Blue Monday
Posted: January 18, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized 30 CommentsBlue Monday. The third Monday in January. Supposedly the most depressing day of the year. I assumed the concept was concocted to give radio announcers something to talk about, but Wikipedia says it originates from a press release put out by a travel company back in 2005. None of this has any connection to my day though, except that it gave me an idea for colour in my sketch. Painted on a snowy Monday in Montreal, in a Fabriano watercolour sketchbook, mostly with Cobalt Teal, Verditer Blue and Indigo.
Shari Blaukopf's Sketchbook 
Lovely piece Shari! May I ask you a simple question based on your extensive expertise? What do you find to be the fundamental difference (property-wise) between Verditer Blue and Cobalt Blue? I recently discovered a whole watercolor pan of a mysterious blue (not labeled of course). After conducting test swatches with various paint tubes I owned I narrowed it down to Verditer Blue and Cobalt Blue. To make matters worse I had three Cobalts (Holbein, W & N, and Daniel Smith)! To my untrained eye Verditer Blue and Cobalt Blue looked the same! What are your thoughts?
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Hi Alex. I had to do a little research to answer your question, and I still don’t have a clear response for you because it all depends on the brand of paint you have. My version of Verditer Blue is kind of sky blue but a little more mauve. My version of Cobalt blue is much cooler and deeper. They are not at all similar.
When I have questions about colour I always consult Jane Blundell’s site. She has painted samples of most watercolours (including different brands of each colour) and she is so knowledgeable. I looked at the page where she has painted blue samples and I can see that there are so many versions of Cobalt blue, including some that look like my version of Verditer Blue. So I can see why you might be confused. Have a look at here site and see if that helps. I bet it will: http://www.janeblundellart.com/blue-watercolour-swatches.html
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Thank you so much!!
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Love the colour of Blue Monday, Shari
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Thanks so much KNS!
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Ah, the wheelbarrow… and the tree… sans fence!
Yummy!
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Yes Susan, the fence is still down. Now deeply buried under a thick covering of snow and unlikely to resurface for a very long time.
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This is so beautiful. Making winter wonderful…..thanks, Shari!
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You have to make winter wonderful in Montreal, or you end up hating it. I’ve grown to love it since I started sketching.
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Any color is fine for my wheelbarrow….my favorite subject by you!
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My old wheelbarrow has many friends. thanks Dee!
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I have to ask this… Does the poor thing ever get it’s wheel greased, and it’s bucket painted? After all, it has many admirers far and wide 🙂
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Shari, I love how you turn random little tit bits of information into something to inspire a sketch and keep it fresh!
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Hi Suhita, After all these sketches that I’ve done, I’ll grab someone else’s good idea any time. If someone says blue to me in the morning, I’ll paint blue in the afternoon.
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The famous wheel barel!!!!!! no mather how many times you do it, weather its in blue or any collor its stil a nice and interesting subject.
The sun will saine before the weekend.
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I think it will be sunny, but still cold on the weekend. Fortunately that biting wind will be gone though. Thanks André.
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Shari, thank you for keeping the online journal of your everyday’s art!
I love it and wait every morning to see another post with a sketch. You really have an artist’s eye!
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Thanks for taking the time to write Andy. I really appreciate it.
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Lovely – and I do adore a wheelbarrow in a picture! And your trademark loopy cables…
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thanks Anne. The loopy cables in this case are from my clothesline, attached to the oak tree. That gets about as much use in the winter as the wheelbarrow.
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Thank you for your inspiration!
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Thanks for writing Eric.
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So now even the wheelbarrow’s depressed!
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Hadn’t thought about that Tony, but I guess it is. You would be too if you were outside in Montreal this week. It’s awful.
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I love all the shades of blue that give this such life. Nice!!
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Thanks Joan.
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I love the shades of blue – I use indigo a lot in my portrait work and in other paintings. On another note, you have inspired me to start doing sketches in my car. Did you ever drop a pencil shaving and watch it disappear into the gear shift thingy? Bringing a cloth to cover the centre console next time!
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I’m glad I inspired you to get out in the car Marion. You have no idea how much I’ve dropped into the hidden spaces in my car. I could probably open an art supply shop with all the pens and rubber erasers I have lost.
I would never think of using Indigo in portraits. When I use it in mixes it makes all the colours dirty. What do you mix it with?
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I’m never blue when I see sketches of your wheelbarrow!
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Hi Debo,
Thanks so much for writing. I hope your husband is doing better, and I hope the snow stops soon where you are.
Best,
Shari
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