Twilight Road 5x7
Hello, and welcome to Tonalist painting by M Francis McCarthy.
Today's study is 'Twilight Road' 5x7.
Our video features the progression of this painting from its initial underpainting stage on up through final glazes and finishing brushwork. Also featured is my usual rambling narration, so please check that out.
I believe I talked about pigments in a previous blog post. Recently, I've been working through my current pallet and making absolutely certain that the pigments that I am using are as lightfast as possible.
The colors you need to watch out for are sometimes not what you would think. For example, cadmium yellow, orange and red are all very permanent but many of the variants of the Cads that are available are not lightfast to the same degree that the Cads are.
This wouldn't normally be a huge factor, except for the fact that I cannot use Cadmium's because I am using Lead White. The two different minerals are not compatible and over time if used together, the painting will darken and, in some cases become hideously ugly as the Cadmium interacts with the Lead White. For this reason, I've been using Cad variations for awhile. I noticed that the permanence rating on some of these colors were maybe three stars where I would've preferred four. After some research, I've adjusted my main yellow to a great color from Gamblin, Hansa Yellow Medium.
For my orange, I have tried a few different variations but have settled on a color from Gamblin called Permanent Orange. This is a little bit lighter than I would like it to be, but adjacent to my orange I have a bright red and the red that I have found to be a good Cadmium substitute and also highly permanent is Perylene Red.
Most of the earth colors are permanent, regardless of whether the paint is professional or student grade. This would include the umber colors, the ochers, and blacks. Titanium white which is widely available at all sorts of different price points and mixtures is also lightfast and highly permanent as is Lead White.
My Burnt Sienna color is a synthetic mixture and is lightfast (for your general reference and information the pigment identifying code for this color is PB 101). I prefer this to the actual Burnt Sienna because it is stronger in tinting strength and more transparent, while giving me the same color hue as actual Burnt Sienna. Actual Burnt Sienna is made out of clay from the Sienna region of Italy or equivalent areas.
The next color that I've had to address was Alizarin Crimson. The mixture that I had been using is permanent but not as permanent as I feel I should be using and for that reason I have recently made a switch to Permanent Alizarin Crimson from Gamblin. This color is not as strong as what I'd been painting with but it does the job and it is more permanent.
I like to have a violet color on my pallet and I've tried several of the permanent violets that are available from Gamblin, I have settled on Manganese Violet. This color has the right shade of blue violet. I would like it if it was stronger in tinting strength but it is a good color and it is serving its purpose on my pallet.
By the way, you might notice that I am using a lot of pigments from Gamblin. Gamlin makes excellent paint and their website is a good resource for information. Gamblin only make oil paints and the founder and owner Bob Gamblin is very passionate and precise about his pigment formulations.
All of the other colors in my pallet that I have been using were permanent already. Someone asked me recently why it really matters, and my answer would be that a good painting is something that is going to be treasured by the people that own it for a lifetime and then hopefully passed on to their heirs. My paintings ideally, will live much longer than I and for that reason, I want the colors that people see hundreds of years down the road to be as close as possible to the colors that I selected while painting in the studio.
I have been reading lately about problems with Vincent van Gogh's paintings. Many colors are changing from bright yellows into greenish ochre tones. I do not want this to happen to my work down the road so I feel it is best to take precautions and pay attention to the pigments I am using sooner rather than later.
Cheers,
M Francis McCarthy
Landscapepainter.co.nz
A bit about 'Twilight Road' 5x7; I'm very happy with this study, the main focus is the sky with the different colored clouds and atmospheric quality. We will be discussing the 8x10 version of this motif next week so stay tuned.
To see more of my work, visit my site here
 |
| Twilight Road by M Francis McCarthy, 5x7 Oil Painting on Wood Panel |
Our video features the progression of this painting from its initial underpainting stage on up through final glazes and finishing brushwork. Also featured is my usual rambling narration, so please check that out.
I believe I talked about pigments in a previous blog post. Recently, I've been working through my current pallet and making absolutely certain that the pigments that I am using are as lightfast as possible.
The colors you need to watch out for are sometimes not what you would think. For example, cadmium yellow, orange and red are all very permanent but many of the variants of the Cads that are available are not lightfast to the same degree that the Cads are.
This wouldn't normally be a huge factor, except for the fact that I cannot use Cadmium's because I am using Lead White. The two different minerals are not compatible and over time if used together, the painting will darken and, in some cases become hideously ugly as the Cadmium interacts with the Lead White. For this reason, I've been using Cad variations for awhile. I noticed that the permanence rating on some of these colors were maybe three stars where I would've preferred four. After some research, I've adjusted my main yellow to a great color from Gamblin, Hansa Yellow Medium.
For my orange, I have tried a few different variations but have settled on a color from Gamblin called Permanent Orange. This is a little bit lighter than I would like it to be, but adjacent to my orange I have a bright red and the red that I have found to be a good Cadmium substitute and also highly permanent is Perylene Red.
Most of the earth colors are permanent, regardless of whether the paint is professional or student grade. This would include the umber colors, the ochers, and blacks. Titanium white which is widely available at all sorts of different price points and mixtures is also lightfast and highly permanent as is Lead White.
My Burnt Sienna color is a synthetic mixture and is lightfast (for your general reference and information the pigment identifying code for this color is PB 101). I prefer this to the actual Burnt Sienna because it is stronger in tinting strength and more transparent, while giving me the same color hue as actual Burnt Sienna. Actual Burnt Sienna is made out of clay from the Sienna region of Italy or equivalent areas.
The next color that I've had to address was Alizarin Crimson. The mixture that I had been using is permanent but not as permanent as I feel I should be using and for that reason I have recently made a switch to Permanent Alizarin Crimson from Gamblin. This color is not as strong as what I'd been painting with but it does the job and it is more permanent.
I like to have a violet color on my pallet and I've tried several of the permanent violets that are available from Gamblin, I have settled on Manganese Violet. This color has the right shade of blue violet. I would like it if it was stronger in tinting strength but it is a good color and it is serving its purpose on my pallet.
By the way, you might notice that I am using a lot of pigments from Gamblin. Gamlin makes excellent paint and their website is a good resource for information. Gamblin only make oil paints and the founder and owner Bob Gamblin is very passionate and precise about his pigment formulations.
All of the other colors in my pallet that I have been using were permanent already. Someone asked me recently why it really matters, and my answer would be that a good painting is something that is going to be treasured by the people that own it for a lifetime and then hopefully passed on to their heirs. My paintings ideally, will live much longer than I and for that reason, I want the colors that people see hundreds of years down the road to be as close as possible to the colors that I selected while painting in the studio.
I have been reading lately about problems with Vincent van Gogh's paintings. Many colors are changing from bright yellows into greenish ochre tones. I do not want this to happen to my work down the road so I feel it is best to take precautions and pay attention to the pigments I am using sooner rather than later.
Cheers,
M Francis McCarthy
Landscapepainter.co.nz
A bit about 'Twilight Road' 5x7; I'm very happy with this study, the main focus is the sky with the different colored clouds and atmospheric quality. We will be discussing the 8x10 version of this motif next week so stay tuned.
To see more of my work, visit my site here
 |
| Twilight Road 5x7 (Detail) |