light drizzle had more or less stopped the atmosphere was so damp that the watercolour paper seemed to absorb moisture leading to this soft effect.

Still Life - Fabriano Artistico Extra White 20' x 14' Not

Day Four was the eagerly awaited `Still Life' session. After Charles painted his demo several other still lifes were spread over the two rooms. During the week students each get a turn on the front  row and this day was my turn, and we were also given first choice to choose the still life to paint. I should add I took my binoculars and really found no problem in following what Charles did even when  further back. This shocks some when told about it but it works quite well. I chose to paint the same one as Charles. Overall I am pleased although I felt - and still do - that the flowers are better than the objects. In particular the duck is poor. The red pepper and green avocado could be better.. I intend to do some work on painting fruit and peppers. At the critique Charles was complimentary. He probably remembered some of my stuff from previous years!

Still Life (2) Fabriano Artistico Extra White 20' x 14' Not

This, excluding Trelice, was my least satisfactory painting, done on the last day. The flowers could be better and the objects are poor, particularly the red teapot and the yellow mug. As there was no critique the final evening I avoided what I am sure would have been some less complimentary remarks.

As far as critiques go Charles does not shirk from pointing out what he thinks is wrong or could be better but, like most other workshop teachers, goes easy on his students. If there are major problems I think he'll say so and did on one or two occasions but not in a manner that upsets or depresses those on the receiving end. Possibly he's more frank when speaking to individuals rather than in a full classroom scenario. I'm not averse to being criticized and always hope for a frank opinion. I think he gets the balance about right.

Charles Reid at Crantock - Day Four

On Tuesday, the fourth day of the course, the subject was `Still Lifes'. This is one of Charles specialities where he combines flowers with a variety of other objects. They aren't pure flower paintings but paintings with flowers in them.

The duck was added later and some rearrangement took place.

Initially Charles began with Schut Flamboyant 250gsm 50% cotton paper. This was at the request of his wife who particularly likes the effects created on this paper, which is extra rough. Charles started with a silhouette at top. Draw some and then paint, make sure white shapes are large enough. No details initially. Draw with brush, not over much pencil work. Be very careful with white flowers not to make the details too dark. Tonal values were explained once more. Charles considers them far more important than colour. If you get the tonal values right that's half the battle. Make more light and shade in lighter flowers but do the negative shapes first. This is the only way to get form in lighter flowers. Make the shading quite light otherwise it won't look right. He then began painting using Cadmium Yellow + blues for his greens. A little Raw Sienna added to warm them up. The brush was worked in an up and down motion using colour straight from the paint wells. By this time it was obvious he was not happy as the paper did not seem to be taking the paint very well. After a pause he decided to scrap it and start again! Fortunately Judy was absent at this time and only returned when the second attempt was well under way.

The Schut disaster - as Charles says `mistakes are part of it'! He actually progressed further than this and it wasn't looking good.

This time the paper was Schut Noblesse which he compares favourably to Fabriano. As time had been lost he really got a move on with this painting. After the drawing was completed he started using a No12 brush. This is the largest one I've seen him use and he did switch to smaller sizes later. While Charles was painting almost vertically he indicated this was not his normal preference, which is to have the board at 35/40 degrees. It was interesting to note how he dealt with the three groups of small coloured flowers by reducing the number and making the individual blooms larger. When he painted the pepper he used Alazarin Crimson + Cadmium Red plus Cobalt Blue for the dark areas. He said Cobalt is his favourite blue. The lemon was painted with the cast shadows Raw Umber. The duck was Cobalt Blue, Raw Sienna, Viridian and Cerulean. After this he painted the sky followed by the background. He added an Avocado on the right hand side. He painted a yellow pepper on the left hand side and added another brush just touching the original one but at a different angle. Finally some small areas were overpainted. Then he stopped.

 Still Life - Schut Noblesse  300gsm 50 x 40cm Not

After lunch the students selected a still life arrangement of which there were several spread over the two rooms. I elected to attempt the one that Charles had done. Later at 6pm a critique took place.

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.

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.