Leaves and Berries

This was the subject at the most recent AVA session. It is a fairly popular subject but even so only 15 or so members were present. 

My vantage point on lower right

Yvonne Harry at work

Gerald Pink

Not sure?

Cath Wilkins

Yvonne Harry - unfinished

Peter Ward

An interesting subject enjoyed by all those present. Next week it is `Action'.

Maimeri Watercolours

"A well regarded art materials manufacturer in Milan (Italy)" So says Handprint of this still family owned company started by Gianni and Carlo Maimeri in 1923. ADDED 23/02/19. THE MAIMERI RANGE HAS BEEN REFORMULATED AND ENLARGED SO THIS POST IS NOW OBSELETE. SEE JAN 2019

Maimeri Blu the Artist quality range from Maimeri

The artist quality range shown above comprises 72 colours of which 52 are single pigment paints. There is also a second range - I hesitate to call them student quality - called Venezia with 36 colours. Maimeri were one of the first paints I bought and the reason was good quality combined with an excellent price. I discovered a small discount art materials company called if I recall right `Framework Art & Craft'. They are on the Cheney Industrial Estate in Swindon in one of the units. I believe they still are but unfortunately discontinued Maimeri due to poor sales - they said -so I've not been there for some years.

The verdict of Handprint, albeit with a few quibbles , was :- 

"In most cases the color appearance, pigment quality, lightfastness and handling characteristics rival the watercolors from Daniel Smith, M Graham or Winsor & Newton".....Overall, Maimeri Blu paints are bright, sweet and beautifully formulated...."  

 Not a bad endorsement although he does have a few quibbles and I have one myself. Bruce says the Cobalt Violet is mislabelled and certainly Golden Lake has been for years.  I've never had Cobalt Violet but the Golden Lake was supposedly Quinacridone Gold. However the label said PV49 which is obviously wrong and according to Bruce the pigment is now PY42 `a similar pigment' according to Maimeri, as the only current source of PO49 is Daniel Smith. I contacted Maimeri querying this but received no reply - typical of many companies that don't like awkward questions.  Handprint however has or had considerable clout and he received an e-mail from them with the above information. Incidentally I didn't like the original Golden Lake, not nearly as good as the Winsor & Newton single pigment PO49, now unfortunately a three pigment mix.

Apart from Golden Lake I am happy with most of the Maimeri paints I have with Avignon Orange (PR206) a particular favourite. I also tried a few Venezia paints and found them pretty similar to the main range But don't buy the `Flesh Colour' - horrible. If you check them out many of the colours have the same name and pigment. Unfortunately Venezia is not readily found in the UK.

We now come to the question of pricing and availability. In North America all the main discount specialists seem to sell them often including Venezia and at excellent prices. I do have a problem with the way Maimeri price the paints. They operate four series and series 1 and 2 are quite competitive. 58 of the 72 colours are either series 1 or 2, the majority series 1. The problem arises with those that are series 3 and 4. Why for example is Rose Lake, the red form of PV19, in series 3 when Primary Magenta, the rose form of PV19 is in series 1? The Cobalts, Cadmiums and Cerulean are in series 4, a hefty £15.20p in Jacksons latest catalogue. Winsor & Newtons Cerulean, albeit 14ml as opposed to 15ml, is shown as £12.85p. No contest buy W & N and this applies to the Cobalts and Cadmiums. You really have to look at the pricing in the various makes and compare pigments - not names - to see where the best buys are.

Reflections

This was the subject of last Thursdays AVA session. Slightly down on members with only 12 or so present.

Pat Walker at work.

My setup also with ipad reference 

Slightly únderstrength 

Pauline Vowles

Robert Heal

Gerald Pink

Jo McKenna

Pat Walker

Yvonne Harry (unfinished)

Peter Ward

An interesting session, not one of my favourite subjects but you have to take them as they come and it does stretch you.

Latest Amerindian

This is my latest attempt at an Amerindian circa 1900. I don't know his name or the tribe. 

Unknown - 16" x 12" Centenaire 140lb (300gsm) not

I made an initial pencil drawing using one of my most recent acquisitions a Pentel 07 Graphgear 1000 Draughting pencil. I'm not sure that this is any better than the cheaper Pentels I normally use, possibly more durable. Recent portraits have been done without the time consuming measuring and careful working out or spacing of features. I don't want to become too mechanical in my approach and not be fixated on copying the photo exactly. I don't think the above is too bad in that respect but the facing eye looks a little threatening and perhaps should have been toned down a little. I think the result is fair if not quite up to the standard of my better ones. I'm also trying to stick to Charles Reid's mantra of `small areas of detail, large areas of generality and have been (again) looking at my reports of the Stow workshop and his approach to the portrait he painted.

Colours used for the features and skin were Cadmium Red Light, Raw Sienna and Cerulean. To darken the eye shadows Ultramarine Blue was added. The hair is a mixture of Ultramarine, Burnt Umber and Raw Umber. The colours of the shirt include Quinacridone Gold (Daniel Smith PO49), Raw Sienna, Cobalt Violet etc.

Brushes used were mainly the Isabey retractable size 6 and Rosemary Kolinsky retractable sable size 6 plus Escoda retractable Kolinsky sables sizes 8 and 10. The reason for the retractables is that this was done at my art group Thursday session.

Experimental

This was the title (subject) at the most recent AVA session. In reality we weren't allowed to use a brush except to mix the paints. I went without a clue of what to attempt.  It then transpired we could do an initial drawing so that changed things a little. As I carry much of my kit with me I chose a small palette knife and home-made bamboo pen. I decided to try an Indian portrait using a guide photo from the ipad. I made a quick loose pencil drawing as a preliminary.

Indian Warrior - 16" x 12" centenaire 140lb (300gsm) not

I've never tried anything like this previously (just as well do I hear!) although I've seen it done in a book by the late Zoltan Szabo. He used a palette knife to paint trees. I painted the eyes mainly with the bamboo pen but this was difficult as you cannot pick up much paint, or conversely too much. In other words control is difficult. Apart from a few small touches all the rest was done with the palette knife. I also used my fingers to spread the paint in places. As you can see it is very loose other then the main detail and one of the advantages trying this is it encourages a loose approach. I'm sure with practice I could improve on it. It certainly gives food for thought.

Paint has to be mixed generously and very liquid so you can pick it up. Sometimes you pick up too much but you can spread it about. I made no attempt to get realistic skin tones and used mainly muted colours with blues (Ultramarine Blue) and reds (Quinacridone Rose) to get darks and purples, Raw Umber, Raw Sienna, Gold Ochre and Burnt Umber are also in there together with Sap Green.

Latest Painting - Seed Heads

At the most recent AVA session the subject was seed heads. Not an easy subject but I managed to find a few small branches of berries. Not perhaps as intended when the subjects were drawn up but they are seeds after all.

This was my small arrangement

This is only the second painting I've done since I damaged my hand. I coped alright but  holding paintbrushes is still awkward. The other factor was that I've hardly done anything - not just over the injury - for nearly three months. Apart from the problems of dry paint - necessitating regular use of the spray bottle - I read once that you need to paint three times a week just to maintain existing standards and more than this if you wish to improve. I was therefore slightly apprehensive. I was reasonably happy with the result although it seemed my ability to do small areas of detail is still impeded.

I used a lot of Schminke Translucent Orange (PO71) and lesser amounts of Quinacridone Rose for the berries, Sap and Apatite Green for the foliage and some Teal Blue to make the vase stand out from the background. I know it is far from perfect but hopefully I can continue to improve with regular painting. Brushes were my usual Isabey, Escoda and Rosemary retractables 4, 6 (Isabey), 8, 10 and 12.

New Watercolours from Golden

W.E.Lawrence the Hove art shop and mail order specialist have just announced a new range of watercolours from a company called `Golden Artists Colours'.  The range of 91 colours is described as a `thoroughly modern watercolour'... The name is QoR - pronounced `Core' and is different in that quote `a conservation quality binder is used called Aquasol instead of the traditional gum arabic'. Presumably this implies improved lightfastness and hence longevity, a longstanding question mark against watercolours, although modern pigments are much improved in this respect nevertheless..... 

Lawrence go on to say `We have tested them with some of our art studio tutors and the results have been quite remarkable. One tutor (unnamed) said ",,,,these are absolutely amazing. Some of the colours are beyond good"....They are totally compatible with traditional watercolours....... QoR is an acronym for "Quality of Results"......

What do we have here? There appear to be 91 colours with most of the names similar to that of the main manufacturers. A few variations do exist but overall a good range of colours. As far as I can see there are no pigment details and I don't know if this is given on the tubes. Although it doesn't say so specifically presumably the claim is that these watercolour paints will produce results that won't fade hence the use of `conservation quality'.

Are there any downsides YES THERE ARE! First of all where are the pigment details?  Are they on the tubes? They may be there but I wouldn't consider buying any watercolours without knowing what pigments are used. We then come to the real bombshell PRICE. These paints are only offered in a small  11 ml tube not the more normal 15 or 14 ml or even larger in some instances. There seems to be four series with the cheapest - examples Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna - at the introductory price of £9.20p (rpp£12.95p), Ultramarine Blue is £11.30p (rpp£12.80p), Cadmium Yellow Light, Cobalt Blue, `French' Cerulean Blue (what is that?) all at £14.20p (rpp £19.95p), Indian Yellow £11.30p (rpp £12.80p) and Quinacridone Burnt Orange £12.80p (rpp £17.95p). Work out the price per ml then compare with Winsor & Newton and others. Open mouthed and speechless? I was!

I don't know who these watercolours are aimed at. Are they just for the `top' professionals who can perhaps afford them?  I can't see many amateurs paying these prices when there are superb watercolours available from the established leading manufacturers at lower - in some instances much lower -  prices. Even the brilliant range from Daniel Smith, the most expensive, at least in Europe, are cheaper in the conventional ranges.

If you are interested then I suggest you explore the range at www.lawrence.co.uk.

Added 05/10/2014: Thanks to Beverley (see comment below) I now have full pigment details. the link is  www.qorcolors.com/products/watercolors There are 83 paints not 91. Some 63 are single pigments, 1 four, 9 three and 7 two. Three iridescent paints are included. All paints listed are given either excellent or very good ratings ASTM LF but - oddly - 25 are listed as `not yet tested'. Most or all of these apart from the iridescent ones  contain pigments in common use that other makers have rated. The pdf file also includes details of opacity, staining and granulation.

All the pigments listed are those in use by the leading makers. I can't see anything exceptional or really different. There are a few oddities in paint compositions but in general all seems pretty straightforward. I realise that I haven't tested these paints so they may have some superior qualities but the only difference (on paper) I can see is the use of `aquasol', described as a `conservation quality binder'. I'll be interested in what the artists magazines say about these paints but I won't be trying them at these prices.

Added 10/10/2014: Enclosed with the November issue of `The Artist' is a large 4 page colour brochure giving printed images of all the colours. The back page has  pigment details and other information. From the brochure comes the following:
`Deep, rich beautiful colour, QoR's exclusive binder provides more pigment in every brushstroke while providing the best qualities of traditional watercolours. QoR offers a strength, range and versatility unmatched in the history of watercolours' 

 Some tall claim and I still maintain price is important, with many excellent makes - who have a long history of making watercolours - at lower prices, and with watercolours already expensive I doubt whether this will resonate with many artists. We shall see.

Back to Painting - Mystery Animal

After a hiatus of several weeks with no painting, due to the accident to my hand, concerns about my eyes and other family worries I finally returned to activity last Thursday.  This was at the weekly Avon Valley Artists session with the subject of `Mystery Animal'. We had no idea beforehand what this would be but it materialized as photographs of a specific cat and dog.

We were rather light this week with only ten members present, why I don't know.

Only ten members!

Kath Wilkins at 86 our oldest member (?). That white band is a fault caused by my photography

Yvonne Harry

Jan Weeks

This is mine - the early stages

The completed work - 16" x 12" waterford High White

The large painting at bottom right is pastel.

I was slightly apprehensive after doing nothing for weeks especially as I once read you needed to paint at least thrice weekly just to stand still. On that basis I expected to regress - hor far I wasn't sure.

Birds in Watercolour (2)

This is a selection of bird paintings, some from my favourite artists, others that I like but don't know much about the artist. If I've got any names wrong I do apologize. Corrections welcomed.

Gerard Hendriks

Morten E Solberg Snr

Beata Gugnacka

Bev Jozwiak 

Dean Crouser

Lars Kruse

Peter Nilsson

Susan Crouch

Gerard Hendriks

Vickie Nelson 

Kristen Borresen

Bev Jozwiak

Peter Williams

A varied selection I hope you'll agree and a wonderful demonstration showing different approaches. Even if not into birds the use of colour and movement are worth studying In the case of Bev Jozwiak they MAY be acrylic, I'm not certain as she does vary the mediums she uses.

EXTENSIVE INDEX TO BLOG POSTS - JULY 2014

Graham Watercolour Paints

M Graham and Co, one of the three principal American manufacturers, the others are Daniel Smith and Da Vinci, are one of the favourites of Bruce McEvoy of Handprint (well they would be wouldn't they - just kidding Bruce).

The company are family run and have only been in existence since 1992 so are very much a newcomer to the world of paint makers. In that time the watercolours have gained a good reputation, certainly in America where they are well-priced and widely available, according to Bruce mainly through independent retailers. In England the only source  is Lawrence of Hove who seem to have a monopoly, incidentally also with Da Vinci. In the rest of Europe they are available from Denmark www.gefa-art.dk The only other source outside the USA is in Australia.

The initial offering was only 36 colours but a few years ago, following prodding I feel sure from Handprint, the range increased to 70 colours, 80% of them single pigment paints. I have quite a few Graham paints and a particular favourite is Quinacridone Rust (PO48). All the standard (high quality) pigments are there along with a few exotic ones like Ultramarine Pink (PR259).

This was the best I could find. Look on the Graham site.

As already said Bruce McEvoy of Handprint was effusive in his praise of Graham, probably the best review of any maker `..all in all,  these paints reflect great care and craftsmanship.....one of the most satisfactory brands of watercolour paints'... because of the high pigment load all the paints dilute out to glowing tints' and so on although he does say due to the way they are formulated several paints stain aggressively. See what he says in full on the Handprint site under `watercolour brands'.www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/pigmt2.html . Is this American bias? Try them and make your own mind up. While Bruce praises the American brands generally I think he is sufficiently professional not to let national pride influence his judgement - well not much anyway! Graham have an excellent website where you can see details of the individual colours with pigment details and good colour swatches. www.mgraham.com

We now come to a few caveats based on my own experience. Graham paints are made using a honey humectant which gives them a thick honey like consistency. I have read comments by American artists that Graham paints don't travel well, as in high temperatures they remain very liquid.  This is a problem if you are travelling with a filled paintbox. Schminke, the long-standing German paint maker are against the use of honey although the French firm Sennelier certainly add honey. In earlier posts I related the problems I had with the Mineral Violet (PV16). After a few months the paints resembled a thick brown sludge. Complaints to Lawrence brought a prompt response and Graham supplied a replacement, blaming the pigment supplier which they said had now been changed. The second tube went the same way and the third tube, supposedly problem solved, did the same thing although it took longer to do so. I then gave up and Mineral Violet is no longer on my radar. It does seem as PV16 might be a problem pigment, although I haven't heard anything about other makes so don't really know. The other problem is slightly puzzling. I noticed some tubes were sticky and it appeared that something (honey?) was leaking notably from the yellow ochre. Not all were affected so it may have been only one or two but I can only wonder if pin holes are responsible as it didn't seem to come from the cap. 

Am I knocking Graham? No I am not but nobody is perfect. Overall the paints are excellent and the only problem in the UK is having to buy them from a single source, who don't offer free postage whatever the amount you buy, although they have had an offer recently at £75. Basic prices are high but Lawrence offer a 20% discount if you buy 6. However postage adds £4.99p which on 6 tubes is an extra 83p per tube. Even with this they are cheaper than Daniel Smith. I think they are proving quite popular. www.lawrence.co.uk