Morning Trail' 5x7
Hello and welcome to Tonalist painting by M Francis McCarthy.
Today's study is 'Morning Trail' 5x7.
Our video today features the progression of this study from its earliest drawing stages on up through the final finishing brushstrokes. Also featured is my usual rambling narration, so please check that out.
I thought I would talk today about color pigments. The pallet that an artist uses is one of the most subjective and defining aspects of their work, no matter what medium they are painting in. I paint in oils as most of you know and I favor several brands of paint. The brand I use the most would be Daler-Rowney Georgian followed by Gamblin and other odds and ends from various suppliers. For the most part, I use Daler Rowney for the less expensive pigments. I buy most of my paint from Takapuna Art Supplies here in sunny New Zealand.
Some of you may not be aware that the reason that different colors of paint cost different amounts of money is because of the source of the base pigments. For example, a color like yellow ocher is always going to be less expensive no matter what particular brand you are using, while a color like cobalt blue will be expensive across the board. One reason for this is that yellow ocher is a clay and is very cheap to obtain while a color like cobalt blue is an expensive mineral that must be mined and processed.
Daler-Rowney Georgian is an inexpensive brand of paint and is aimed predominately at students. I have found that this line of paint actually works as well or better than many of the professional grades from other suppliers. There are some exceptions throughout their line of course but Daler-Rowney Georgian is great for ivory black, all of the earth colors, pthalo blue and green as well as alizarin crimson.
I do not use their titanium white because it is mixed with zinc. Zinc is a nice white to paint with but is very brittle even in small quantities and cracks easily. You need to be careful and check the labeling on white paints to verify that it is not present.
It is included in almost every cheap version of titanium white currently on the market and the reason for this is because it is pearlescent and transparent, while titanium white alone is very opaque and handles better with the addition of zinc. Therefore, it makes titanium easier to use but I have read quite a few articles that indicate that zinc white can be a potential problem in any quantity, so I would rather not take the chance.
For my titanium white I use Gamblin because I know that I'm getting pure titanium. For my lead white I use Windsor Newton because that's what is available and it works well. I like Gamblin for some of their specialty colors. As I mentioned in the video today I am using a quinacridone violet from them now as well as a unique color called transparent orange. I was using Daler Rowney Georgian versions of an orange and a violet but have noted that the permanence ratings are not as high as I would prefer. For that reason I've made the switch to the Gamblin for those colors.
You need to be careful with many of the pigments currently on the market. There will always be some sort of permanence rating marked on the tube from any reputable paint manufacturer. Also the relative transparency or opaqueness of the pigment will be indicated. Because of my use of lead white I need to be careful not to mix with any cadmium pigments on my palate because oxidation can occur over time as these two different minerals interact.
Also indicated on the label is the code that tells you what pigments are being used for a specific color. These will be letters and numbers like PB1 (for example). It is very good to familiarize yourself with these pigment identifiers, you can easily type these color codes into Google to find out more about almost any color. It's good to know what the pigments you like are because when you are shopping for paint, you can focus on the pigments themselves more than the names listed on the tubes which can be misleading and often save yourself some dosh in the process.
The history of pigments is a fascinating topic and many artists get very deep into referencing and sourcing different pigments in their work. For my part, I just like to make sure that I'm working with pigments that are strong in coloration, permanent and high in quality as well as being as reasonable a price as I can find.
Cheers,
M Francis McCarthy
Landscapepainter.co.nz
A bit about 'Morning Trail' 5x7; this is based on the scene that I took a photo of in England several years ago. It was very early in the morning and supercold. I've had this reference image for a while but it's not till just recently that I had a good conception of how I wanted to paint the motif.
I chose to put the emphasis mostly on the sky and the striated mauves, rust and ivory tones. I'm happy with the result I got on this study as well as the larger painting that we will be discussing next week.
To see more of my work, visit my site here
 |
| Morning Trail by M Francis McCarthy, 5x7 Oil Painting on Wood Panel |
Our video today features the progression of this study from its earliest drawing stages on up through the final finishing brushstrokes. Also featured is my usual rambling narration, so please check that out.
I thought I would talk today about color pigments. The pallet that an artist uses is one of the most subjective and defining aspects of their work, no matter what medium they are painting in. I paint in oils as most of you know and I favor several brands of paint. The brand I use the most would be Daler-Rowney Georgian followed by Gamblin and other odds and ends from various suppliers. For the most part, I use Daler Rowney for the less expensive pigments. I buy most of my paint from Takapuna Art Supplies here in sunny New Zealand.
Some of you may not be aware that the reason that different colors of paint cost different amounts of money is because of the source of the base pigments. For example, a color like yellow ocher is always going to be less expensive no matter what particular brand you are using, while a color like cobalt blue will be expensive across the board. One reason for this is that yellow ocher is a clay and is very cheap to obtain while a color like cobalt blue is an expensive mineral that must be mined and processed.
Daler-Rowney Georgian is an inexpensive brand of paint and is aimed predominately at students. I have found that this line of paint actually works as well or better than many of the professional grades from other suppliers. There are some exceptions throughout their line of course but Daler-Rowney Georgian is great for ivory black, all of the earth colors, pthalo blue and green as well as alizarin crimson.
I do not use their titanium white because it is mixed with zinc. Zinc is a nice white to paint with but is very brittle even in small quantities and cracks easily. You need to be careful and check the labeling on white paints to verify that it is not present.
It is included in almost every cheap version of titanium white currently on the market and the reason for this is because it is pearlescent and transparent, while titanium white alone is very opaque and handles better with the addition of zinc. Therefore, it makes titanium easier to use but I have read quite a few articles that indicate that zinc white can be a potential problem in any quantity, so I would rather not take the chance.
For my titanium white I use Gamblin because I know that I'm getting pure titanium. For my lead white I use Windsor Newton because that's what is available and it works well. I like Gamblin for some of their specialty colors. As I mentioned in the video today I am using a quinacridone violet from them now as well as a unique color called transparent orange. I was using Daler Rowney Georgian versions of an orange and a violet but have noted that the permanence ratings are not as high as I would prefer. For that reason I've made the switch to the Gamblin for those colors.
You need to be careful with many of the pigments currently on the market. There will always be some sort of permanence rating marked on the tube from any reputable paint manufacturer. Also the relative transparency or opaqueness of the pigment will be indicated. Because of my use of lead white I need to be careful not to mix with any cadmium pigments on my palate because oxidation can occur over time as these two different minerals interact.
Also indicated on the label is the code that tells you what pigments are being used for a specific color. These will be letters and numbers like PB1 (for example). It is very good to familiarize yourself with these pigment identifiers, you can easily type these color codes into Google to find out more about almost any color. It's good to know what the pigments you like are because when you are shopping for paint, you can focus on the pigments themselves more than the names listed on the tubes which can be misleading and often save yourself some dosh in the process.
The history of pigments is a fascinating topic and many artists get very deep into referencing and sourcing different pigments in their work. For my part, I just like to make sure that I'm working with pigments that are strong in coloration, permanent and high in quality as well as being as reasonable a price as I can find.
Cheers,
M Francis McCarthy
Landscapepainter.co.nz
I chose to put the emphasis mostly on the sky and the striated mauves, rust and ivory tones. I'm happy with the result I got on this study as well as the larger painting that we will be discussing next week.
To see more of my work, visit my site here
 |
| Morning Trail 5x7 by M Francis McCarthy (Detail) |