Off to the art store I went with my list of colours in hand. This book by Jeanne Dobie is focused mainly on painting with watercolours, so my goal was to translate the exercises in this book into acrylic paints.
The first trick was to find the colours needed for the colour mixing. I learned from the helpful staff at the art store that a provided colour chart was the best way to find the colours I was looking for. Also, I learned that, apparently, Windsor Blue and Green in watercolour are translated to Phthalocyanine Blue and Green in acrylics. I did find it a challenge to find all the needed colours in one brand of paints. However, I was assured by the staff that the different brands mixed well with each other.
There is a whole world of learning just understanding the labels of the different colours. Here are some of the terminology used on the different brand labels and their definitions:
- Transparent – “allowing light to pass through” which means you will still see the canvas through it slightly and may need a few coats to obtain a solid colour
- Translucent – “semi-transparent”
- Opague – “not able to be seen through; not transparent”
- Viscosity – “thick, sticky and semi-fluid in consistency” vs. thinner, liquid acrylics
- Lightfastness – “not prone to discolour when exposed to light”
- Permanent – “lasting or intended to last or remain unchanged indefinitely”
Up until now I just grabbed the colours I thought would look good in a painting. I knew I needed to consider studio grade paints vs. professional paints when purchasing to create quality paintings that would be better preserved. But, I didn’t really give much thought to the transparency or opague of the colours chosen or how to use this knowledge in a painting to create light.
Now is the chance to be intentional to see if I can go deeper in understanding of colour. I can’t wait to get my paints home and get going with the exercises from Jeanne’s book.
