I love new paint. Daniel Smith’s Indanthrone Blue is a new color to my palette. In past, I have loved Prussian, or Indigo, or Cobalt blue — But this may make me move away from The first two.
It has the ability to be inky black blue to a nearly cobalt blue. It is smooth and transparent, and I am in love. (BTW, I am not monogamous when it comes to colors. Before a-to-z is up I will be in love with a few others.)
It was patented by Rene Bohn in 1901, and was the very first organic anthraquinone dye. When I found that out I realized it was also the wonderful Golden Acrylic blue I used to create my night skies.
I am now agreeing to the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 International License, which you can learn more about by visiting the site, or, visit my web page for a more user-friendly summary on my terms. My images/blog posts can be reposted; please link back to dkatiepowellart.
Hematite is a form of iron oxide, a mineral that contributes to several different paint colors. It has an undertone of reddish brown, which when placed in a glaze gives it a shimmering red cast. In its natural form is is quite heavy, and is called the Shaman Stone by Native Americans. It is believed to have the power to attract, as in a magnet. The Greek word for blood, as in blood red, gives us its name αἷμα (haima.)
I had no idea what granulating paint was until I began using watercolors. And you have to know or you get wonky things happening that you didn’t want, like the funny paint around Frank’s nose, below. Notice how most of the colors are smooth, but there is this odd granulation around his nose? I should have used Lamp Black or Ivory black, but I used a granulating black, and it left that odd texture.
Both of my first favorite artists did repetitive imagery.
Coming full circle, why do I like painting the same images repeatedly? And why did some of my favorite artists? I speculate on them, but it may for the same reasons. I have thought about it more after my first quick posting a year ago. I love color, textures, and the way color floats on paper or is heavy on canvas. I love the texture of handmade paper, which is why I have a good collection. I like what graphite does, the way it makes a hard line or smears into unruly stains. Sometimes I think I should just paint color and textures, but I’ve never felt comfortable painting just lines or color. I have tried, and here is one of my few surviving images, meaning I liked it enough to not paint over it! (it is not as sparkly as the image suggests.)
I am working on becoming a full-time artist,
Environmentally friendly (as labeled on the Daniel Smith watercolor, center left in the image, right) is not a legal distinction, but a promise that this is a step in the right direction. To an unscrupulous company, it can be a marketing ploy to get you to think this is a “green” product. When a product says it is environmentally friendly, like the 
Their range is excellent, shown above, and can be subtle, bright, or layered, even on shellac! I normally work in Dark Sepia, Sanguine or black to sketch, in sizes XS, S, F, and brush. I have two complaints: They only make the white pen in the ultra fat size, and the colors of their tops and cases are deceiving and inaccurate. I have a coral color that looks like a dark red cap, and the red looks pale. Oops! It can lead to mistakes so I must be very careful.
