'My brushes often dance around my palette as I work but some of the pigments just seem to sit on my palette or are only used occasionally,' says Jean Haines.
'For a long time I have been ignoring the cadmium yellow section of my palette as my brushes always seem to be drawn to other favourite shades.
'With the arrival of spring I find constant enjoyment from working with yellow shades, especially for floral work, but once spring has passed I usually leave this section of my palette.'
Ray of Sunshine, watercolour, (43x34cm)
'Here a direct line of yellow pigment as a layering wash added warm light, as if from a ray of sunshine, to an existing watercolour.'
Patterns lifting out, watercolour, (30x25cm)
Here I used clingfilm to create areas of interesting texture and lifted out petal shapes from a cadmium yellow background.
The hunt for a yellow
'This year I needed to paint some primroses.
'We often think of a subject and immediately guess its colour – in my mind I imagined a soft yellow for these delicate flowers but cadmium yellow was far too bright and, when diluted, didn't give me exactly what I was searching for to gain the freshness of spring.
'In fact no shade did at first. So I researched which shades might be suitable.
'Watercolour charts vary between manufacturers and it’s easy to get lost with the vast number of shades available in each range of colours.
'Luckily I discovered the fantastic Schmincke Horadam range of watercolours. They have a shade called jaune brilliant dark that was perfect for my painting of primroses, but buying a pigment for one subject alone isn't practical.'
TRY SCHMINCKE HORADAM WATERCOLOURS
Yellow layering, watercolour, (40x30cm)
'This shows a painting of white narcissi before a layer of yellow pigment was added. It was already interesting but I felt it needed punch!
'My next decision was how to paint the flowers in a way that would create interest for me as an artist.
'I never use a preliminary sketch and having painted flowers for so many years I wanted to explore endless possibilities of methods.
'Now that I had a selection of yellow shades to work with I wanted more than one painting technique.
'I experimented with a yellow background at first using Schmincke Horadam cadmium yellow, which merged beautifully with Schmincke Horadam delft blue.
'While the pigments were still wet in my first wash I gently lifted flower shapes for petals using water and my personalised size 10 sable brush.
'I also applied clingfilm in one section, which gave me an interesting texture effect as a base on which to paint leaves later on.'
Adding sunshine, watercolour, (40x30cm)
'While the paint was still wet a layer of yellow in directional brushstrokes added instant warmth to the composition.'
Layers
'All the time I was working on this primrose experiment my mind was thinking of better ways to paint yellow subjects.
'It also occurred to me that I was missing out on ways to use yellow in my work.
'I had a half-finished painting of narcissi in my studio and couldn't help wondering what it would look like with a layer of yellow pigment on top.
'Once I started layering with yellow as a technique I found myself looking at other subjects that I could ‘ignite’ with a sunshine effect, simply by adding yellow layers.
'Next, I laid a direct line of yellow pigment over an existing painting of a spring bouquet and I loved the instant ray of sunshine it created.'
Landscape study, watercolour, (30x25cm)
This landscape study shows the creative layering of cadmium yellow on a small study.
Endless warmth
'Enthused with my yellow experiments I moved on to landscapes, adding yellow washes over simple studies.
'Then I allowed colour to bring my horse racing scenes to life.
'Once I started adding yellow to my work everything seemed so much warmer, more vibrant and alive.
'The possibilities of using yellow shades in techniques to add warmth or interest to a watercolour are endless. This wonderful pigment will certainly no longer be ignored on my palette.'
Flying Colours, watercolour, (98x120cm)
'Here yellow was used as a strong background for a horse racing scene.'
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Jean Haines teaches watercolour internationally and holds successful workshop tours in Europe, the USA and Australia. For news of her exhibitions, books and DVDs please see www.jeanhaines.com
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