in the colors I've been using in my comics
since -- oh-- maybe May.
was a slightly brighter green.
Spring had arrived, after all,
and though it often poured rain on Farmer's Market mornings,
seemed to call for something more exuberant than
the greyed green of the indigo/yellow ochre combo
from my beloved limited palette of last winter.
something like the weld with which I dye wool.
And then a couple of weeks ago
as I was messing about with madder,
I remembered lakes.
are actually made from my standard natural dyes:
madder (alizarin crimson)
cochineal (carmine)
and--ta da--weld,
which apparently is the source one of Vermeer's favorite yellows.
and some glorious photos,
I did a few rough experiments
the results of which have.... varied.
The madder turned out more orange than I imagined,
the cochineal leans toward purple rather than carmine,
and the weld is more than a little chalky.
linen shift (a summer staple)
with some accuracy.
Weld and indigo watercolors combine nicely on paper
as they do on yarn.
For even as I enjoy the new colors,
they can be overwhelming
(particularly the cochineal)
and it would not surprise me a bit
if I narrow back down---