Wednesday, October 08, 2008

the paint



So the paints are working out OK. As I am using them I realize that I really dont know much about watercolour paints. I chose 5 colours as fast as I could as big M was stepping on the paper and little em was waking up. I chose Bismuth yellow, cerulean Blue, cadmuim red, burnt sienna, and raw umber. see chart. The blue and yellow, I am not sure what I was thinking. I know I need a cool and warm of each of the primaries, but I got confused thinking I was only buying one and so in my child distracted mind I thought - maybe better to go with a middle tone? The yellow is pretty cool in tone, which is what I wanted, but after using it a few days, its not what I would have chosen...I would have gone with a hansa yellow...Same thing with the blue - why I went with cerulean I dont know. My brain wasnt working. I know a cobalt or ultramarine would have been much better. Ick. sorry for all this geeky watercolour talk. Im sure theres someone out there who cares..or maybe not.
Anyways, I also have discovered that the level of transparency is really important to me. Turns out all the colours I got are opaque - except for the burnt sienna, which is now my favorite. It also "blossoms" the most, which is another quality I like. I looked all this up on the internet after wards, (this site was helpful) and now I want to go back and re-buy all the paints again. eeek. Also, because the paint I have is so opaque, I am changing my painting style, to something heavier...for now. Its good for painting trucks and tractors for big M. not so much for glazes and washes. so, there you have it. Im off to find campfire recipes for next summer. Oh yes, im already there.

2 comments:

Cameron D. said...

I care.

Erika Hastings said...

Thanks for the links. They're great. I also found that the kind of paper I use makes a huge difference. Some watercolor paper will really hold the paint in the place I want it to go and other watercolor papers will leak it all around the paper. It's great to experiment around to see what you like.