using collage cut from old paintings and trying out Daniel Smith paint

 

Winter, Misty Day. watercolour and mixed media 9x6ins approx

What to do with failed paintings?   cut them up .......... and re-use pieces, playing with ideas for future work.

These pieces for the trees were cut from wider trees in a painting I decided was a write off - a what-on-earth-was-I-doing? piece compositionally.

The birches were subtle colours and I thought it would be interesting to keep the background in greyscale to bring out the colours but keep the whole piece very low key.

They were done in a mix of media - Winsor & Newton artists watercolours, a touch of Inktense, some gouache, some coloured pencil. 

Daniel Smith paint

The background was washed in with Daniel Smith's Kyanite to try it out.   I don't generally buy greys, mixing my own, but these are supposed to be single pigment so I thought it might be interesting to look at.   I bought just the one  tube of DS to see what I thought of the brand.  Verdict: It's nice paint- but not special enough to pay the extra cost on this experience.   If Daniel Smith would like to send me a range to try out I'd be happy to!  :>)  but on the basis of this one, though nice,  they are no better than Winsor & Newton and so the extra cost means I'm unlikely to be buying more.

What do you think of Daniel Smith paints?

Comments

Lisa Le Quelenec said…
I love your birch trees and the way you capture their subtle colours. Are there more on the way?
8:10 am
Unknown said…
What a fabulous way of using up all the uglies - I've got a few of them and may give collage a go!

Never tried DS paints - W&N have the best quality/cost ratio so why change? However .. Maimeri and Schmicke have lots of lovely single pigment colours and they supply good pigment info. Daler Rowney are also very nice - I particularly like the formulation of their watercolour pencils which are easier to control than other brands.
8:44 am
Jeanette Jobson said…
I think its a great idea to chop up unwanted paintings and reuse them! I have a drawer full of those to try :)

This piece turned out beautifully. That little shot of colour against the grey really pulls my eye into the painting.

As for DS paints, I can't say anything bad about them and have a basket of their w/c tubes in my studio. Some of the fancier colours are a waste of time, as they're little depth to them I find. But the regular and quinacridone colours are heaven, esp. quin deep gold, one of my favourites. I've also used a colour of tubes of their oil paint and like those too.
9:38 am
. said…
Thanks Vivien, I'd been interested in the DS paints, but not enough to order any! So it was interesting to read your thoughts... I very much like this piece, what a huge sucess! :-D
1:43 pm
vivien said…
Yes Lisa - more definitely on the way :>) I fancy doing some large canvasses and some big watercolours.

The cost/quality ratio is exactly what I feel Michael. If they were cheaper I'd be more inclined to buy more to test. I know one tube isn't a fair comparison - but the extra cost didn't seem to equate.

Useful info too Jeanette - thanks.

And Nicki thanks - how is the secret trial going?
10:41 am
Lisa Le Quelenec said…
I'm not sure if anyone would be interested but Ken Bromley Art Supplies are doing a Daniel Smith dot try it card. It looks like a good way to try out colours without investing in lots of expensive tubes. (I knew I'd seen it somewhere and couldn't remember where when I posted a comment before)
8:53 pm
vivien said…
I remember seeing that - it wasn't exactly cheap as I recall but certainly a good way of testing colours.
10:36 am
Robyn Sinclair said…
I love the collage trees, Vivien. So far I've resisted the DS paints for the reason they are so expensive, unavailable in Italy and W&N is still capable of so much more than I.
3:26 pm
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