Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Heroes

Following on from yesterday, here are some heroes.

Transparent Maroon (Benzimidazalone). Winsor and Newton. My favourite red. Rich and dark in body. It has a strong blue undertone but when neutralised this fades somewhat. With black and white it can match venetian red exactly, and can become a rich scarlet with a transparent yellow or burnt sienna.

Indian Yellow Deep. Winsor and Newton. A curious transparent yellow, useful with the above red, or viridian. Sometimes mixes are not revealed on the palette, but show only on the canvas due to the ultra-fine particle size. A modern "aureolin" without the expense and blackening of that pigment.

Viridian. I prefer Michael Harding's at the moment. A classic green. Fast drying and very permanent. Let down sometimes by it's lightness and transparency.

Ultramarine. I love Blockx Ultramarine Deep, one of the darkest and most purplish ultramarines.

Chromium Oxide. Has different names. A dense pea green that looks rather drab and ugly at first but tends to look better when used, and in artificial light looks greener that ever! The only green I use in underpainting, although I mix a few from cobalt turquoise and earth yellows.

Well I won't dwell on the more common heroes, I'm sure you have your own. Alas I'm rather unwell again today, which will only make an ultimate recovery more joyous. I aim to paint tomorrow, which to me is more restful than doing nothing.