Torrit Grey 2008 Workshop

[Chris Saper]

Each spring, the Gamblin Company cleans its particle filtration system of all the pigment dust collected over the year, and tubes it as "Torrit Grey", a complementary grey. The color and value of Torrit Grey is different each year - often, according to the Gamblin folks, because of the proportion of Pthalo dust in the mix.

Each year, Gamblin holds an online competetion for artists, who are allowed to use black, white, and Torrit Grey only.

This June, I conducted a 3-day Torrit Grey workshop for the Scottsdale Artits' School; the Gamblin marketing people supplied the tubes of paint for the students. I opened one of the tubes and tried out the grey beforehand (and am SO glad I did !) The color has a VERY srong staining violet cast. Only in class, when we opened up the other tubes, did we find that there were actually 2 different colors tubed this year - the second is a much warmer, non-staining color. As I experiment more with the second color, I'll add to this demo.

I began by creating a color chart. The top row is comprised of 5 values, using black and white. The middle row has 4 values (Torrit Grey out of the tube is at the second darkest value level) and uses only Torrit Grey and white (Titanium). The third row uses all three colors. It may be difficult to see on the your screen, but the TG +TW has distinctly violet cast. I gave students canvas scraps so they could practice mixing before beginning their paintings.

[Chris Saper]

Step 1

A couple of weeks before the class, I tried out a demo with the TG,using an older photo I had on hand. I used an inexensive, acrylic primed canvas, which subsequently turned out to be a mistake.

Figure placement is the first and most fundamental decision to make, and here I didn't do a thumbnail sketch or work out the placement on my computer beforehand, and I paid the price. The size of the head was fine. But t was in the wrong place on the canvas.

[Chris Saper]

Step 2

It's important to evaluate the success or failure of your composition at every step, and to fix it AS SOON as you're aware of it.

Here I move the head slightly to the right, and a lower it a bit. I start to find the horizontal curves and angles of the face.

[Chris Saper]

Step 3

By separating the light from shadow, I can start to work out the value scheme of the painting, adding a vertical shape on the left, and darkening the background on the right.

[Chris Saper]

Step 4

Stating the dark and middle values, I hope you can see how purple the background on the left of the head has become. The TG behaves like a crushed blueberry, when it gets wet...adding either white or mineral spirits lightens it but moves it between blue-violet and red-violet, depending on how much black's in the mix.

[Chris Saper]

Step 5

Now all of the canvas is covered with light, middle and dark values; the paint is still pretty thin

[Chris Saper]

Step 6

Here I start to pay more attention to locating the features, and adding more value detail.

[Chris Saper]

Step 7

Starting to model more of the form through corrections.

[Chris Saper]

Step 8

More of the same

[Chris Saper]

Step 10

This was as far as I got - just paying attention to the eyes and mouth, and continuing to puzzle over the TG.