Zowie. On the 19th I put half the color swatches outside each day in full sun. And today I put the two pieces next to each other to see if there was any fading. And boy was there! Opera Pink is known to be fugitive (fades) and you can see how it's still bright pink on the indoor piece (upper half) but the outdoor one now looks red/magenta. No real pink in it. But shockingly, and weirdly, the Antwerp Blue has faded like CRAZY! I was so surprised that I put a couple of new dots of Antwerp and also of Prussian Blue (same pigment) on the card. I want  to see if they follow suit or if somehow, someway there was something odd happening with the Antwerp from the first trial.

Important information? If you want to be sure your paintings don't fade away, you bet it is!

It's a Coffeebird! 

And a tasty one at that!
​

Or ... is it?

When you go to a paint manufacturers website they'll usually list the properties of the watercolors they sell. And one of those properties is how lightfast, or fugitive, or perennial it is. All words that refer to "Does the color fade with exposure?"

There's an official organization that test them. But not everyone uses it and not all colors have been evaluated. And just how much worse is a 1 than a 2 than 3 on their scale?

That's what this is for. A page of swatches of a variety of watercolor paints, ranging from excellent to totally crummy in terms of lightfastness. My plan is to cut it in two, put one half in a drawer and expose the other to sunlight all day long. Day after day. How long do you expect it to be before I see a difference? I have no idea but I'm about to find out!

Hmmmm. What can I do with THIS?!

Behavioral question of the day. When I ask someone "Did you do/get/remember <fill in the blank>?" I'm looking for one of two words. Either "yes" or "no". Especially when the answer should be "no" I almost never get that. I get a multi-sentence explanation of why it didn't happen.
But I don't care why it didn't happen. Totally irrelevant. I just want to know the current state of affairs. Done or not-done. That's all.
Why is it that it's so hard for people to "just say no"? 

Paint and Pixels - The Color of Art.
Love watercolors but lost at sea (Get it? Sea? Water?!) with the details? Master the color wheel, learn how colors complement and combine, and then tame them on your paper. See how your iPad or tablet can become your painting’s new BFF! You’ll conceptualize your art before picking up your brush and jump back and forth to validate your design choices before By digitally supporting your goals, you’ll supercharge your art. Emphasis will be on enhancing your fundamental technical understanding of paint and/or pixels. Supply list will be distributed in first class and emailed
beforehand to registered students. If using, bring iPads/tablets fully charged. No class 10/31.
Yes, that's right. It's a new semester at Mount Diablo Adult Education and my bright and shiny new class is open for enrollment as of yesterday. And filling up fast! If you're in the area (East Bay, CA) and want to increase your learnin', here's your place! Be there or be desaturated.

Who wants an artsy coffee this morning?

Posted in full stunning color and © symbol free last Friday for my much appreciated patrons at my Patreon page. Here in grayscale today!

Almost done with my latest painting. Autumn in the Vineyard. And, given the color scheme, only an orange libation will do. An Aperol Spritz it is!

New painting on my desk. It’s vineyard time! Partway there.