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Essential colours for Watercolourists

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Moi 17

Linda Wilson

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I agree you have to have somewhere to go for your darkest darks, whichever medium you are using. I'm not one for wishy-washy watercolours, but often cannot get the darkness that I want without resorting to black. But somewhere in my dim and distant past I was told never to use black or Paynes Grey. Although I don't use it neat, I do add these colours to a mix. However the get out clause is of course ink and wash. I found that white acrylic ink is gloopy, but I will have to get some other acrylic ink colours.

Alan Owen

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I am pretty sure Edward Wesson used black and Edward Seago. ,and others .I like to add a touch of another colour say umber with black in a very dark shadow ,when one has to peer into the blackness and the black painted window will just show ,,,,, marvellous magic .,,

Alan Owen

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here another were I use Black

Alan Owen

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With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, Napa

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She's still about Syd, mostly on Facebook. I'll try and find a link tomorrow - it's been a long day today. As for black and Payne's Grey in watercolour - well, I followed the consensus of opinion; felt black deadened colour (which it certainly can); and in oil and acrylic I avoided black, though not Payne's, particularly in making grey - there's something ghastly about, eg, a stone cottage painted in a mix of black and white for instance. However, watching Alan's watercolour demos - you don't really use a LOT of black, Alan, do you? - I'm changing my mind; certainly he can achieve things with Payne's Grey in skies that I wouldn't have thought possible (with the bluer forms of Payne's particularly, rather than the very slate-grey tone of the Daler-Rowney version, which still has its uses all the same). I'm not keen, and I don't believe Alan advocates this, of the Keith Fenwick approach to darken colours, which is to add a proportion of black or Payne's to them. But I notice of course that Rowland Hilder used black, Payne's Grey, and Neutral Tint - and I think he used Rowney colours, too. So I feel a lot of experimentation coming on, and I'll dig my old tubes of black and grey out in oil, acrylic and watercolour: we shall see what we shall see....! Take a look at Alan's latest demo - probably won't be the latest for very long, he's very prolific - there's a marvellous sky; cobalt blue, then basically water with a very little raw sienna, I think, but it could also be raw umber or even a light red..... he moves so fast it's not always easy to tell on first viewing; and it all just comes together, and you can see it unfolding before your very eyes and wonder if you could possibly achieve the same. In fact, it's the painting above the last one, above.

Alan Owen

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Robert ..we all like to experiment don't we.? I am bogged down at the moment studying how the old artists used granulation , , black being a granulating colour can be used effectively with another colour in a very dark shadow ,, though not in colours, ,also Edward Wesson used granulation to great effect ,because I find granulating colours can be less prone to cauliflower (yes I know they will ) and he used them in his hedge rows .and trees .. cad red is another granulating colour for taking the plain look from a brick building side ,with a little umber ,, warm autumn trees cad red and lemon yellow deep ,wonderful even add a little rose madder .(all granulating ) ,on a church cerulean and rose madder make a lovely grey ,and both are granulating, now for greens in landscapes .raw umber , cerulean ,ultramarine ,and lemon yellow deep (wxn) yes!!! lemon yellow deep,, rather than cad yellow ,or winsor yellow ,,because it has granulating properties .. I could go on and on and on and on ,,,,,,,,so many things I could rant about ...I must be boring the pants of you ,,,, night night and god bless .its twelve o'clock and I am off to bed ,,

Alan Owen

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I am sure Ted wolud not mind me showing section of one of his paintings to show what I am talking about

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by alanowen

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