The Funeral of Sky Blue

After doing some reading I realized that there were several pigments that contained somewhat toxic ingredients. A few I knew of already, such as cobalt blue and aureolin yellow, and I had stopped using the a long time ago, but there were a few others that I was not aware of including cerulean blue. This version of blue is ideal for painting the sky because it is the exact hue of a sunny-day blue sky. Look in the middle of the painting for a good example. Virtually every outdoor painting I have done has contained cerulean blue, so it was a difficult decision to give it up.  To replace it, I got phthalo blue which it pretty close if you mix with some ultramarine and keep it a thin wash. So I had this tiny bit of cerulean blue left on my palette and decided to memorialize it in this painting called The Funeral of Sky Blue, although it could have been called the retirement of sky blue since other people are probably still using it (some pigments have been outright banned, and more may follow especially in Europe the cadmium colours are under scrutiny). If you are a painter and concerned, search 'the color of art pigment database' and there is an excellent source that tells you the names and alternate names of all pigments. It is easier to use the colour code, for cerulean blue it was PB35 (which I put on the head of the tombstone!). I also learned that one of my other favorite colours alizarin crimson has a suspect lightfastness, that is, the quality of the paint that makes is last in direct sunlight. Alizarin will almost dissapear if kept in direct sunlight for 3 years I read somewhere. I inspected my old paintings and they look fine although they have been in portfolios all this time so kept out of light. Luckily replacing alizarin was easier, I am now using the quinacridones (e.g. PR209) which are low toxic and high lightfast.  Notice the sky does not have any blue in it, which provides another meaning for this painting (global warming). There is another detail, a portrait of Sky Blue when alive is seen in the flower arrangement, it is a square of sky blue. By the way, my other pigment tubes are attending the funeral in the painting.

11 x 15 ' cold press watercolour. 2017