A Color That Makes My Heart Sing

The other day my Hubs commented that for someone who doesn't like brown, I seemed to use a lot of it in my work. (He was looking at two of my earlier pieces.) Actually, I don't like brown very much although I did wear a brown sweater this past Saturday. Only because it was lightweight enough to not feel like a horse blanket in Saturday's warm temperatures. To dress up the sweater I wore one of my Zentangle-inspired necklace and earring designs in black, brown and tan.

I do admit I've turned out a handful of paintings in which shades of brown were used fairly heavily, but do I go to brown as an automatic default? No. But many people do like brown. They like to wear it and decorate their homes with it. So I try to meet their expectations by painting or designing things to satisfy their tastes. Just as I do for those who love blue, red, purple, etc.

One color I do use a lot is Golden Paint's Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold. It's a wonderfully rich, transparent color that when washed over a surface can convey the impression of antiquity like no other color can. Add a drop or two of umber (notice I said "a drop or two" not a cup!) and the antique effect is heightened even more. But making a surface look aged isn't QNA Gold's only use by any means. This is a color that produces stunningly beautiful glazes. When mixed with other transparent colors, the effects are luminous. For example, here's a mixed media collage, titled The Mountain Lark, in which I used QNA Gold to make the warm tones glow :

"The Mountain Lark," collection of Mr. and Mrs. T. Powell

QNA Gold is a must-have color for me. I can't imagine my palette without it. It has been a mainstay of mine since day one. I'm not the only artist who loves this color; it's extremely popular so it's not unusual to find the store shelf empty when you go to buy some. My solution is to to buy it in 16 ounce bottles. That's enough to last me quite a while. If my Hubby comments that I seem to use QNA Gold an awful lot, I'll have to admit he's absolutely right!

Text and image © 2014 Lynn Edwards