I'm really sorry I could not publish articles on a daily basis. I had severe joint problems that prevented me from writing and painting. After an intervention of my rheumatologist and a few days off, I take up the challenge and I hope to publish the analysis of my challenge to paint with 30 different triads ...

This triad High Key is, in my opinion, the most versatile.

Indeed, one can obtain secondary colors very nuanced and of a beautiful chromatics and value.

Triad High Key 3:

• Transparent Yellow (Schmincke)

• Quinacridone Magenta (Blockx)

• Manganese Blue (Daler & Rowney)

It is also easy to add the 3rd color to tarnish the colors too bright and get tones of ocher, hers and shadows without too much trouble ...

Yet there are two limits...

The first is that because it's a High Key, you can not get very deep shadows, or get black. Yet we get beautiful gray by mixing the 3 colors.

The second limitation is that no color really produces granulation. Yes blue manganese is very famous for producing this beautiful effect, but as the pigment is no longer accessible (highly polluting), manufacturers have used Phthalo blue to create this shade, which is close to the original color, but which no longer have the same characteristics (Granulation, non-tinting ...)

But let's first analyze the mixtures between these 3 colors.

Yellow produces bright greens with manganese blue and by adding a little bit of magenta we get very natural greens and a little duller.

The yellow with the magenta produces oranges very interesting, certainly a little less vivid than the colors created with pyrrole type pigments or other pure orange pigments, but one also gets reddish reds of orange-red until you get red-like scarlet style, etc.

The combination of magenta with manganese blue produces beautiful purple and mauve of great purity. But we also get neutral blue to see warm ones, without being able to get a bright ultramarine blue. It is also quite difficult to obtain a beautiful shade of Madder or Alizarin Crimson ...

As for the mixture of the three colors, it is very subtle. Browns, lavenders, and neutrals are obtained. It's really very interesting to try this trio.

So it was quite difficult to find a subject, which could translate all these possibilities of mixtures and prove that with only 3 colors, one can obtain a harmonious watercolor, transparent and really limit his palette!

So I opted for a Tuscan landscape with variations of green and blue to show the power of this triad.

Tomorrow the last triad of the High Key transparent and a little darker mixed ...

If you want to see my achievements day-to-day but not commented, visit my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/dezire.herman or the page of my Facebook group All about watercolour, tests, brands, techniques (ask to join because it is a closed group) on which I give more explanations ...

See you next time and do not forget the water and brushes are good.