Woods in Winter, Watercolor
Is Opera Rose Fugitive?
Is the pigment called opera rose lightfast or fugitive? I had always heard it was extremely fugitive, but experts don't agree.
Opera rose is a quinacridone pigment defined as PR122. According to the authoritative website Handprint, it's very reliable. In fact Handprint rates it as a "Top 40" pigment. They say: "after 800+ hours of sunlight exposure, the samples show no fading or discoloration."
Here's how they explain it:
"Quinacridone magenta PR122 is a lightfast, semitransparent, staining, dark valued, intense violet red pigment, offered by more than 20 pigment manufacturers worldwide. The ASTM (in technical report D5067-99) rates the lightfastness of PR122 in watercolors as "fair" (III, "may be satisfactory when used full strength or with extra protection from exposure to light"), but other manufacturer and independent tests rate it higher. My 2004 lightfastness tests of the nine paint brands listed above, which show color variations that suggest several different pigment particle sizes or pigment suppliers, revealed very little or no color degradation, after 800+ hours of direct sunlight exposure, in both heavy and diluted applications. This puts the pigment solidly in the "excellent" (I) category (BWS 7+)."
"For context, compare these samples to naphthol red (PR170), a pigment with a well established "very good (II)" rating, or with quinacridone rose (PV19), which is considered to have "excellent (I)" lightfastness. This is such a glaring discrepancy that the ASTM test must be flawed or unrepresentative in some way. Because Michael Wilcox relies on the ASTM documents for his pigment ratings, he has been critical of this pigment without any corroborating evidence of its fallability. I suggest you do your own lightfastness test on PR122 paints until a consensus emerges, but at present I see absolutely no reason to avoid this splendid pigment."
To Convey Drama, Use Contrasts
In this new YouTube video, I paint a dramatic townscape in watercolor.
Zorn and the Rain Storm
were fat ones.) He laid this on a box hedge in the garden when a thunderstorm came up. We all rushed out and it seemed to me ruined."
Cass Gilbert, Architect and Painter
Book: Cass Gilbert, Life and Work: Architect of the Public Domain
Turner's Small Watercolor Kits
J.M.W. Turner's super-portable watercolor set consisted of a small set of cake colors in a leather pocket pouch.
He also had slightly larger sets with flasks. This is his paintbox, found in his studio after his death in 1851
(Tate Archive 7315.6)To learn more about 19th century watercolor sets, check out the website whimsie.com or the Tate Archive
Pleissner Paints a Painting Partner
Painting a Blue Cup of Ice Water
Hang out with me and Jeanette at the diner as I paint this blue plastic cup of ice water. (Link to YouTube)
As we wait for our eggs and fried potatoes, we chat about how Jeanette used to watch her mother (who was an illustrator) paint in watercolor. For a spot of complementary color, I used an orange straw from Dunkin' Donuts.
Three Artists Paint Cole's Studio