Maroon Perylene by M. Graham

When M Graham & Company sent me a set of watercolor paints for me to try out a few weeks ago, I took out the red immediately, because I'm always looking for a nice red. Maroon Perylene is a dark red that is absolutely gorgeous when wet and dries to a rusty wine-red. It will be a good pigment to mix with other reds when looking for a deep shadow red. So I pulled out tons of reference photos this week looking for a subject that I could use to try out this pigment. Immediately I noticed Maroon Perylene is very staining, and once its put down, be prepared for it to stay there. This will work very well when layering pigments on top of it. I began to lay in the darkest hues within my red decanter and in the cherries in this composition. I will be glazing brighter reds atop this pigment and we'll see how it stands up to layers.

This composition was put together when I spent a day with the watercolor group (Splash) in Tyler, Texas. They came to my home and I pulled out lots of glass, fruit and veggies and gave a presentation on desiging compositions for still lifes. Then we cut everyone loose around the house to set up their own photo references. This particular composition features a beautiful crystal bowl, a favorite owned by my friend, artist Mollie Jones. Mollie was kind enough to let me borrow it for several weeks while I played with the light that it reflects. I pulled out a simple red decanter I had, and then pulled out a green/blue hand-blown Venetian glass vase that I found one day when Mollie and I were shopping at an antique mall in Roswell, New Mexico. The reds, peacock blue, and bright greens reflect wonderfully in the crystal.