Turquoise and Teal

For the last few weeks I've been playing with a colour palette of greens in the form of turquoise and teal. As I get ready to change palette, here's a peak at some of the work I've made during these rainy, lush, end of Summer days.

It's always the colour that intrigues me in the first instance and only while I'm painting do I start to wonder why I make the choices I make during the process.

The Secret Lives of Colour by Kassia St Clair is such a good read for anyone with an interest in colour. The chapter on Verdigris tells of the difficulties the Masters of the past had when using this pigment in their paintings, it being temperamental and expensive.

Manufactured by placing leaves of copper in a pot with lye and vinegar or sour wine. The pots were sealed and left for a couple of weeks, after which the sheets were dried and the green patina scraped off. The resulting powder was mixed with more sour wine to form pigment cakes, ready to be sold.

I wonder if I'd have had the patience...!