Margret E Short Fine Arts Blog

A Lilliputian Look

                                                                                 A Lilliputian look at #8!

Very Vermilion

Back in October of 2006 while viewing the Rembrandt exhibit at the Dayton Art Institute, I knew in an instant this one must be used as a source painting for one in my Lessons from the Low Countries series. The anticipation of using this masterpiece was heightened because of the brilliant and varied pigment possibilities. After seeing this small portion here, I know you can understand why it was completely irresistible. It is now painting #8. Here are some of the notations I made in the catalog while viewing the show in Dayton back in October 2006.

.Color in catalog almost exact to painting

.Creamy satin gown with sparkling border perfect for pearls

.Gold metallic border on cloak sparkles

.Great example of azurite/malachite...muted color exact to painting

.Gold metallic in cape is sparkling and glistening all over the surface

What could I do to utilize and learn from this magnificent Dutch painting?

This painting is one of the shining stars in the Rembrandt and the Golden Age of Dutch Art Exhibit. It is a masterpiece by Salomon Koninck titled, The Idolatry of King Solomon. Just the mere size is imposing, one of the largest, 61x67 inches. Pictured here is a small detail.

Koninck used the story from the Old Testament about King Solomon. The king was swayed by his many wives and began to worship idols, which angered God. Religious reformers and Protestants admonished this idolization.

This majestic painting has an ever-moving sparkle as you walk from side to side. It could easily be mistaken for a Rembrandt, not only because of the content but also the application of the paint. Like Rembrandt, Koninck often used lavish costumes, props and rich fabrics in a grand chiaroscuro setting.

My first though while planning my painting...color! color! color! and more color! Again, I used a still life idea as a matrix. To fully benefit from the stunning color, I used lots of red, a maroon, and golds. The red is a perfect vermilion. It is bright but not garish in any way. In the source painting Soloman is wearing a splendid robe of shimmering velvet, which was replicated in my painting with carmine and umber perfectly.

Because my hand-ground vermilion has a natural subtle grayed tone, it was perfect straight off the grinding slab; then heightened with a little Naples yellow for the lighter areas, and darkened with a little umber for the shadows.

This finished painting is one of the largest in my exhibit also, measuring 30x30 inches. But no more peeking.

Southwest Sienna

Several years ago while traveling in the Southwest, we visited  Utah's famous Bryce and Zion National Parks. As many of you probably know, the hills there are spectacular colors, glowing with reds and golds in endless varieties. Because I did not want any trouble from those pesky park rangers, I waited until we were outside of the boundaries of the park to gather some dirt and rocks and put them in the trunk of the car for later use.

After our return, I did a little research, and learned it is reasonably easy to make pigment from this type of material. First, the larger particles were ground in an old coffee bean grinder, and separated as to sizes in a sieve. Then each batch was washed with many rinsings of fresh water, and then dried by laying out on a flat surface for a while.

The next step was to actually make the paint. I used a muller and grinding slab and ground the pigment with linseed oil, making a very small amount. Shown in the image above are the three stages of the pigment, rock, powder, and finally, paint.

A very important issue to address was the permanency of the pigment, because I had no way of knowing if it would be an archival color. To do this, I made a color swatch, and carefully dated it. After it was dry, barrier paper was placed over one half of the color, and put it in a window with a southern exposure.

Shown here is the actual pigment test that has been in that window for two years. The barrier paper was placed exactly down the center of the swatch vertically and shows no noticeable fading. Maybe this paint will be used to paint a picture of Bryce Canyon  sometime, in the future, but I think I will wait at least two more years, just to be sure of the permanency. Therefore I will not be using this pigment for my project at this time.

Viridian vs. Verona

Often in this blog documentation, I have talked about color saturation. This is very important to anyone using color in any way, no matter the medium. The saturation of a color, paint, or dye, is the intensity of the pigment, meaning how weak or powerful it is.

Often, I have mentioned a color having a weak tinting strength, especially the earth greens. Here I have images of two different greens and two blobs of the white in exactly the same amounts of paint.

On the left is a viridian green which is NOT a historic pigment, but was developed in modern times. It is a pigment widely used today in most mediums including oils, watercolors, and others. It has a very high saturation meaning high tinting power. In fact it is a powerful color that must be controlled or it will take over other pigments.

On the right is Verona green earth which IS a historic pigment and has been used for centuries. It has a very low tinting strength and will never over take others. Even if you add gobs to other colors it will not do much to alter that other pigment. For example, it can be added to a red and it will just gently alter the red.

As you can see here in this image, after mixing the white into the greens, how much more powerful the viridian green (on the left) is over the subtle color of the verona green earth (on the right). Remember, they were mixed with exactly the same proportions.

This is one of the major differences between all of the modern pigments versus historic ones. None of the historic pigments I have been experimenting with are powerful colors, but instead, they are lovely subtle natural tones. They are easily controlled and have a harmonious appearance, meaning they look pleasing together. This is one of many reasons why this Lessons from the Low Countries project/experiment has been so exciting and revealing.

One Month Till Liftoff

Today, May 1, 2007, marks the one month deadline for the beginning of my Lessons from the Low Countries Exhibit. Please mark this on your calendar.

Lawrence Gallery
903 NW Davis
Portland, Oregon
97209
503-228-1776
June 1 thru June 30, 2007
Opening Reception
First Thursday, June 7, 6-9pm

I will be sending out announcements via mail and email. Those of you who would like an invitation sent through the mail should contact me at: mshortfineart@aol.com and I will add you to my mailing list. This is for those who have not previously been on my mailing list.

One other comment of note, I must deliver the paintings by May 24th. Time is drawing near.
Lawrence Gallery