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The joys of Naples yellow
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Posted
I like Naples yellow. I like Naples yellow a lot. I paint the agricultural landscape (in East Yorkshire it's hard to find a landscape that isn't agricultural). I mix most of my colours but Naples yellow is a ready-made I can find a lot of uses for. Fields of wheat, sunlight on ripe barley, dried rushes on the river bank; Naples yellow is more delicate than yellow ochre and less intense than cadmium yellow. I like Naples yellow.
Posted
In watercolour, you can use Naples Yellow with a touch of green or Light Red to make opaque marks - or of course use it on its own. It's a lot better than using a white, certainly better than Chinese White. Mix it with a bit of Emerald Green or Viridian until you've got a nice, thick colour, and it'll stand out well. And it can be used for highlighting, if you prefer to use a paint rather than scratching or blotting out, or if you forget to reserve white paper.
In oil, it has many uses - as a base for skies, for instance,near the horizon. Only one word of caution there: make sure it's not mixed with a Zinc White, if you're worried by possible future delamination - I haven't entirely given up on Zinc, but am very cautious about using it in any quantity, in underpainting especially. (By the way, in 50 years I've never yet had a delamination problem - but these things can take 100 years or more to manifest themselves.)
In acrylic, the basic pigments will probably be different, so it will vary a lot between brands - but it all seems to be very useful: the Chromacolour Naples Yellow is particularly satisfying, I find - introducing an element of brightness, rather than the chalky quality you sometimes get. And in acrylic, it doesn't matter if there's Zinc White in it, either. And - I need to buy some more in oil.... and probably in acrylic; thanks for reminding me, John.
Posted
I knew an artist - well, I still do know her, but I think her practice may have changed - who never used white for clouds, but the very palest Naples Yellow, which in those days was available in three grades from George Rowney & Co - wonder if Daler Rowney still make it that way..... note to self: go and look.
Posted
Great photo Syd, congratulations to you both.
Robert, I have just been using Naples yellow by Royal Talens, their Rembrandt range which are superb. I also have their Naples Yellow Light and also Deep. Between those three shades I can produce a vast range of gorgeous colours. Personally, I would never advocate using white for clouds (I'm not suggesting that you were). Naples yellow would be great to add to it, or of course good old Yellow Ochre.