r ransom

She's planning a self portrait a week for a year. wow!

It's not her first self portrait challenge, so she has some useful insights.


After last year's mixed emotions self portrait, I had decided to do one a year between new years and my birthday.   As the year progressed, my body shape changed due to medicine.  The idea of taking a photo of myself or looking in the mirror for hours is disgusting to me.  I don't want to do a self portrait this year.  A painting of a potato would look nicer.

Maybe, a voice whispers, that's exactly why I should try one.  I don't have to show anyone and oil paint burns really well if it doesn't work out.

Phthalo blues are bullies on the palette.   Medium to slow drying and overpowered.

Because they are so powerful, they mix well with filler.  It's one of the few colours I like better in student paints than in professional.  I have a red shade and blue shade phthalo in M Graham and they are lovely if I can remember to only use the tiny amount.  

The phthalo pigment can be vibrant green to deep purple.  

I don't know why I don't use it more.  Probably because I need more practice.

Smalt looks nifty.  The modern version is a variation of ultramarine violet, but probably more transparent.

The historical versions seem a lot more fun as they often had glass powder added as well as the pigment, so the light would dance around inside the paint to give a different effect to whar we see in modern painting.

I think you're right.  Having lived with the swatch for a day, I don't see many places to use colbalt blue in my painting.

Maybe one day, if it's on sale, but not this time.

Now, smalt, on the other hand...

I want to say "cold wax", but I don't know what that's made from.  It's a common way to protect watercolour painting.  I suspect the traditional recipes are different than the modern ones.

Also, they look fantastic!

I found it