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Sky Blues in watercolour, help please!
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Message
Posted
I find it really difficult to get exactly the right blue when painting the sky in landscapes. I've tried cobalt, and also mixed with cerulean but seem to lose transparency, and cobalt azure is not quite right either. Cobalt turquoise light works in some areas, but how do you get that lovely sky blue you see (between the clouds) in this country, in the middle of the day? Any help on this would be very much appreciated . . .
Posted
The best blue sky I think I ever painted in watercolour was a pure wash of pthalo blue - a colour I wouldn't even have thought about using until one day I felt I'd just have a go: or maybe I was out of other blues! It was a hot day, in high summer, on the Sussex Downs. I also found the Talens Rembrandt Cobalt Blue and Cerulean Blue far more intense, and 'clean', than those from other makers. Ultramarine is for me that much too near purple to represent an English sky; and once you get into Wales, or Scotland, different considerations apply - generally, a rather cooler blue seems (to me) to work better. This of course is all subjective really, because we perceive colour in marginally but significantly different ways.
I think it is worth thinking about how to capture a natural blue sky, though, because I think many of us really don't - in that we put in the blue, in whatever mixture might granulate maybe, because that's just the blue we use, and it seems to work. I don't know that there's anything wrong with that. On the other hand, I've looked at the blue on my palette, and the blue in the sky, and thought - that's just a million miles away from the colour it really is. This dilemma is as true of oil and acrylic as it is of watercolour.
I think in general that Cobalt Blue, maybe with a touch of others added, is a good basis. I don't really get on with Ultramarine - but I'm sure I've often used it. Important to remember though that people make paint - we didn't make the colour of the sky, but did our best to get as near to it as possible: the issue you identify has bothered artists down the generations, and I don't think there's that one colour, or mix of colours, that can achieve every hue in nature,
Posted
I suppose it depends on the season you want to represent. A winter sky can be very different to a summer sky etc and the time of day should also be considered.
I've taken loads of pictures during the year at different times of day. Mix colours up, make some swatches, hold them to the sky, see what you come up with.
Posted
Thank you Robert for taking the time to reply, and giving the matter some thought. I've never liked pthalo blue very much, finding it rather heavy. I think I'll take your advice on Cobalt and try Talens, I've never tried this brand before. I just really like that blue in the sky and want to try and capture it accurately, but keeping the transparency of watercolour. So I am interested to know what blue pigments other artists use that they think work well for skies.
Edited
by Hilary Forbes
Posted
Prussian Blue is a colour that many of us distrust because, like Pthalo, it can completely take over a painting if given half an excuse. But it's just the right blue, much diluted, to capture that area of sky between the zenith and the near horizon which you sometimes see. It's quite a gentle colour once it's heavily diluted - a bit cold and greenish, but worth a try now and then. I wouldn't have said it was an ideal sky colour in general, though.
Posted
Rowland Hilder referred to Phthalo blue as Winsor blue and also Monastral blue.
A great colour in the right hands, and I use it for skies in moderation and sometimes mixed with Cobalt blue.
Apart from his clever use of tonal values, this choice of blue is what makes his watercolours stand out from the crowd.
It’s worth mentioning here that he painted on a toned paper, often by adding a light wash of Burnt Sienna or Raw Sienna, although he had many more alternatives and combinations.
So, there’s a big difference here compared with painting directly onto the white of the paper, it subdues the colours a little.
Posted
Thank you very much Alan for taking the time to reply and for this further explanation of Phthalo blue, and apologies for my misspellings! I have plenty to experiment with here and I am going to study my Rowland Hilder book again. I also look forward to reading your forthcoming article in 'The Artist' about painting skies - there is so much to learn about painting with watercolour, and so much to learn about painting skies!
Posted
Thanks Hillary, obviously Hilder let this first wash of colour dry bone hard, you definitely don’t want it lifting.
He has written so many books and I have every one, but a really useful book is Painting Landscapes in Watercolour, it has stage demos as well as other useful info.
If you don’t have this one I highly recommend it, plenty of them online.
Just to say that my double feature on skies, which is scheduled for next year, covers oil painting in the main, with some rapid pen and wash studies which may be of interest!
Edited
by Alan Bickley
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