“Untitled River scene…”
William Payne
Hardcore watercolourists don’t use black, but however a purist they may be, they still need a high value dark paint. Enter Payne’s grey. William Payne was a modestly successful 17th century watercolour artist. His work may be forgotten in time, but his one of his paint recipes lives on in nearly every set of paints still produced. Payne mixed Prussian blue, yellow ochre and crimson lake to make his iconic grey. Now the more common approach is a variable mix of ultramarine, black and yellow ochre. The issue for those like me entering the hobby of watercolour painting is the nonconformity of this paint colour. Each brand seems to take pride in producing a slightly different version of Payne’s grey. Officially described as dark blue grey, it can range from a relatively light purple, through a range of blues, into tones virtually indistinguishable from black. It is part of the reason skilled artists don’t swap between paint brands as randomly as I do. #fiftyshadesofgrey #letsmakelemonade
Pen Paint and Scalpel 