Palm Tree

A while back I read an article that a 19th century artist  – it may be John Singer Sargent – used wax as a resist in watercolor painting.  That was a bit of a surprise as I never thought a “professional” painter would do that.  We used crayons and watercolors together in elementary school, and it was a lot of fun.  Not having any crayons, I got out a white candle and scribbled away in a palm tree sort of shape.  Then I painted, beginning with the yellows and then moving into darker colors.  I don’t recall many of the colors I used, but they do include Yellow Ochre, Hooker’s Green, May Green, Payne’s Grey, Ruby Red, Cerulean Blue, Ultramarine Blue.  The wax served to keep white spaces white, obviously.  And, I actually used negative painting ti create some of the shapes in the fronds and trunk of the tree.