I had loads of yellow watercolors and a couple were the same PY. Not very happy-making, that. Another good reason for paying attention to the pigment numbers.
I'm happy to be through this part of my process this year and will have the rest of these swatch videos up by next week.
Yellow is an excellent color. In my opinion, the most useful of all colors because it just seems to make everything better. It brightens, pops forward is an excellent mixer.
I have more yellows on my palette than any other color. Because of its light value, it's often used up first.
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All of these Watercolors are available from DickBlick (Affiliate Link, I get a commission on sales with no cost to you)
(DS: Daniel Smith. WN: Winsor & Newton. DR Daler Rowney. Hansa Yellow Medium DS PY97 Lemon Yellow W&N PY 175 Lemon Yellow DS PY 175 Cobalt Yellow DS PY 40 New Gamboge DS PY 153 (The color of my livingroom :) Yellow Ochre DR PY 43 Yellow Ochre MGraham 43 Nickel Azo Yellow QoR PY 150 Nickel Azo Yellow MGraham PY 150 (earthier) Transparent Yellow Nickel Azo Yellow PY 150
Color is sometimes the first choice you make and plays a major role in drawing people into your work. It's a great way to combat blank page syndrome. If you find yourself staring at your blank journal, card base or any art project, use the color wheel as a springboard to get started.
Primary Colors Red Yellow and Blue are spaced out on the color wheel with three colors between them. The middle colors are made when mixing the primary colors to the right and left:
Yellow & Red = Orange
Red + Blue = Purple Blue + Yellow = Green
First Grade stuff, right? Well maybe not. I'm going to be thorough and not make assumptions.
Nerd Alert Fun Facts: Did you know that Sir Issac Newton invented the color wheel? He likened the colors to musical notes and then joined the two ends. OMG. Some people are so smart! Here you can read about the history and development. A hundred years later Johann Wolfgang Goethe observed the "temperature" of colors. Identifying them as warm and cool and looking at the psychological impact they have on folks.
Secondary Colors Orange Purple and Green are also evenly spaced around the wheel. In between those colors are the Tertiary Colors where things start to get interesting.
Red + Violet = Red Violet, Magenta Violet + Blue = Blue Violet, such as Hydrangea (swoon) and Periwinkle
Blue + Green = Pool, Teal Green + Yellow = those zingy yellow greens such as Tim Holtz Twisted Citron and Pear colors.
Complementary Colors occur opposite each other on the color wheel. They are Purple & Yellow, Blue & Orange, Green & Red. But they can also be Orange Yellow and Blue Violet. And they march right around the color wheel. These pairs create grays and browns if mixed together. They cancel each other out; neutralize each other.
Split Complementary Colors are a triad. You take a color such as Yellow. Its complement is Purple. So you split the difference and the triad is Yellow, Blue Violet and Red Violet. It's an interesting combo.
More Vocabulary:
Tint = the color + white Tone = the color + gray Shade = the color + black
More Color Harmony. Ahhhhh! Who doesn't love harmony? And you can have loads of it by using color relationships such as
Monochromatic color schemes use just one color but you can use any tint, tone or shade of that color Analogous colors schemes use colors that are right next to each other on the color wheel: Red, Red Orange, Orange, Yellow A Triad: 3 colors equally spaced on the wheel Tetrad: 4 colors consisting of 2 sets of complementary colors/
It's all about The Wheel
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I am pretty jazzed about these new watercolors and brushes so wanted to share this haul with you.
The Prima Tek watercolors from Daniel Smith (and Blick) are the stars of this show. Mined from minerals and stone, they are textured and glittery (some) and scrumptious. You can read more technical info here.
I was noticing that adding more water, pigment or picking up color with a damp brush creates even more texture. I think you can see that in these photos but will doing more playing and sharing.
I played with the brushes some while we were away visiting friends in Vermont and Massachusetts. Working mostly with the Silver Black Velvet brushes. I was alarmed when a couple of hairs came out of one of them while I was swatching in today's video but haven't had any trouble since. They are very soft brushes and hold a good amount of water.
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Here is a list of what I purchased at DickBlick. You can use my affiliate link, here. There are pictures with links below. I get a commission on sales with no cost to you.
Liquitex Gesso Liquitex Matte Medium Archival Ink, Black refill Color Wheel! Princeton Neptune Quill No. 6 Princeton Neptune Oval Wash 1" Silver Black Velvet 2, 4, 10 & 16 Escoda Versatil 22 #4 Watercolor Sable Rigger
Daniel Smith Watercolors French Ultramarine New Gamboge Sap Green Perylene Moonglow (Swatched)
I had some leftover paints out in my porcelain mixing cups and figured I'd turn on the camera and use them up! In my Dina Wakely Art Journal:
In my Chunky. By the way, I've had many requests for a tutorial on making a Chunky journal. I am putting a class together.
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Supplies: Affiliate Links. I get a commission on sales with no cost to you.
From DickBlick : http://shrsl.com/s8jq Daniel Smith: Lemon Yellow Pyrrole Red French Ultramarine Blue: Burnt Umber Ultramarine Violet Pyrrole Orange Teal New Gamboge Nickel Azo Yellow
Let's talk Color! I love it. Sometimes I've felt like eating it and this year, I'm delving deeper into color theory and the science behind it. I've been swatching, learning some history and generally geeking out on color. Check out today's video (below).
First, I want to swatch out all of my watercolors. I started with small coin pocket sized swatches but after seeing Inliquid Color's channel, switched to 3.5" x 2.5" swatches, stored in a pocket protector (linked below). I'm sharing with you because maybe it will help you make informed choices about your own palette. I hope it's interesting at least.
Note that the PR = Pigment Red. PV = Pigment Violet, etc. Sometimes there are more than one pigment/tube. I try to stick to single pigments. The others are nice though. They are "convenience" colors that save you the time of mixing.
These two cool Quin Magentas (above), for instance are incredibly close. But do you see that the Daniel Smith (on the right) is ever-so-slightly gray? Maybe not. Interesting to see that two different companies each have a Quin Mag with a different PR#. A cool red will lean toward violet. These will mix well with warm blues, such as Ultramarine to create purples.
These two Reds are also incredible close. I think the Perm Red from Smith is just the tiniest bit warmer. These will mix well with yellows and other warm colors to create oranges and corals. They are a good foil for greens for neutrals (grays and browns).
Quite a variation in these colors above! I love the Quin Rose the best. It will make vibrant purples and beautiful grays when neutralized with yellows and yellow greens.
Terra Rosa is an earthy red from M Graham. A beautiful color, really. I think it would be nice bumped up a bit with one of those Perm Reds for painting houses. It could also be used for ground colors. I'm thinking of Italy.
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Here are some links for today's video. Choose wisely! I'm compiling a list of additional colors to add to my palette based on what I have.
Affiliate Links (I get a percent of the sale with no cost to you).
I've been exploring Gelatos thoroughly. For instance, Gelatos are made from lightfast pigment. They are creamy and are more like oil pastels than other crayon-type materials out there. Gelatos are water-soluble and that means you can use them as watercolor. It's great that these creamy sticks are pigment based and lightfast.
When swatching out new colors, use good paper! This makes a huge difference in how the materials will work for you. Lately I like the Canson XL Watercolor paper a little more than Strathmore. I prefer the surface which has a "sandy" feel rather than the texture of Strathmore. The surface is more akin to Arches (which I LOVE but is pretty expensive).
The Gelatos will feel dry to the touch on the surface of the paper. They remain liftable (to a degree). For finished work, such as a canvas, I use the Faber-Castell Glaze medium to coat it. I'll talk more about that in another post.
I'm just loving these crayons.
Swatch tests are the best tool you can create for yourself. I think of them as a first date. As I begin exploring, more ways to use the materials pop to mind.
Try swatching out any new media and you'll develop an understanding. Enjoy today's video! There are purchasing links below the video. PLEASE NOTE: The sets of Gelatos say (for instance) "15 Pieces." There are 12 Gelatos, 2 sponges and a brush included in that count. Some larger sets include stamps. Read carefully to see what you are getting.
Affililate links used. I get a commission on sales. A word about Simon Says Stamp: they are well stocked and great if you need a restocking. The prices are not the best and the service is slower than most other online stores. That said, it's a very convenient place to shop and the folks over there are always very nice and helpful so I do retain my affiliate with them.
Ooopa! This a technique that I've been playing with for a couple of months now. Here are a bunch of photos from my play time over the past week (or so). The video and supplies are linked below.
The indigo paint and Yupo paper in my July Artsnacks box inspired me to try the technique on Yupo.
Fun results are very easy to obtain! Spread the paint out and lay the stencil down right into the wet paint. Set it aside, leaving the stencil in place until it's try (or there are no puddles left). Try to avoid peeking. Good luck with that.
Any kind of stencil will work. Just keep the stencil in scale to the paper size. In other words, I was working on those mini pieces of Yupo so used small scale stencils.
I played with blowing, splashing, dropping and water and sucking color up with a damp brush. Great stuff! It's easy to get fingerprints onto the Yupo paper and it will resist paint a little. I solved the problem by using an embossing bag which has a powder in it that neutralizes any oils.
I hope you'll give this technique a try. Any kind of watercolor and paper will work. Use darker colors for more dramatic results. I imagine any watersoluble crayons will work well too. Just make sure the paper is very wet when you lay the stencil down.
I used Phthalo Green and Indigo on the paper above and, honestly!, that is just so cool looking! I love the way the colors separate in some places and mix in others. Very cool. Oh! I used mineral paper on that one. But that's a story for another day.
How much fun is it to make color swatches? Right! I love it. Several years ago, I found the Arc or Levenger disc binding system and it's absolutely perfect for keeping this kind of an ongoing notebook. You'll see more in the video. The hole punch is kind of pricey but you can use a binder system for keeping all of your palettes or swatches in one spot.
I swatch everything from my paints to markers and colored pencils. There are great charts available over at Ranger Ink for their inks, sprays and paints. Go here to download. Very handy. Here is a link for Prismacolor colored pencils. That chart doesn't print the top line for me but it may just be my printer.
I've had loads of questions lately about watercolor: brands, mixing, how much paint to water, etc. My best advice is to pull out three primary and the three secondary colors and play with them. Look (above) at how many colors you can get with just the three primary.
Here is the video showing a close up of my Color Book. My next video will be on creating a palette with six colors.
The Arc Binding System is available at Staples stores and online. It'll come right up if you google it.
Walk out the door. The wind lifts yours hair and brushes your cheeks, painting them cool. The sun above warms your head if you lift your face to feel the last of the heat in a hot fudge Sunday of sensation.
Each guffaw and gust spills leaves. They chase and tease a game of tag with scuffling, old paper sounds. Mangos, limes and persimmons have been swept into a glorious salad. Russet, burgundy and golden twinkles in tornadoes, sweeping down streets and through lanes covering paths with color.
The growing seasons of spring and summer escape from their tree cages as you walk, shuffling through color from pastel to gem, from dying to living. Autumnal majesty blesses us and pays homage to each season. Soon the earth rests.
Coloring books are all the rage at the moment. A trend rolling down hill spurring on illustrators and publishers across the country and the world to make high quality products for color-happy customers.
You'll see in the video that I've tried out colored pencils, markers, colored pens and alcohol markers. I like the colored pencils best for all-round coloring especially on detailed images.
Try whatever you have on hand. I look forward to using gel pens and making patterns with colored pens too. No reason why you can't paint and use collage on these pages. You may want to remove them from the book first.
My friend, Susan, used colored pencils, pens and gel pens for the images (above and following). She found postcard sized illustrations at a big box craft store. These books are everywhere: art and craft stores, books stores and online. You can find links to print out images too.
Google "images for coloring for adults" and you'll find plenty to keep you busy. I hope you take up this craze and pass it on to friends and family. Coloring is fun and it's so happy-making to get folks making art in any way at all. Enjoy the video.
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