Cardinal Red Ink

Diane Mannion, Cardinal Red Ink, 6x6" oil

      Found this gem of an antique ink bottle in Arcadia, Florida on my recent still life object search.  It's only about an inch and a quarter wide.  Didn't put the lettering on, wanted to leave it as a colorful sketch, but it reads: "Sanford's Penit Cardinal Red, Fountain Pen Ink."  

      Today's painting, done in alla prima style (all at once, wet into wet) is another experiment.  Isn't every painting an experiment?  Pushed color... letting the thalo blue under-drawing show through, allowing the blue to vibrate with the reds.  

      Blue is usually perceived as a darker value color than red.  When blue is painted lighter in value than red, it vibrates!  It's an optical thing I learned in art school, one of the Joseph Albers theories.  Works with other colors also, red and green for instance.  Hardly any blending, strokes put on thick and left alone.  Speedy quick experiment and I'm happy with it. 

"If one says 'red' - the name of color - and there are fifty people listening, it can be expected that there will be fifty reds in their minds. And one can be sure that all these reds will be very different." (Josef Albers)      

Found this quote on Robert Genn's site.