Erythrophobia - I think I may have suffered a little from this as a painter. Red is a slightly scarey colour to use - I decided that my hare needed something a little daring to make him "pop", so out came the red paint...
Red is a very emotion provoking colour- danger, passion, blood - it's an attention grabber. Think of the colour which retailers use on "sale" signs , fire engines , stop signs? It's a hue which you can't ignore.
But, if you add white to it (or in the case of watercolour, more water) it becomes pink - which we associate with babies , little girls , flowers, sunsets...
 It's not only an important colour on its own , but for mixing others - red is a vital ingredient  of orange ,and also of purple.
These are the reds which I currently have on my palette
Cadmium Red -  fiery  and opaque , tricky to work with but can make beautiful greys when mixed with cerulean blue.
Alizarin Crimson - this one is a beautiful staining transparent pigment BUT it can fade. It's a great red to use to make darks with, especially a lovely dark purple when mixed with Ultramarine.
Quinacridone red - this is a new favourite of mine .  It's transparent , staining and lightfast.
Perylene Scarlet - this is an orange/red , apparently very transparent and makes lovely darks- I'm eagerly waiting for my delivery of this from Daniel Smith , I  haven't tried it out yet ,but it sounds interesting.
So, if the greys of winter are getting to you, get out those reds and play.

Blue is a colour that I can't do without. One of the three primaries , it's essential for mixing other colours , and also often occurs in nature on it's own - especially if you live near the sea.
Blue pigments come in warm and cool temperatures , transparent and semi opaque , and fine or granulating. Once you become familiar with the properties of each blue you'll naturally begin to reach for the right one for the job.
The six blues which I currently have on my palette?

Cobalt - this is a gentle, pure, non staining pigment- i don't usually use it on it's own, but it's nice to mix with  or glaze.
Cerulean Blue - a beautiful granulating cool colour, a favorite for mixing soft greys with texture.
Pthalo Blue - this one is a prima donna! An intense colour , transparent and very staining, it will take over if given the chance.  But again, lovely for mixing greys. quite a cold blue (tends toward yellow rather than red).
Ultramarine Blue- my all time favourite , a granulating pigment - mixed with Burnt Sienna makes gorgeous darks.
French Ultramarine - this is a warmer , purpler shade of UB, a lovely delicate blue.The one pictured is QOR brand.
Indigo - I've only recently discovered Indigo , unlike the Egyptians who used it for dying fabric some years back. It's a very intense, staining, transparent blue , which I use to make beautiful darks .

Apart from the French UB, the other blues shown are winsor and newton. Each brand will differ slightly, but you'll soon find your favourites.
So, forget winter, and play around with some colour mixing....now, which one will make the most summery sky?

Of all the colours , yellow seems to be the most often disliked - maybe because we associate with warnings (think wasps!). It's a colour which I rarely use on it's own, but we need it for mixing other colours from.
Yellow is the lightest and most delicate of the three primaries , so if you're glazing ( building up colour one layer at a time) you should always start with your yellow, otherwise it will be overpowered by red or blue. Yellow watercolour also tends to lose its transparency when used over the top of other pigments, so to keep that beautiful luminous look it needs to be first on the paper.It gives a beautiful warmth to your work if used as an underpainting.
The four yellows which I use , from left to right, are:
Aureolin - a lovely cool transparent colour , makes lively greens
Cadmium yellow medium- an opaque yellow
Raw Umber- the one I most often use for NZ bush (see the last blog )
Raw Sienna - a beautiful delicate colour, great for underpainting and unifying your painting.
There are lots of others - different cadmiums, Indian Yellow, Naples Yellow ,Lemon Yellow- so try them out and find which ones will help you add warmth and light to your work.
PS. remember that many paint pigments, especially cadmiums , are toxic - don't lick your brush!

After last weeks Colour in Your life TV show _https://www.colourinyourlife.com.au/tv-show-ep/jan-thomson/

I've had emails from several people asking how I paint trees.
Yesterday I was painting down the road , in the beech forest with a backdrop of the mountain range. Now, although I know that each of those beech trees has thousands of leaves, I couldn't see each leaf when I was painting. I just wanted to show the colour, tone and shape of the trees, with little detail.To do this I let my colours blend on the damp paper-I  added darker, thicker paint to the right hand (shady) sides of the trees. Each tree melts into the one beside it. While the paint was damp, I scratched out a few trunks and branches with the end of my brush (or a stick). In places I dropped in some more dark paint behind light areas (which were dry by then) to really make  those light treetops pop out. Sometimes I might splatter a bit of paint on to give the idea of foliage on closeup trees (like the one on the left). and that's it...
Remember that the more water you use, the lighter the final colour.
I prefer to let my pigments mix on the paper, this gives areas of lovely broken colour , as you can see in the chart. If you mix on the palette the result will be flat colour.
I suggest that you make yourself a colour chart like the one above of the the paints that you have- try making greens with all the combinations you can of yellow and blue, then try adding a wee bit of red and see what happens. If you have tube colours of premixed greens like sap green I suggest you add a little red to those rather than use them straight. Most trees have lots of different colours in them , not just green- go outside and take a look....
and if you have any questions please ask, I'm happy to help out.

Hi , I'm delighted that I was recently visited by a film crew from the
Australian TV art series "Colour in Your Life" , who spent a day filming me painting watercolour in my studio. The resulting episode screens this week - if you'd like to see my process and my paintings, please put it on your calendar!
The show goes to air in Australia on  April 22nd  at 6pm (NSW time) on channel 4ME and is available on youtube now if you'd like a sneak preview
the link is https://www.colourinyourlife.com.au/tv-show-ep/jan-thomson/
The episode will be showing on free to air tv in New Zealand and other countries later on this year..
I hope that you enjoy the show!
All the best, Jan

  That was fun! Heading off on the Central Otago Railtrail with the family ( 10 adults and one baby in a trailer) , trying to record the trip in my sketchbook as went rode. It's amazing how much info you can get down in a 10 minute break, and how little you need in the way of equipment. My little painting kit is in the photo below- it contained more than I needed.
It's funny how in huge empty spaces like this your eye seeks out the human touches - stone bridges , falling down buildings, abandoned vehicles.
I came away armed with my sketches, dozens of photos and an overwhelming desire to go back and give this beautiful place my full attention with paints and easel.
I'll be back....

And now I'm back in my studio painting from all of the reference material which I've gathered. As Helen Frankenthaler puts it so well , I feel myself back beside the lake.
If you can't be at the place you want to paint, working on your reference material as soon as you can will return you to the spot....

I can't quite believe that it's already February and I'm only just writing my first post for 2016! But I have been busy painting. 
This week I was lucky enough to paint up at Blue Lake, in a remote corner of Nelson Lakes National Park. This beautiful and very special spot has become quite busy with many trampers passing through on their Te Araroa journey. 
Te Araroa is a walking track which stretches the whole length of New Zealand, 3000kms from Cape Reinga in the north, to Bluff in the south. The track passes through farmland, cities and some of our most beautiful National Parks.
While I painted away beside the lake many passing walkers took time out to talk with me, both about my painting and their journey. I was surprised at the age demographics of the trampers- many under 30, quite a few over 65, not many in between. I guess those in between are at work saving up their money for the "maybe one day trip". Some of the older walkers are tackling the walk a bit at a time - and parts of it are very demanding, with high rugged alpine passes - many of the younger people, both from NZ and overseas, are taking a few months to walk the trail. One common theme which I heard over and over again was that people are doing Te Araroa as a sort of pilgrimage. Learning to rely on yourself (many are walking solo) , being happy in your own company , meeting challenges, and of course, enjoying the amazing views.
Inside Blue Lake hut (and probably many others along the trail) there is a noticeboard on which walkers have left poems, thoughts, comments and dreams about what they're doing- very inspiring.
On a sadder note, we lost a friend a couple of weeks back in a diving accident... but she was doing something she loved, and had spent her life tackling new things, enjoying travelling , working as a conservation volunteer and having adventures with her family.
So if you're looking for a challenge in 2016 I'm not suggesting that you should  pack up and do a 3000km tramp - but maybe you can take the time to do something now which is important to you, rather than putting if off till "someday when you have the time or the money".I'd love to hear from you if you do....
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