Lab Book #22: Global Warming Colours, and some cutting edge abstracts

Prussian blue is one of the oldest synthetic pigments, it first appeared in the 18^th century and was used all over the world including by Japanese print makers and French Impressionist painters in the 19^th century. It is still a popular paint but modern alternatives exist that are much easier to handle. Prussian blue changes substantially as it is thinned out, or as it dries, as explained by MacEvoy on Handprint.com. My experience with the colour is limited, I used to great effect painting the St. Lawrence at the end of May last year, and used the last of my tube on some abstract paintings. The new one I bought was from Winsor and Newton brand, and it looks great so far. Another thing I learned from handprint.com is that venetian red (PR101) is a complimentary paint for prussian blue (PB27). The red cancels some of the greenish hue, leaving an interesting gray. In the painting, I used lab book doodles once again, and coloured it in with mostly venetian red and prussian blue, along with some raw sienna for the golden highlights. I quite like the mix, it gives a metallic texture in the right proportions, and interesting earth shades.       

Lab Book #22 Global Warming Colours, 8 x 10" cold press, watercolour, February 2021

 

The background of this painting is venetian red mixed with prussian blue, one thing I noticed was how well this mix covered the surface, I could see using it is a background fill. The yellow cup contains shades of yellow and some reflected orange.

Cutting Edge Abstract the Golden Cup, 1 x 11" watercolour paper, watercolour, February 2021 (No. 2615)

 

I called this one the endless Winter because the colour scheme resembles an old movie poster I had from Dad called the Endless Summer, it was all in fluorescent orange and yellows. Too bad the scan makes the orange more of a dull red, try to imagine this a fluorescent-tangerine. Oh, I called it endless winter because we are supposed to get another 15cm of snow soon!

Cutting Edge Abstract the Endless Winter, 1 x 9" watercolour paper, watercolour, February 2021 (No. 2616a)