I’m happy to announce that Da Vinci Paint is doing another round of Trios! I was so thrilled when Marcello, the owner of the company, asked me if I’d like to participate again. YES! Once again, Da Vinci Paint is using their NEW 8ml Vegan tubes to highlight some of their great watercolors. You can read all about the first iteration of the Trio Project here. Let me tell you all about my NEW Summer “Garden” Trio.
I chose to work with Hansa Yellow Medium, Quin Red and Phthalo Blue (Red Shade) for this new Summer Trio set. I named them “Garden” because they seem so clean, brisk and fresh, like a garden full of your own fruits, veggies and flowers. It’s the thump of a good, ripe watermelon, the crunch of a good carrot and the freshness of flowers in the back garden. That’s what I think about when I look at this combination of colors.
Why I Chose These Three Colors:
The first “Juicy” trio I chose, were my all time favorites. With Red Rose Deep (which is a version of Quin Rose/Permanent Rose, Hansa Yellow Deep (a good substitute for New Gamboge) and Phthalo Green (spectacular mixer), I had a wonderful Trio. This NEW “Garden” Summer Trio was a lot of fun as well. It is also meant to be supportive of my first trio in building a good, strong palette. Any palette is made more useful with a good mid yellow, blue and red. These three colors fit the bill.
My Summer Trio:
Hansa Yellow Medium is neither warm nor cool and it’s beautifully transparent. I use it so many ways that it disappears the quickest from my palette. It’s my undercoat for nearly every painting. It adds the sunshine without actually significantly changing the colors that I glaze over top. This color is also my main yellow mixer. Finally, I use it to brighten any dull looking, overworked painting. It’s quite common for artists to have a mid yellow like HYM and then a warm yellow (like Hansa Yellow Deep or New Gamboge) in their palette.
Phthalo Blue (RS) is nearly perfectly primary with a tiny extra red in it to make it especially gorgeous. I find this is my favorite blue of all time. I love it’s “moody” lean. But then I tend to always love blue type colors like this. This mixes beautiful slightly warm (olive) greens with HYM.
Quin Red, although a little cooler than a mid red, is a beautiful, clean color that evokes the idea of crispy apples. Usually Quin Red is made from PV19, the same pigment that makes up Quin Rose (and Red Rose Deep from my “Juicy” Trio). But in fact, Da Vinci Paint has used PR209 for their Quin Red instead. This color is more primary than pink so I found it to be a wonderful addition to a balanced palette. And LOOK at the oranges you get with HYM!!!
I love how these three watercolors make terrific secondary colors. As you can see from the mixing chart below, you’ll get a huge range of wonderfully deep, bright and joyous colors. You get some awesome purples, bright oranges and warm greens.
Mixing good, deep neutrals and blacks is easy. Adding equal amounts of quin red and phthalo blue (RS), then adding a little less HYM will give you a strong black. You want to mix them in mass tone. In other words, just enough water to get them to flow. You can see the color you’ll achieve in the first square below. If you add a little more quin red to the first square you’ll get the second square. If, on the other hand, you add more Hansa Yellow Medium instead, you’ll get the third square.
Bucket List for This year:
This time, instead of an all time bucket list (read it here), we’re doing a “Summer Trio” of answers to the question, “what things do you want to achieve this year?”.
1) Get healthy, body, mind and spirit – I have a lot of work to do with this, my number one goal in 2018. I’ve been dealing with health problems for several years and cancer for the last fourteen months. I hope to be rid of the caner by the end of 2018 and finally have my health back on track. It feels like I’ve lost so much time dealing with illness and I just want to take deep breaths and know I’m going to be ok.
I can’t wait to stop being afraid all the time. I want to take big, giant bites out of life and to never be afraid of new things again. My new motto is “live life out loud”. That’s what I’m going to do. Cancer makes you evaluate the way you live your life. I think being the most authentic I can be would honor the time I get, kind of like a do over. It feels like I’m chomping at the bit to just get started on a new life. I want it so bad, I can taste it.
I’ll be starting radiation treatment imminently and I’m looking forward to kicking cancer to the curb. I have so many friends who are supporting me and the love I feel from them makes the bad days ever so much easier. I was so humbled when my tribe of artist friends helped me buy an iPad so I can keep in contact when I’m away in treatment. It was the most generous and wonderful thing to ever happen to me and I thank my loving friends with all my heart.
2) Complete painting courses and improve my watercolor skills – I got a watercolor course for Christmas last year and while I’m away, I’m going to watch EVERY SINGLE VIDEO in the course. I’ve been so incredibly busy this year, that I haven’t even entered through the school’s virtual doors! I can’t wait to learn all the tips and tricks, like to see how to paint fur and hair and reflections. It’s going to keep me busy for the entire seven weeks I’m away in radiation treatment. Learning new things always makes me happy so it’s a great course to do while getting healthy.
3) Learn how to use my new iPad – I want to learn digital art techniques like calligraphy and brush pen lettering. Calligraphy and unique lettering has always interested me. As a lefty, pretty handwriting has eluded me most of my life but picking up brush lettering last year was illuminating and creative. I love the swoops and swirls you can add to letters. Learning to do that on my iPad seems a perfect new skill to add to my artistic quiver.
Three Favorite Things About Summer:
My first answer to this was, “what a silly, silly question, I’m Canadian!”. I mean, really, IT’S NOT SNOWING. Oh, did you notice, it’s NOT SNOWING. And really, it comes down to the fact that , did I mention?? IT’S NOT SNOWING!!! But that answer would be kind of boring so here’s my second try at answering in more coherent ways.
1) Feeding the seagulls at the beach – This is one of my very favorite things to do in the entire world. My mom and I make a date on my birthday every single year to go do just this.
One year, we drove to McDonalds to buy french fries for the birds. (I can’t have them, they’re not gluten free. I have Celiac disease so I’m happy to make the seagulls fat and happy instead!) When we got back into the car I lowered the window to throw one little fry out to one hungry beleaguered seagull. He looked so lonely all by himself. As I did this I heard mom say, “NO DON’T!”. By the time I turned back to the front window, the entire car was inundated with pecking, ravenous, flapping seagulls as they climbed onto the roof, over the hood and stared at us and our fries through the front windshield. HOLY COW!!
2) It almost never snows in the summer. ;o) – Ok, I had to add my original answer here. I have to be me. AND I HATE SNOW. That’s actually not true. I love snow. As long as it’s falling outside the window and actually doesn’t land. Ya, I can dream, right?? I like a warm Christmas day. My early childhood was spent here, in British Columbia, Canada. We used to go skateboarding and roller skating on December 25th. Now, the weather is colder in the winter and warmer in the summer. Ahh, global warming, not for the faint of heart, I must say.
3) All the fresh fruit and veg that my mom and I can put up for the winter – We can our own jams, salsa and even ketchup & mustard! I spent some of my later childhood in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where farmers “put up” their summer harvest in a cold storage room in the basement. Once you’ve tasted handmade preserves and condiments, you’ll never want anything else. It’s also easier for me. If we can our own food, I never have to worry about unintentionally being “glutened”.
Thank you to Da Vinci Paint for asking me to participate once again in the Trio Project. Da Vinci watercolors are such a terrific value and beautiful quality. Not only are they professional and creamy but they rewet so beautifully. They are also all made in the United States. I highly recommend these paints.
Thank you also to Hahnemühle Paper. All of the art & color swatches you see here are done on Hahnemühle Expression, Harmony or Leonardo (also found at Cheap Joe’s) paper. If Hahnemuhle watercolor paper is NOT carried by your art store, be sure to REQUEST it. The more requests they get from customers, the higher the chance they’ll stock this amazing paper. Each customer who purchases any Trios will receive a sample pack of Hahnemühle Cézanne watercolor paper! YAY, thank you Da Vinci & Hahnemühle.
If you would like to buy my “Garden” or my “Juicy” Trio, click below.
MAKE YOUR OWN #DAVINCIMOMENT
More Paint Suggestions:
Of you’d like a suggestion on how to make this a beautifully rounded out Split Primary palette, I have three other additions that I’d recommend. If you have both of my Trios, then you have a warm and cool yellow (hansa Yellow Medium acts as your “cool” yellow), a mid and cool red, a cool blue and a green as a convenience color and great mixer. Now you need a warm blue, warm red and an earth. My suggestions would be thus:
Warm Red – Benzimida Orange
Warm Blue – Ultramarine Green Shade
Earth Color – Quin Gold OR Burnt Sienna Deep
Now you have a nine color warm and cool palette! YAY!
Read About Each Artist’s Summer Trio:
There are three other wonderful artists who are participating in the Summer Trio Project. They each have a beautiful Trio of their own. Visit their blogs and read all about their #DaVinciMoment.
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Enter my GIVEAWAY to win your own “Garden” Trio along with my “Juicy” Trio too and a Hahnemühle Watercolor Book!
Nicole/DVArtist
Wowowow what a fabulous post! Thank you.
Linda K
you are so wonderfully talented at art and writing Jenn. I love this post!! You are expressing such a positive attitude which is everything, especially when going through something as heavy as cancer. Your watercolor art is superb as always and I so admire your talents. Wishing you all the best, and of course I’m keeping you in my thoughts and prayers and sending out positive vibes. Hugs!
Tracey
So many possibilities with those three little colour, fabulous post with magnificent art to compliment it all very nicely.