Helen Reynolds: Phthalo + Quinacridone + Azo

A meditative exploration of colour pigment, brush and paper, using watercolour and a single repeated line, by Wellington artist, Helen Reynolds.

A simple line that turns and turns each time it approaches the paper edge forms the basis of the work in Phthalo + Quinacridone + Azo. It is a type of mark-making that echoes some of the first deliberate marks made by humankind over 35,000 years ago, or the childhood joy of applying pigment to paper.

Helen Reynolds paints each sheet of watercolour paper with this same line; once in phthalo blue, once again in quinacridone magenta, and once more in azo yellow.

The saturation and density of the paint is strong at first, then as the brush covers the paper and the paint is absorbed into the paper, the line becomes lighter and lighter. The natural variations in the process start to produce unpredictable changes in the colour of the lines, as the translucent primaries layer over each other.

The paintings become both a meditative, peaceful expression and an exploration of the properties of colour, pigment, brush and paper.

Image caption: Helen Reynolds, 'Phthalo + Quinacridone + Azo 1.4.15' (detail). Courtesy of the artist.