December 14, 2010

The Color Black

I've talked about this color before and how I don't own a tube of black. I post this not so good w/c painting because of the black hat..   A mixture of UB (untramarine blue)  SG (sap green) and AZ (alizaron crimson) in different amounts will give you a warm black , more red , a cold black... more blue  . 
  Really... any blue, Indigo instead of UB. Can't live without Indigo Blue... 
So it reads as black even though I never used it.   TA DA!!!!

11 comments:

  1. Well it looks black to me!!! LOL. An excellent lesson in what colours we REALLY see. And I totally disagree about this being a "not so good" watercolour. ;-)

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  2. Thanks John, we all learn from each other.. and most artists are more than willing to share.

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  3. HI Barbra Joan, it's a lovely watercolor. I too don't use real Black.. haha. I use ultramarine blue and sepia for my black most of the time. I have tried Luna black from Daniel Smith because it granulates which is fun with old boards and antique things.. but is not intense enough for me... take care, Diana

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  4. Good tip Diana, a lot of artists don't realize how easy it is too get black with other colors, and its more intense than tube black.
    thanks.

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  5. I use a sticky mix of Burnt Sienna and French Ultra - gives me a good black, which is very useful when I paint black and white dogs!
    There are many mixes, as you pointed out - and I like this watercolour! :) xx

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  6. Beautiful painting, love the skin tones.

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  7. Glad you posted this! At a workshop recently, I learned that factory black is too dull, and should never be used. We mixed Tuscan Red and Indigo Blue. One more little secret to improve our art! Your painting looks great!

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  8. I hadnt tried this particular combo, thanks for sharing the tip, Barbra,like this lovely face:-)

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  9. I totally agree with you about mixing your own black. I don't own a black acrylic or watercolour either. I always mix my own. Manufactured black is so 'flat'.
    Is this a self portrait? It looks remarkably like you! :0D

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  10. Oh, Sandra no it isn't me at all.. but now that you say that I see the red hair might have had something to do with your saying that.
    and yes, tube blacks are so flat and dull.
    I read a formula for this so long ago, and have always mixed my own. Black and white have no room on my palette.!

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  11. I LIKE this painting. I have a black in oil but in watercolor, I mix my own.

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