Cyclamen, mineral paints demo
Cyclamen, mineral paints, originally uploaded by Cathy (Kate) Johnson.
I'm working on the manuscript for the North Light book, my Watercolor Tricks and Techniques for the 21st Century, and my editor wanted a new vignette using mineral paints.
I'd done an article for Watercolor Artist on Rublev's Natural Pigments paints, and have used Daniel Smith's and a few of Joe Miller's, just to experiment with, and wanted to use some of the brighter colors than the ones I've done in the past--like this one using the Natural Pigments Cozens box.
(Lost some of the color in the scan, alas...)
I bought a cyclamen for our middle godchild's birthday and thought it would be fun to try out some of these colors--on the painting at the top, I used Rhondonite Genuine (the pink), Natural Amazonite (darker green), Serpentine Genuine (lighter, yellower green), Sodalite Genuine and Purpurite Genuine--these latter two provided the darks.
They do lift well, where I wanted to give a bit more detail to the leaves--I used a small, stiff, damp brush and blotted up the loosened pigment immediately.
It was an interesting experiment, but truthfully, I'd still prefer a fresher, more transparent rose for the flowers. I'm just not wild about the mineral paints, I'm afraid--I don't quite get it.
I'm told there are some colors that are just marvelous--my friend Laura Frankstone works wonders with Lunar Blue, and I'm going to have to try it. Some of the rest of them are more difficult to work with. Hey, maybe it IS hard to teach an old dog new tricks, especially when the dog really doesn't see the need to learn them. ;-)
But...since I teach, I DO feel the need to try out new things. Just not to stay with them if they're Not For Me!