Golf in the hill – Watercolour
I had the privilege of playing round Torphin Hill Golf Course earlier this week. I was a member here, in the late 1960′s/early 1970′s and, despite the addition of many trees, I recognised many parts immediately. This is the 7th hole which is best approached by hitting a mid iron so it lands to the left of the green where it will bounce rightwards towards the flag. Fancy remembering this “local knowledge” after 40 years since my last game here. The course is infamous for being extremely hilly but the spectacular views, of Edinburgh, more than make up for the sore knees and shortness of breath. In this view Arthur’s Seat, the extinct volcano in the centre of the city, can be seen with the Firth of Forth (the River Forth estuary), which flows into the North Sea, behind. The patch of water, to the left of the green, is one of the many reservoirs in the Pentland Hills and is known as “Torduff” which is quite apt since “Duff” means to “Foozle”or “Sclaff” the shot (misthit it).
greyseal 3:04 pm on August 27, 2011 | #
Uncle, you have splashed a very good one here! Colorful, airy and I even smell the grasses. I am especially taken with your deep skies and was wondering if you use Payne Grey in your pallet. Regards!
Boofredlay 3:24 pm on August 27, 2011 | #
Very good!
Uncle Bob 2:21 am on August 28, 2011 | #
Thank you both greyseal and boofredlay
Greyseal-
I usually mix my greys mainly from blue and red and which types depend upon the colours in that part of the painting. I generally use Cerulean Blue for distant skies while something like Ultramarine does for closer areas. Try adding a tiny amount of Light Red to the Cerulean while Burnt Sienna works well with the Ultramarine. This sky started with a very weak wash of Raw Sienna over the whole sky. While it was still wet small blue areas were added. The wet initial wash helps to disperse the blues and you can leave lovely warm cloud edges showing. I then dropped the Cerulean/Red into the distant areas gradually making the clouds smaller as the horizon was approached. The horizon is actually a “skim” of the grey right across. Sometimes I have difficulty in separating near and far away clouds and you can see this grey in some of the larger, closer clouds. This is why I dropped in the Ultramarine/B.Sienna grey into the bottom of these clouds. You can alter the intensity of both greys by varying the amount of red added to the blue but watch out when using Light Red as it’s SO powerful. As the sky began to dry I kept adding the intense blue to the underside of the near clouds until I was satisfied, remembering that all watercolour dries lighter. I used most of the same colours when mixing greens/ground colour as the sky will reflect light onto the ground. In this case you might be able to see evidence of the reds in the bushes above the putting surface and the shadows are from the Ultramarine mix with a hint of Alizarin Crimson. Try washing this over your finished greens for a different result. Also try a variety of cold and warm yellows for your greens, such as Aureolin Yellow, Lemon Yellow and Yellow Ochre. You asked about Payne’s Grey. When you drop one colour into another it helps if the strength of the two mixes is about the same. If a weaker mix drops into a stronger one then the thing goes out of control and “run – backs” (Cauliflowers) can result. Since Payne’s Grey is SO powerfully dark, it would take over the painting if allowed. The solution might be to weaken it but it might cause run – backs which is why I don’t use it. Its possible, of course, to get used to this as a grey for clouds and the trick is to allow your initial wash of Raw Sienna to almost dry before dropping in Payne’s Grey. In this case try to leave a fair amount of the first wash exposed (you can halt the spread of grey with a hair drier) and, when the whole thing is dry, spray a mist of clear water over your surface then drop in other colours, such as blue areas.
You can see some of the above in a small video I put on You Tube some time ago. This uses the two blues but only one of the greys. It also leaves out the initial was of Raw Sienna since I removed the clouds with a brush.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFpTUiwqclk
Years ago, a club I belonged to had an instructor who was a Payne’s Grey fanatic. We got fed up with her constant urging to get us to use it and I composed the following which did the trick. I think you can guess how much I dislike this colour from this. He He
(This is sung to the tune “The night they discovered champagne” ).
The night I discovered Payne’s Grey
My Indigo was oot, Vermilion kaput
The night I discovered Payne’s Grey
Well what was I to do? I needed darker hues.
When suddenly a tube of the stuff, landed beside me with a thud.
Now everything I paint, becomes an awful pain
Each masterpiece transformed into a sea of blue, grey muuuuuuud!
Hope this is of some use
Bob
greyseal 7:28 pm on August 28, 2011 | #
Thank you Uncle Bob. Yes, I think I’ll abandon the Payne grey from now on since it has given me more grief than not. It just so happened that my Grand Canyon doodle was done sans Payne Grey from accidental necessity. I forgot it. Thank you again.