Help For Painting Things Which Are Yellow Nov. 28, 2004
One of the misconceptions about yellow is that it is a pale color and thus cannot be painted too dark. Pale and dark as they apply to yellow is the same as any other color. If you paint it too thick and the white of the paper cannot come through you will lose the "snap". Yellow pigments vary considerably. Some yellows show the influence of orange when painted in values 6 and over. Others like Aureolin Yellow tend to look greenish in values over 5. Winsor Lemon is a good example of a pure yellow showing neither orange nor green tendencies. Translucence as opposed to opacity is an important. This can be tested by making a 1/4" stripe of India Ink then painting across it with yellow first at a value of 3 then at a value of 7. The degree of opacity will be obvious.
Painting shadows is a problem with yellow as well. For shadows on red we just add some blue to the red. For shadows on green or purple we also just add blue. If we add blue to make shadows on yellow we get green and most of the time that doesn't look so well. Better results can be had by adding brown or burnt orange to the yellow. You will get burnt orange by adding brown to orange. On our palette We get the orange from New Gamboge and Alizarin Crimson and brown from 3/4 Burnt Sienna and 1/4 French Ultramarine.
In general you will succeed more often if you paint the entire yellow object as it were in sunlight, having no shadows, When dry paint shadows
If you have questions about this or other "Watercolor Tips" If you have problems or questions E-mail us at sharin2art@aol.com. We will be glad to hear from you and will reply promptly.
Robert and Sharon
Sharon Long Watercolors
11275 US Hwy 98, W, Suite 6-354
Destin FL, 32550 - Phone (850) 424-6424
E-mail me: sharin2art@aol.com
http://www.slongwatercolors.com