Working with the so-called earth paints has been a series of discoveries. They are comprised of mostly mustard yellows, rusty oranges, chocolate browns and brick reds. On their own, the colours have a good intensity and they make very neutral mixes which are good for olive greens and 'tree bark' browns. For abstract art, they work best as a contrast point for the brighter 'synthetic' paints like quinacridones and azo pigments. In the study above you see how the earthy browns make the sunrise glow even more.
Rise and Surprise, 4 x 6" cold press, watercolour, May 2021 (No. 2629a)
I put 'synthetic' in quotes because the earth paints are mostly synthetic nowadays, derived from iron oxide byproducts of the steel industry. Some might still be sourced from pigment mines found throughout Europe and other parts of the world, but the high production pigments for bricks and plastics are made the industrial route. The 'irony' is that when iron oxidizes, it becomes brittle and weak and changes colour, that process is the very definition of rust. However, the artist can use the oxidized iron as a pigment and has done so since ancient times. In the painting I used iron oxide reds (PR101 and PR102), raw sienna (PBr7), and some yellow ochre (PY43). I was inspired by Keith Haring, I saw some of his art sell on the show 'Pawn Stars' where they buy and sell valuable junk, and his works sold for tens of thousands of dollars. He passed away in the 90's and was best known for commercializing the graffiti style as fine art.
Iron Oxide Factory, 10 x 11" cold press, watercolour, May 2021 (No. 2657a)
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