Plein Air

For the first time this year I was able to paint outside this last weekend. The location is about 100 yards from my home, which although in a modern estate is on the edge of farmland. I have painted this scene many times with varying results.

The first attempt was last Saturday and after unloading all my kit I realised I had forgotten the walkstool! This obliged me to paint standing up which I'm not comfortable with. I know many top artists like Trevor Chamberlain say you should stand up to paint but each to his own. I don't have the steadiest of hands and sitting down enables me to overcome this handicap by resting my little finger on the paper a la Charles Reid. The first painting was unsatisfactory once I had a good look at it and it was soon discarded. This prompted me to try again, and with excellent weather conditions I returned  on Sunday to the same spot. The resulting painting, which I was more careful with follows.

Fabriano Artistico Not 19" x 15" Keynsham Manor

Keynsham Manor has a long history going back some hundreds of years. There are a pair of really enormous beech trees at the entrance, which I relegated to a minor role and simplified. They tower way above. Owls usually nest in one of them. Overall it is a very complicated subject with masses of `stuff'  and in the past I've often tried to put too much in. The Manor is now split into three separate residences and I know the couple who own it and live in one section. John has told me something of the history.

More Indian Paintings

Crow Eagle. Schut Vivace 115lb. 15" x 11" Not

Two Hatchets.115lb Schut Vivace 15" x 11" Not.

I much prefer the `Two Hatchets' painting to that of `Crow Eagle'. They were painted because I wasn't happy with the originals and several others have finished up in the recycle bin in the interim. Paradoxically the resemblance to the original photograph is less but I prefer the result above to my original effort.

With both I studied the two paintings of Joseph Wolfskill in Charles Reid's `Watercolor Solutions' book and tried to emulate the combination of   hard and soft edges while putting in `small areas of detail'. Charles's approach is quite abstract, apart from those small areas of detail, so I'm not trying to do a `chinese' copy. From what I've seen on the three painting courses I've attended other more accomplished painters than me find this difficult.

The other major hurdle is that the photographs are in black and white, taken in the 1800's, and tend to be just that black or white. There is not much variation between the extremes and this, together with  not knowing what colour the clothing was, means a fair bit of guesswork is involved. I've also tried to alternate warm and cool.

Colours, various mixes of Cadmium Red Light, Cadmium Yellow Light, Raw Sienna, Cerulean and Cobalt Blue for the skin tones. I tried Permanent Alazarin Crimson in an earlier painting instead of Cadmium Red but didn't like the result. The reason I did that was because generally speaking, although not universally so, Indian complexions were and are swarthy.Colours in the clothing, and some in the hair,  included Viridian, Golden Lake (supposedly Quinacridone Gold PO49?), Ultramarine Violet and Raw Umber. Ultramarine Blue mixed with Burnt Umber or Burnt Sienna was also used for the hair and darks generally. My paints are mainly a mix of Maimeri, Windsor and Newton and Daler Rowney. I do have a few colours from other makes. Why the mix? I'm an impulse buyer and buy when paints are on offer but the high cost of Artist's paints is also a factor so any cost savings are welcome. 

Summing up I think it is worthwhile as an exercise, especially as I'm interested in American Indian history, and starting from my original efforts improvement is taking place although I realise I still have a way to go. Any comments? 

Quinacridone Gold - Pigment PO49

This colour, described by the Australian watercolour artist Robert Wade, in his 2002 book `Robert Wade's Watercolor Workshop Handbook', as the `best thing for years',  has had a rapid rise and - apparently - fall. Described by Handprint as a`mixed crystal form of PV19 Alpha and Beta' - I've no idea what that means - pigment production ceased in 2001 due to lack of demand from the automotive industry. This is again from Handprint who also say most paints with this pigment were discontinued in 2005. Initially there appeared to be four, two from Daniel Smith, the others from Winsor & Newton and Maimeri.

Winsor & Newton Quinacridone Gold became very popular in the UK. I can't speak for Daniel Smith which is still, as a brand,  only available in the USA ( recently extended to Canada).Note:20/10/12 Now available in the UK. It is possible (a little bird tells me) that  Daniel Smith, the largest range of watercolours in the World with over 200 paints, and highly acclaimed by American artists, may be available in the UK in the not too distant future.

Winsor and Newton reformulated `Quinacridone Gold' as a mixture now containing PR206, PV19 and PY150. All excellent pigments but don't expect the same results when mixing with others.

Maimeri continue to offer their version, called `Golden Lake', although the tube states it contains `quinacridone PV49.' I can find no trace of a `PV49' so assume it is a misprint that Maimeri have failed to correct - it has been like this since introduction. I contacted Bruce McEvoy about his comment that the paint was discontinued in 2005, which is what  Maimeri told him he says, and his reply was `the tube  may say that but....' .
An initial enquiry to Maimeri was promptly answered saying `Golden Lake' was still available and indeed they had supplied some to Jacksons, one of the largest UK art suppliers, in January. Following Bruce's comments I contacted Maimeri again and asked what was in the paint and why PV49? My e-mail was acknowledged but nothing further has been heard since. Hmmmmm!

Is that the end of it? On checking through lists of paints from several leading makers I came across this from Sennelier, the French manufacturer. According to their current pigment information PO49 is listed in five paints, all mixtures. Quinacridone Gold (with PG7), Mars Yellow (with PBr7), French Ochre (with PG23,PY3), Yellow Lake (with PY153), and Chinese Orange (with PR209)! No shortage of PO49 there it seems but no pure pigment paint either. I believe, until recently at least, Daniel Smith was still offering Quinacridone Gold in it's huge range. However since writing this I note that the new Great Art catalogue http://www.greatart.co.uk/ has a watercolour chart for Sennelier with one difference. Quinacridone Gold, as a name, has vanished and under the same number 445 is something called `Brown Pink'.Note: 20/10/12. Sennelier reformulated their range in 2012.

I only have experience with the W & N and Maimeri versions. Winsor & Newton Quinacridone Gold  was lighter and handled better than `Golden Lake', which I have not been impressed with. I like Maimeri paints, which are excellent value, but this colour is darker and grittier than the original Winsor & Newton paint. What actually is in the tube? The silence from Maimeri makes me wonder.Note:20/10/12. Information from Maimeri to Handprint said they had replaced PO49 with PY43 `a similar pigment'.

As a footnote the closely allied Quinacridone Orange PO48 is also heading for the exit due to `lack of demand from the automotive industry'. This is another lovely pigment and the Graham version, Quinacridone Rust, is a gorgeous colour.  The new Da Vinci (USA) range also includes paints listing this pigment. Both Graham and Da Vinci are only available from T.E Lawrence of Hove in the UK http://www.lawrence.co.uk/, while Maimeri from Jacksons  http://www.jacksonsart.co.uk/ and Turnham http://www.artistmaterial.co.uk/ , possibly a few others. Jacksons also sell Sennelier.

Some Recent Paintings

Here are two of my most recent efforts. Quite different but I'll explain why.

Lanacquarelle "16 x 12" Not `Flowers and Fruit'

I painted this at my Monday evening session with the Bathampton Art  Group www.bathamptonart.co.uk/ This is a self-help group where you mostly do your own thing, around 20 artists attending on average, with a wide range of  media and tecniques, from highly detailed pencil drawing to large oil and acrylic paintings. Watercolour is the most common media.

I decided to do a flower/still life painting using two photographs as a guide but also giving my imagination moderate rein, once again trying to impart the Charles Reid approach. This is the result which I'm reasonably - not entirely - pleased with.

Lanaquarelle "16 x 12" Not `Doors and Windows'

This was painted at my Avon Valley Artists Thursday morning  session. The subject was `doors and windows'. At this group originally called the Saltford Art Group ( and subsequently Society), where I have been involved for some years,  we all paint the same subject,  often from a setup or setups.

This was painted from a photograph, taken by another member, apparently at Wells in Somerset. We had a choice of photographs, either bring your own or choose from a selection brought by Jan and Yvonne, the leaders of the group. I was struck by the colours in both the windows and walls and approached it with the `pieces of paint' approach from a little gem of a book called  `Hawthorne on Painting', originally by J.C Hawthorne in 1938 but this edition by Dover Publications, New York 1960. It is not an instructional book in the normal sense but a collection of students notes collected by Mrs.C.W Hawthorne. I read about it in one of Charles Reid's books. Try Abebooks. 

Portrait Painting in Watercolor by Charles Reid

This is my most recent acquisition, obtained from the USA via Abebooks http://www.abebooks.co.uk/ . The copy I've received is in mint condition in every way. It even has the original dustcover (see above) encased in clear cellophane! I paid just under £30, of which carriage was slightly more than half! The original carriage cost quoted was increased due to the weight of the book and this may apply to some of the prices listed below.

 I was lucky as a search today brought up prices from £30.14 + £9.31 carriage  to an eye watering £196 + £9.98! There are a few copies around but not that many. Alibris UK http://www.alibris.co.uk/ have one copy  at £34 plus carriage and NEW at £240.54 would you believe. My copy is as new. Amazon UK  list 5 used from £58.90 and the USA site 19 used from $43.99, 2 NEW $207.34. Incredible isn't it.  However read on, I discovered another possible source http://www.ebookee.com/Portrait which lists this title as a download. According to the page there is a link to Usenet where you can download it for free. What snags are there in taking this route?  I'm not aware of any never having downloaded a book but caution is advised.

Before proceeding to the book review be aware that when you search for this book the title that often appears is `Portraits and Figures in Watercolor', a quite different animal. This is an 80 page paperback as opposed to the 156 page  hardback `Portrait Painting in Watercolor. It appears to be a truncated  amalgam of the Portrait book and the slightly earlier `Figure Painting in Watercolor'. The prices quoted for this one are similar to the larger book. The second-hand book trade never ceases to amaze me although it is true that you frequently get a much better deal from the USA than UK booksellers, if they have the book(s) you want.  Availability is much better in the USA of this type of book.

On the ebookee page (Portrait Painting in Watercolor_68843.html) is a review by  someone hiding behind a pseudonym. This is a brief extract of what they say:

`Not Charles best book -but quite good none the less...`The book is brown in colour and concept. Charles's book on Natural painting in much more appealing..........nevertheless a good book'

`The Natural Way to Paint', one of my favourite CR books, was first published in 1994, whereas `Portraits' is a 1973 book.  The difference in approach is immediately obvious. In one word COLOUR! Whereas the earlier `Figures' and `Portrait' books are mainly in a sort of monochrome, brown, sepia tone, colour leaps out of the pages of Charles later books. Another difference is that the portraits have become a lot more abstract, once you get beyond essential detail.

I'm glad I bought it although I wouldn't pay much more that it actually cost.. I'm sure it will be very useful but I do hope Charles is already working on a new version which brings together and summarizes all the information currently spread over several of his later books. I also recommend the Mel Stabin book `The Figure in Watercolor'. It struck me that Stabin's style reflected Charles Reid although the only influence he credits is Edgar Whitney. When I asked CR about this he replied Stabin had been one of his students.

More Paintings.

These are my latest Indian paintings, one done at home in my `studio' and the other monday night at my Bathampton Art Group session.

Two-Hatchets Kiowa Indian 1898

Fabriano Artistico 140lb NOT 15" x 11"

I didn't actually finish it completely on monday night but after reflection decided not to do any more. I tend to agree with Judi Whitton, who often leaves paintings `unfinished - when is a painting finished? Judi in her book `Loosen up your Watercolours', Collins 2005, quotes Picasso as saying ` To finish a work? To finish a picture? What nonsense!.....' Charles Reid states the painting is finished when you are reduced to adding small darks and I'm inclined to think it's also when you don't know what else to do. The danger of ploughing on and overworking is everpresent.

Crow Eagle. Piegan Chief 1870's

Lana Acquarelle NOT 16" x 12"

This one I painted in my studio, actually it used to be my son's bedroom many moons ago. It looks better in the flesh than in a photograph and I've tried several times to produce a better image.

Artist or Student Quality?

I found this the other day. It is a series of swatches I did quite a while ago. The top three rows are Cotman and the bottom three Windsor and Newton artist's quality. The Cotman are from tubed paint and the artist's quality pans. Since I did this I believe Cotman has changed slightly, possibly for the better. If only Windsor and Newton did the right thing by UK artists and gave us the same deal as the Americans enjoy on the Cotman range. Certainly food  for thought given the increasing cost of buying artist's quality paints.  Do most amateurs, particularly the once-a-week hobby painter, need to spend these eye watering sums, approaching anything from £8 - £10 ($12 - $15)  for 14ml tubes even for lower series?  The figures quoted are mail order and prices are even higher at local art shops.

Many members of local painting groups have limited means yet are exhorted to buy `the best materials' by book after book and article after article. Ron Ranson was scathing about this and used Cotman paints, a few, very few, synthetic brushes and Bockingford paper. He also painted on the reverse side of `failed' paintings. You can paint on both sides on most makes. I'm afraid I'm sceptical about the motives of some of these professional artists who push this theme. I'm sure some are genuine but others have commercial links with manufacturers. Having said all this I confess to being one of those who have fallen for the `buy the best' chorus. Do they make me a better painter? I'm not at all sure.

Back to Painting

This is one of my latest attempts to portray American Indians of the 1800's, using old black and white photos. I am very interested  in this period and have many books on the subject, most obtained second-hand directly from America via Abebooks. There are also some excellent archive sites dealing with the subject. The best I have found so far is http://www.firstpeople.us/ .

Sitting Bull 16" x 12" Not Saunders Waterford

This is Sitting Bull the famous Sioux medicine man taken in the 1870's. The original is in a sort of sepia/black and white with very strong contrast, not much graduation. So far I've done about a dozen different ones, most already discarded, but hopefully they are gradually improving although  I realise I still have a way to go. Charles Reid is my mentor in that I'm trying to emulate the way in which  he paints portraits.  

Value or Tone

Value describes how light or dark a colour is. This is relatively easy on a grey scale, basically starting with white and finishing with black. Between six and ten steps seems to be the norm. I have used six. However how and  what value do you ascribe to different colours? The following is a value chart I made up using as guidance the `artist's value wheel' from the  Handprint site http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/color11.html#wheel .

Apart from black the darkest value is Indanthrone Blue (PB60). Windsor & Newton, Daler Rowney and Rembrandt call this `Indanthrene Blue', Maimeri `Faience Blue, Scminke have two paints using PB60. `Delft Blue' and `Dark Blue Indigo', Holbein `Royal Blue' and Graham `Anthraquinone Blue'! Neither `White Knights nor Shin Han list this pigment, which is at the expensive end. Confusing isn't it which is one reason why manufacturers names have to be taken with a pinch of salt. Most manufacturers now put pigment information on tube paint, not usually pans, but often so small as to need a magnifying glass to read it.  I have taken  Bruce MacEvoys spelling as the correct one but will investigate further. On my chart while you can't read the letters (try clicking and enlarging ) indicating what each paint is the colours are clear enough. I wouldn't claim it to be 100% accurate but I think reasonably so.

Amongst the very darkest values is Diozazine Violet ( PV23) called  Windsor Violet and Rowney Permanent Mauve and so on. Check the pigment information on the tube or hunt it down from the various manufacturers websites. One excellent commercial source is DIck Blick Art Supplies http://www.dickblick.com/  Dick Blick has a huge number of watercolour paints and if you click on the individual paints it will lead to pigment information. This has to be done with every single paint separately and needs a little patience.

Other very dark colours are Prussian (PB27) and Ultramarine blue (PB29), Burnt Umber (PBr7) and Quinacridone Violet (PV19). There are others so if you wish to pursue this any further, and I can understand many not wanting to do so, then get the Handprint value wheel. It can be downloaded and printed.

At the other end of the scale, apart from white, Cadmium Lemon (PY35) is the lightest value with all yellow and yellow shades coming into the lighter half of the chart and the reds, blues and greens in the darker one. This is a generalisation as there are variations so get the chart for specific details.

Watercolour Paints

I recently found a site, which appears to be American, called http://www.art-paints.com/ . This purports to list all available artists paints, running to hundreds. As my interest starts and ends at watercolour I looked up the watercolour information. To my astonishment 58 - yes 58 - different brands are listed! This list is a mishmash of well-known and unknown (at least to me) brands including such names as Niji. MIR, Yasitomi, Morocolour and Marie's. This is just a sample. Without exception each brand is described in identical wording as `one of the most popular watercolour brands in the world' and the opening paragraph appears to be a standard one with a few modifications for each make. Looking at the information for some of these `most popular' brands they all seemed to have a very limited range, some as few as eight colours.  This site had a number of ads for art suppliers including Dick Blick which surprised me a little, still commercialism knows no bounds. `Full' information is claimed for each colour yet one of the crucial ones - pigment details - are missing.

I now turn to the question of `artists' and `student' quality paints. Generally speaking most - not all - well-known manufacturers list an `artists' and a `student' range. Some like Talens have three, Rembrandt at the top, Van Gogh as a middle range and Amsterdam as the student quality. Without exception the student ranges have a reduced number of colours, around 40 compared to between 70 and 100 plus in the artists quality. Some of the student quality use similar pigments in the cheaper series 1 and 2 but replace the cadmiums, cobalts and ceruleans, as well as a few others, by `cheaper' alternatives. This is what Windsor and Newton do with the Cotman range in the UK,while offering full cadmiums and cobalts in the USA, 50 colours in total instead of forty.  Some of these expensive pigments also seem to be on offer on the Continent. Great Art, who are German, but have a UK ordering telephone number , offer 40 colours as in the UK but seem to have a few Cadmiums and Cobalts in addition to the `hues'. I haven't ordered any so cannot confirm this as gospel. Correspondence with W & N produced just waffling on their part and an enquiry to Richard Bromley of Ken Bromley Artists Supplies about the Cotman situation, despite him being very helpful on a previous query, brought no response. Industry politics?

The standard description of students quality is the use of extenders and fillers to bulk up the paint with the amount of pigment being reduced. The only artist I know who used and recommended Cotman, as against the more expensive artists quality, was Ron Ranson and his private comments were quite dismissive. I did note though that, when on a painting course at his then home, he had artists quality paints in his studio. This in itself is not evidence since some manufacturers actively court a number of well-known artists, supplying them with  paints either very cheaply or even (so I have been told) FOC. This is in return for that artist using and promoting their product. When on courses students always want to know what make(s) and colours the tutor uses.


This is becoming rather long and the usual information for blogging is to make the comments short and sweet but I'll go against the grain and plough on. So far the gap between artist and `student' quality is fairly clear.  However there are one or two makes that `claim' to be artists quality and are promoted as such by the art suppliers who stock them. The most obvious is the Russian St Petersburg,  now known as `White Knights'.  This is a very competitively priced paint with a good range of colours, increasingly popular with amateur painters and used and promoted by some professionals. Read what Bruce McEvoy says on his handprint site  http://handprint.com/  and look under paints then brands. He dismisses the claim they are artists quality unequivocally. Fact - amongst the pigments used by White Knights are several obselete ones that are fugitive - this means they fade. Consult Michael Wilcox's Guide to Watercolour Paints. One White Knights colour is Rose (PR81), Wilcox's comment `it is a mobile disaster area as an artists's watercolour'. I'm assuming the colour chart I have, which was printed when St Petersburg was re-branded as `White Knights' is still relevant. I've seen no information that the paints have been reformulated, which has  happened in recent years with most reputable brands.

Another very recent brand which has arrived in the UK is Shin Han. This is again being promoted as `artists' quality at a very competitive price and is  said to be proving very popular. They have 5 series and are priced at about half that of the top of the range Windsor & Newton. There are 72 colours and the naming of individual paints seems to suggest they are shadowing Holbein, the respected Japanese make, Jaune Brilliant No2, Mineral Violet etc. I tried one colour - Jaune Brilliant No 2 and a fellow painter  one of the violets. Not that  impressed but it is a very small sample. I managed to obtain, with difficulty, pigment details of the range and was even less impressed. There are only 20 single pigment paints - 28% much lower than other artists quality ranges - with 11 paints having white (PW6) as one of the ingredients. There also appear to be dyes present (RV10,  Opera) and a few other fugitive pigments (PV3 Permanent Violet) . PR83 Alazarin crimson is used in 4 colours.  Read what Bruce McEvoy say s about this pigment. Windsor & Newton still offer it but also list a `permanent' version. When the inevitable reviews appear in one or other of the art magazines will these things be highlighted?