Color Tests

Pyrrol Red Tests

Click on image to see color results

watercolor 22 x 30 inches

Still Life - 92

watercolor 15 x 22 inches

Recently, I gave a workshop to the Sierra Watercolor Society on color. The 20 people who took that workshop had not a single moment of lighthearted play during the 3 days. They worked extremely hard to understand color, color relationships, harmonies and, of course, color mixing. M. Graham of West Linn, Oregon made paints available to the workshop so everyone could see the value of extra fine pigments and how they behave on the palette and all get the same results. A salute to the Grahams, Art and Diana, would be minimizing the value of their contribution to these artists and myself. To see the lights come on and the realizations dawn for these artists is absolute pleasure to witness. As the three days progressed, I could see a fluency develop in every single participant. I wish the Grahams could have seen the outcome!

They sent a few of their new colors for me to try. One was Pyrrol Red. I haven’t the slightest idea what the derivation of that color is, but I certainly squeezed as much from that color as I could in determining how it would behave ‘under fire.’

From what I could tell, (see the above chart) it seemed to reside at or very near the 9 o’clock position on the color wheel, midway between orange-red and quinacridone rose (primary red). As you can see, I tested it’s wheel position and validated it’s relationship with other colors. Compared to Cadmium Red, this color is absolutely transparent and brilliant in intensity. I am VERY tempted to put Cad Red aside as this color mixes so beautifully with others and dries with that same brilliance. I need to assess it a bit further before I give up such a stalwart pigment such as Cad Red . . . . .but I am certainly leaning in that direction.

Following the tests, I made another design in the series of still lifes I have been playing with over the last few years. I used Pyrrol Red throughout the painting to make the sienna tones, the greens, the violets and the darks, as well as the semi-neutral reds (browns). The paint performed marvelously!

All the while the testing was going on in the painting, I was mentally busy exploiting more design possibilities in the painting. After 90 some paintings on the same theme, one would think I would run out of ideas, but they just keep coming . . .though much more slowly. More about that later.