A few weeks ago I got a package from Russia with some new St Petersburg White Nights paints – including the six new colours in their pastel range and a gorgeous mauve paint tin. Thanks White Nights!
These colours are so out of character for me!!!! I normally use bright fresh colours or earth colours. I actually like pastels but I just don’t know what to do with them.
It’s also super weird to use watercolours which are so opaque (due to the PW6 white pigment) – it’s almost like using gouache. They appear to be more transparent and slightly darker when fully dry. And look at the colour of my dirty water container – so crazy.
But I have to admit they are super fun to paint with and I loved doing these swatches… so creamy and opaque. Yum!
I’m just not 100% sure how to use these paints. I have a few ideas, but any suggestions will be welcome!!!
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They do look yummi. Maybe they’d be interesting in some ornate tea cups, and combined with the usual transparent ones for the tea…?
They would be fun as a splash of color here and there to add exclamation and maybe as an under paint for interest. I just love them ! All my color range of favorites!! Have fun Liz!
Beaches, sea and sky!
But I agree with you, not your usual or mine, though they are lovely.
I thought of skies too as transparency is usually not an issue there. Sand is another option…..can’t wait to see what you end up doing!
sky, mountains,
How about snow scenes with warm morning or evening sunlight? I find pale blues to be helpful in snow landscapes. As well as other pastel colors.
These paints cry out for a new teacup! But it is also summer in Australia, so how about painting beds of pastel flowers at a pubic gardens? Perhaps there are some public estate buildings with beds of flowers these colors. Then you can sketch the buildings AND use these paints for the flowers.
Or…take a trip to Bermuda where the houses have white-washed “stepped” roofs (for collecting water) atop of walls painted these colors! 🙂
It could be interesting to do a series of technical studies comparing these opaque watercolors with white gouache into which you’ve mixed the same pigments. The main factor I’d be comparing is the lift ability of the gouache compared with the PW6 pigment in watercolor paints. I like to use PW6 in watercolor sometimes as a glaze to knock-back certain areas, and have begun playing with gouache (plain white and colored) for that purpose. But in my experience gouache in a sketchbook is more risky than watercolor because of the re-soluability of the gouache.
Those royal blue, lilac, and lavender colors create gorgeous glowing shadows and the coral a warm blush of light. I don’t use the rose quartz and peony as much except for flowers. These have rapidly become some of my favorite watercolors.
Thanks for sharing Sandra – yes they are lovely in a non-traditional way!
I should also say that these work fabulously on black or tinted paper too. You’re right about them being a lot like gouache. They aren’t chalky the way many white-mixed colors are.
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