31st July - end of the month and New Paints

Another painting post... scroll through to the end for 'news'

End of July, end of the month of mugs;

My new watercolours arrives a few days ago. They come in tubes, so I also bought an empty tin. You can load up the empty pans with squirts and dollops of paint and leave it out to dry to make everything more portable, so that it what I did. A messy business. The paint in some of the tubes appeared to be under pressure (expansion in the heat?) so it came hurrying out even before I had aimed the paint in the direction of the little pan. Everything was at risk of becoming Prussion Blue for a few hectic moments until order was restored.

The Prussian Blue has reluctantly consented to making its home in the top left pan, although you can see evidence of the struggle. 

There's something not quite right with the Green Azo, bottom left corner. The tube was a bit bunged with a sort of crust. However I managed to sort it out with the end of a hairgrip (all I had to hand) and it was been persuaded to join its fellows in the tin.

The lonely yellow in the middle is from an old tube of cadmium yellow; I added it after my first efforts at using the new paints below. I was worrying about the Indian Yellow being quite so orange, and thinking I would need a properly yellow shade of yellow. I've discovered later that if you add more water to the paints they calm down and make better shades. 

The paints are so much thicker! My first attempt at a colour chart was far too dark;

and so were these trees;

But it is so much easier to get that 'dry brush' effect for 'sunlight on the water'

I think I'll manage to get the hang of them in time. The colours, once diluted, are totally beautiful. They want masses of water - but this paper is no use for that, it just buckles and crinkles and goes a bit crazy. 

I promised you news;

I took another box of mussels round to my father the other day. I drove round - the first time I have driven since 16th March or thereabouts. I did wonder if I would still be able to drive; and the first minute, before I had even started the car added to my apprehension. We've been leaving the car in gear, with the handbrake off, as we use it so seldom at the moment. I did the usual thing of adjusting the seat, and then testing whether I could operate the clutch pedal properly, and the car promptly started rolling down the slope of the drive towards the house... I grabbed the handbrake and pulled it up enough to halt the car before we got too close... that could have been a bit embarrassing (and expensive!)

I took the mussels, and also a flask of coffee, and he appeared with a glass of orange juice so we had a gentle time reminiscing about family sailing holidays forty years ago...

The highlight of last year, our French Cruise, began early in the morning of 31st July. We were hoping to have booked another cruise for sometime this year - oh well, maybe next year?