Saturday, May 24, 2014

Preparations for the summer


Ghala Industrial Estate, Muscat
With only 8 sleeps until I leave Oman for the summer, I'm busy sorting out my art equipment to pack. I wanted another yellow and have to thank Liz Steel (www.lizsteel.com) for her great advice. Until I can get to a decent art suppliers, I've raided the Van Gogh watercolour set, which was a gift from last year's Urban Sketchers symposium. I want to test drive some colour choices... I prefer to spend time sketching than mixing colours... plus I've evicted the Winsor & Newton Payne's Grey tube squeezed into an empty halfpan (left of photo) to try the Van Gogh version.
I've had this watercolour box since art college.
Having added new colours, I wanted to paint, so took my sketchbook and paints to the day job. During lunch I sketched from an upstairs window. I didn't realise until I sketched this view, that the cement factory is on a different level. That's the beauty of urban sketching, you really see details.

 I discovered that the Van Gogh Paynes Grey's pigment is less blue than the W&N's. I need to do some more paintings to decide on my final pan, but do like the blueness of W&N.
Which do you prefer? W&N, Van Gogh, or someone else's Payne's Grey? Please tell me in a comment.