Tip of the month – January, 2007

The color selection:

Liquid Acrylics

Hanza Yellow
Quinacridone Gold
Quinacridone Sienna
Naphthol Red Light
Quinacridone Coral
Quinacridone Red
Green Gold
Sap Green
Phthalocyanine Blue

Full Body Acrylics

Diarylide Yellow
Naples Yellow
Quinacridone Gold
Quinacridone Rose
Phthalocyanine Blue
Ivory Black
Titanium White

I use more than one brand of acrylics – Golden, Winsor & Newton, Daniel Smith, & Graham. This work was painted on a pre-stretched cotton canvas coated with white gesso.

Whether working in watercolor or acrylic on paper, or acrylic or oil on canvas, my working methods are very similar. I start by moistening the surface lightly and laying in an under wash of colors that are analogous to the final colors.

In the first wash, I used a selection of four colors as the under wash – Hanza Yellow, Green Gold, Nephthol Red Light, and Quinacridone Red. These were liquid acrylics which were diluted to watercolor consistency.

In this step, a gradual shaping of the flower can be seen. Touches of Quinacridone Sienna and Sap Green are placed in the negative space around the flower shape. Quinacridone Coral and Quinacridone Red are applied to the center area of the flower. The paint remains very dilute. Quinacridone colors are vibrant and transparent.

With further application of Sap Green and Quinacridone Gold, the shape of the flower becomes more apparent. I worked only in the negative space and I used the side of the brush roughly passing over the surface of the canvas – scumbling. The paint was still thin. An uneven application was what I was looking for.

By using Phthalocyanine Blue with the Quinacridone Gold, I was able to start increasing the value in the negative space. The blue is a very transparent color. The paint application was again, a scumbling technique. The variation in the spatial depth is showing more. At this point, I am showing more light to the upper right of the painting.

It was time to return to the flower. I try to work all over the painting at the same time not wanting to complete one area. Working in this manner, I am able to constantly compare the negative space with the subject. At this point, it is time to enrich the colors in the flower. I moistened the entire canvas with water and washed in Quinacridone Sienna, Quinacridone Coral and Quinacridone Red in a variegated wash. While the paint was still wet, I rubbed the color off the tip of the stamen.

Naples Yellow, Quinacridone Gold, and Phthalocyanine Blue are used to create a more solid look to the subject. I am now using full body acrylics for a heavier paint application. Naples Yellow and Quinacridone Gold are worked into the edges of the flower and the tip of the stamen. I use all three colors to pull out leaf shapes in the negative space. The blue is used at the flower’s center to start to create the inward movement.

The flower’s shape and the feeling of foliage in the background have now been established. It is now a matter of strengthening the darks and the lights and adding more detail. Quinacridone Rose, Naples Yellow, Ivory Black, and Titanium White are my color choices. These colors are full Body acrylics.

These final closeup visuals will give you an idea of the transparency and opacity that are contained in the painting.

As a final wash to unite the subject and ground, I applied a diluted wash of Diarylide Yellow. While it was still wet, I pushed it around with a tissue, sometimes lifting the yellow color.

The completed painting, JANUARY’S HIBISCUS, can be viewed in the floral gallery.

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