Day 15 Low Key Triad with Sennelier Extra-Fine Watercolor Paints
This time, I opted for a combination of three pretty dull colors. As they are very dark, I referred to the photographic term, Low Key, which indicates the opposite of High Key, which means that the whole is very dark. It is true, as a watercolorist, we are looking for colors, preferably single-pigmented, transparent with a beautiful vibrancy, quite the opposite of this triad ...
But in nature, most of the colors are tarnished and almost never of an exploding chromium (sorry for the "aficionados" of the flowers ...).
For this triad, I have retained colors from Sennelier.
This Low Key triad is composed of;
- Natural Sienna: PBr7
- Dark Alizarine Crimson or Madder Brown: PR209 - PY83 - PR179
- Payne's Gray: PV19 - PB15: 1 - PBk7
You see, I chose colors composed of several pigments, something that I try to avoid normally. Also be careful, because according to the brands, the compositions of these colors (same name) can be very different and therefore the mixtures will give other results!
So that's this intro. Now to our observations of our mixtures. The Natural Siena (Yellow) produced with the Dark Alizarine Crimson (Red) shades ranging from burnt Sienna to dull oranges then tending to red brick or terra cotta.
The mix of Sienna with Payne's Gray (blue) produces no greens but shades of Shadow Earth, neutral grays or bluish blacks.
Payne's Gray produces dull reds and chestnuts with dark Alizarin Crimson to finish with Mars browns or van Dijck brown.
The mixture of the three colors produces blacks as well as dark and gray tones with dominant red, yellow or blue according to the importance or domination of a color.
What better than choosing zebras to use this triad. Indeed, have you ever observed the different shades of their dress. And to say that most people think they are black and white ...
As with many watercolors I made, I painted the shades first with a mixture of dark Garance lacquer and Payne gray.
Then I set the background in negative.
After this, I started putting glazes on this dried underlayment.
This watercolor ended with the creation of contrasts and some glazes of a very dull gray to mark or accentuate the shapes of zebras.
Tomorrow we discover a hot triad, although of rather dark value.
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See you next time and do not forget the water and brushes are good.