Lately various countries have been landing probes on mars for exploration. But what if some other planet sent a probe at the same time? The painting shows just that moment, when probe meets probe. To create the intense red atmosphere of mars I started with an under-painting of graphite grey to establish the shadows, form and some texture. The sky was done with rose-red (PV19, M. Graham), and the surface was burnt sienna deep (PBr7 Da Vinci) and yellow ochre (PY43 Da Vinci). Other colours were dilute organic paints like benzimidazolones and phthalos. Most modern pigments are derived from coal tar (petro-chemical). I found an old document from the mid 19th century and they were mentioning 'new' coal tar pigments (e.g. aniline) but the authors were commenting on how unstable they were at the time. Since then, azo chemistry was figured out, and that resulted in a whole slew of new 'coal-tar' pigments all around the colour circle. Ironically, the coal tar pigments are extremely light, bright, and colourful in appearance. Actual black pigments are more commonly made from iron oxides or from carbon made by calcinating (burning) petroleum or bones. I wonder what kind of paint could be made from the surface of mars? It would be pretty expensive I'd imagine.
Probe meets Probe, 9 x 12" cold press, watercolour, May 2021 (No. 2665b)
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