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Using the Zorn palette for the first time
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Message
Posted
To find it, try the Natural Pigments (Europe) website. They have a variety of lead whites - or did when I last looked. I bought in a lot of Cremnitz White a while ago, which with any luck will keep me going for the rest of my days. There are many options - including various additives.Oh, I have nearly forgotten this site. Yes the products are interesting but seems a bit expensive (maybe due to delivery charges?) and I remember products in eu site is fewer than in us site. Maybe I am not familiar with it? For example, I can’t find chalk (calcium carbonate) in eu site.
Edited
by Kenneth Leung
Posted
I'd not even thought of using the Zorn palette with watercolour or gouache - will have to have a go. What helps it to work in oil is the white - which in watercolour you don't have.... hmm! Interesting experiments to come. There's no theoretical reason that I can think of why it wouldn't work in any opaque medium - other than that gouache, in particular, does have a tendency to bleed - which might help or might not: I don't use gouache very often. Should work in acrylic, shouldn't it? I'm hesitant because things that work in one medium, which you might think would work in all, don't always work at all. Lots to play with over Christmas, anyway, if I can tear myself away from over-indulgence in foodstuffs and alcohol.I think it depends on the pigment. So I believe, to make it works, you need artist grade paint. For transparent water colour, I think white is water itself.
Posted
Yes - I haven't tried it yet, but will let people know when I do; the possibilities of watercolour do interest me, but I'll try it on some scrap paper before I desecrate my Arches paper: oh for a studio space in which I could move from one medium to another without having to clear easels and table-tops....
Posted
Well, I've had a bash with the Zorn Palette. I used Windsor & Newton Designer Gouache...permanent white, yellow ochre, black and spectrum red. Not thrilled with it, and found myself asking why bother. Here's what I've done so far...it's a long way from being finished even for a sketch. But this little experiment has taught me all I wanted to know about this palette, chiefly that I won't be limiting myself to it, so I'll go no further with this pic.
I found myself missing blue...all I could achieve was greys. Maybe there's a greater variety achievable with oils, I don't know.
I looked up Anders Zorn and found I liked his work, especially his drawings. This palette works best in his paintings of figures. I was slightly taken aback to read he did use blues and greens when painting landscapes. 'You should not stifle your creativity by rigidly sticking to one formula.' he said, or words to that effect. Quite.
There's masses of stuff on the net, as you'd expect. Some artists swap ultramarine for the black, that sounds interesting but I don't want to spend the time I have for art shooting off at tangents. Pleased I did it, it's probably right to use a limited palette but not just these four. Zorn produced wonderful work with them, but I'm not Anders Zorn. So I'll carry on being colour mad, and on occasion try limiting my palette a bit.
I found myself missing blue...all I could achieve was greys. Maybe there's a greater variety achievable with oils, I don't know.
I looked up Anders Zorn and found I liked his work, especially his drawings. This palette works best in his paintings of figures. I was slightly taken aback to read he did use blues and greens when painting landscapes. 'You should not stifle your creativity by rigidly sticking to one formula.' he said, or words to that effect. Quite.
There's masses of stuff on the net, as you'd expect. Some artists swap ultramarine for the black, that sounds interesting but I don't want to spend the time I have for art shooting off at tangents. Pleased I did it, it's probably right to use a limited palette but not just these four. Zorn produced wonderful work with them, but I'm not Anders Zorn. So I'll carry on being colour mad, and on occasion try limiting my palette a bit.
Posted
Fascinating to read Lew's experience and to see his painting - I think you've got very good skin tones here, and that to me is the value of the Zorn palette - using it for landscape, however, would be a limitation too far for me; maybe, as I think I said before, for a winter landscape - but I too would wonder 'what's the point?', because it would be so much easier with my normal palette (if not better.....).
I think Zorn is good for simple, direct portraiture - though he took it way farther than that. I'd like to try it with Vermilion, when I get some - I have an ancient tube of Vermilion Hue, but don't think using that would be a fair test. It probably does suit oil better than anything else - because oil was what Zorn used; I would never even dream of comparing myself to him, but looking at his portraits and the colours he achieved, I can now see how he did it: doesn't mean I can emulate him (sadly....) but I now know what he did - and that's useful and interesting.
By the way - this is a good palette for direct, alla prima painting: not at all sure it would be at all useful for those who use a more layered approach. (You know, I find this HUGELY more interesting that any of my party political interests! Politics breeds cynicism: art leads to exploration.)
Have a crack at it Denise, and of course let us know how you get on.
Lew - I think that if you did add to the palette, you'd really just be admitting black (if you didn't already use it) to your available colours - any more than that would be wandering away from Zorn: but then - Zorn wandered away from Zorn! I entirely agree with you that painting a restricted or rigid formula is a very bad idea - but I did find this a useful discipline, enabling me to see what could be achieved with just these three colours plus white. In oil, too - I suspect that using lead white makes this so much more satisfying than using Titanium - but as I haven't tried that, I don't know - yet another experiment to try: well, it keeps us young! Now that I don't try very hard to sell paintings, I find experimentation so much more pleasurable than it used to be, when I was trying too hard not to make too many mistakes.
Posted
Well Robert, I found a most beautiful portrait done by Andres Zorn, I mean, all of them are superb but this was a face I found interesting. I think I take more notice of a face that is interesting. I have decided, while I am trying to learn portrait, I will spend the next few months copying from the experts before trying my own again. I don't know how it will turn out, I've started it in oil. It's Ola Maria. I've just sketched a few lines from a picture and I am doing it from eye. Probably started it all wrong as you know I have know instruction from anyone and just muddle through doing my own thing. don't think I'll get it finished today, I was really hoping to. It's not the whole painting as I am only concentrating on faces. Here is what I've done so far. The following picture is my palette, don't laugh, you can if you want, my wooden one got binned and I've not replaced it yet, so I've used a bread board covered in tin foil.
Posted
Ar - keep an eye on proportions there - the eyes don't line up, and while this lady may have been nasally blessed, her nose is far too long: even the late Jimmy 'Schnozzle' Durante had less nose than that (though only just). You've compensated for the length of the snoot by giving her a very short upper lip - it may seem a bit mean to criticize at this stage, but if the drawing's off to start with, the painting is never going to work.
Nothing wrong with your palette, though! Whatever works is good.
Posted
Well, the light has just about gone, I can't see anything so I have to leave it here for today although If I had decent light, I would carry on all night. I've just started getting down some base colours to work with. The mouth looks misshapen but, I haven't started work on that yet and they are just basic lines I've interpreted from the picture. I think these base colours I can start to work on top of now. It will all probably turn out a mess but I will just start again. 
