Fowl Pool

The public pool in Confederation park was half filled with melt water and rimmed with old leaves. A couple of ducks landed in the water and swam around, while some seagulls looked on with interest. I painted this pool before during the pandemic when I was exploring the colour blue. Back then I used cerulean blue, which is a cobalt based paint, but yesterday I was using purely phthalocyanines, including phthalo blue (PB15) and green (PG7). The phthalos are strong, staining pigments that need to be diluted correctly to get maximum effect. The concept of staining is one of those watercolour myths, it goes that some paints will stick to the paper permanently. While there is some truth to the idea of staining, the more important factor is the paper. If I used phthalo blue on the Winsor and Newton sheet it will stain an be difficult to lift. If I use the same paint on the Fabriano block it comes off no problem. The difference is the sizing- an oily substance they apply to the paper during manufacturing to prevent the paint from diffusing through the paper fibers. Even if the idea that some paints are staining was true, it has never been clear to me what to do with the information. Is staining good or bad? At any rate, the ducks don't care, they just need to have a pond and some habitat.

Fowl Pool, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, April 2023 (No. 3432b)