Marie Boudon is watercolor artist from Lyon, France, who created the popular French language Youtube channel Les tribulations de Marie. She has written several books; her general watercolor book, Paysages à l’aquarelle, is currently only available in French, while some topic-based books have been translated into English, such as J’ose créer (Dare to Create), Fleurs à l’aquarelle (DIY Watercolor Flowers) and Jungle à l’aquarelle (DIY Watercolor Jungle).
I got ahold of Paysages à l’aquarelle and I will review the beginner palette recommended there. I’ll also compare it to Marie’s branded Sennelier beginner palette, “Débuter à l’aquarelle.”
About the book, Paysages à l’aquarelle
Most of the book is dedicated to tips and instruction in specific topics in landscape painting (e.g. depth, composition, the sky, trees, rocks). I appreciate this “building block” approach.
Although there are tutorials in the book, they don’t start until page 100 out of 150; in a reversal of the usual ratio. I also appreciate Boudon’s unusual approach to the tutorials: rather than showing you a step-by-step of each layer, she instead concentrates on the planning steps and handwaves the process. While I also think its important to learn process, there are plenty of other tutorials that handwave the planning and only show the process, as if the planning is obvious. Boudon emphasizes how not obvious it is by showing you what goes into it and how many decisions you actually have to make.
Questions she suggests you ask yourself when approaching a scene:
- Où mettre les détails? (Where to put the details?) Decide which zone you want to emphasize: foreground, midground, or background. Only one of these zones can be in focus; that’s where you should put the most details. Simplify everything else. Decide what you won’t paint.
- Quelles décisions de composition? (What composition decisions?) Decide where to place the major elements of the photo. Is there anything you want to move? (For example, moving a tree to a more pleasing “rule of thirds” location, or reversing the direction of a path.) Make thumbnails to try things out.
- Comment placer les valeurs? (How to set the values?) As with the detail question, your biggest value contrasts should be in your zone of interest. Look for lighting cues: it a high-contrast sunny day or a low-contrast overcast day? What is the direction and color of the shadows? Decide how you will deviate from the reference in terms of color and value (e.g. to emphasize specific moods or conditions, or suggest depth through atmospheric perspective.)
Example Project: Forêt d’automne
This is not a traditional tutorial. Instead, Marie Boudon provides a reference photo, guides you through the questions and the process of creating thumbnails to decide on composition and values, and shows her own version of the painting. Mine came out a little different, both because I used different colors and made some different choices. Notably, I included a small cat that was in the reference photo that Boudon chose to edit out for simplicity.
Recommended colors from Paysages à l’aquarelle
Onto the colors! In the chart below, find:
- the specific color name (in French) from the book
- the English name and pigment information given by Sennelier (linked the most apropriate Color Spotlight in my collection, even if I haven’t reviewed the specific paint)
- the Color Slot that I have designated. Clicking on the color slot name will give you a list of alternatives in a similar hue.
| Marie conseille (Sennelier) | English name | Color Slot |
|---|---|---|
| jaune citron | Lemon Yellow (PY3) | Lemon Yellow |
| gomme gutte | Indian Yellow (PY154 + PY153) | Middle Yellow |
| rouge vermilion français | French Vermilion (PR242) | Scarlet |
| laque de garance foncée | Alizarin Crimson [hue] (PR209 + PY83 + PR179) | Red or Crimson |
| rose opéra | Opera Rose (PR81:1 + fluo.) | Magenta, Pink, or Rose |
| blue outremer foncé | French Ultramarine (PB29) | Violet Blue |
| turquoise de phthalo | Phthalo Turquoise (PB15:3 + PG7) | Cyan |
| vert Véronèse | Emerald Green (PG36) | Green |
| stil-de-grain vert | Brown Green (PY129) | Heavy Metal Complex Gold |
| jaune de Naples foncé | Naples Yellow Deep (PBr24) | Earth Yellow |
| orangé de Chine | Chinese Orange (PY150 + PR209 + PBr23) | Earth Orange |
I don’t have any Sennelier colors or any of the exact mixes, so this is sort of a “general gist” paintout.
I think this is a nice arrangement of colors! There are a lot of bright strong colors like Phthalos, as well as some on the bright end of an earthy/muted color, like my faves Copper Azo Green and Naples Yellow Deep. Chinese Orange appears to be somewhere between an orange and a burnt sienna, similar to DS Australian Red Gold. French Vermilion seems like a fresh scarlet somewhere in between Pyrrol Scarlet (PR255) and Quin Red (PR209). I probably would go for a lightfast magenta, like Poupre Hélios / Helios Purple (PR122), rather than fugitive fluorescent Opera Rose.
Like many teachers, Marie advises students to avoid any color containing a black pigment.
Je vous conseille d’éviter les couleurs qui contiennent des pigments noirs (notés PBk suivi d’un chiffre sur l’emballage ou le nuancier du fabriquant), cela peu donner un effect terne aux paysages en accumulant les couches. [Translation: I advise you to avoid colors which contain black pigments (written PBk followed by a number on the packaging or the manufacturer’s color chart), because this can give a dull effect to landscapes across multiple layers.]
Marie Boudon, Paysages à l’aquarelle, p. 10
I’ve been skeptical about claims against black in the past, but I’ve never considered the accumulating effect of black across multiple layers.
Sennelier “Débuter à l’aquarelle” palette
Marie Boudon has partnered with Sennelier to market a “Débuter à l’aquarelle” (beginning watercolor) palette set. Here’s what’s in it:
| Sennelier palette | English name | Color Slot |
|---|---|---|
| Laque jaune | Yellow Lake (PY150) | Heavy Metal Complex Gold |
| Jaune Sennelier foncé | Sennelier Yellow Deep (PY83) | Orange Yellow |
| Laque Écarlate | Scarlet Laquer (PR188) | Scarlet |
| Carmin | Carmine (PV19) | Rose |
| Fuchsia de Quinacridone | Quinacridone Fuchsia (PR202) | Violet |
| Bleu d’Indanthrène | Blue Indanthrene (PB60) | Dark Blue |
| Bleu primaire | Phthalo Blue (PB15:3) | Cyan |
| Vert Sapin | Forest Green (PBk7 + PG7 + PY42) | Green |
| Vert Olive | Olive Green (PBr23 + PG36 + PY150) | Green |
| Terre d’Ombre Naturelle | Raw Umber (PBr7) | Brown |
| Brun Van Dyck | Van Dyck Brown (PBk7, PR101) | Brown |
| Noir d’Ivoire | Ivory Black (PBk9) | Black or Gray |
I think this is a distinct step down from the recommended palette in the book (isn’t it always the way?) Some moves seem lateral (PR242 to PR188; Alizarin hue to Carmine), though I don’t know Sennelier well enough to know if there’s a real distinction. The main thing that bugs me is that multiple colors contain black pigments. It’s not that I don’t think there are legitimate uses for black, but Marie herself specifically says in her book and on her website that she doesn’t recommend using black pigments, so this feels like a confusing mixed message for learners.
Conclusion
As with any watercolor book, you do not need the exact colors recommended to be able to do the projects. I also continue to recommend against getting the prefab sponsored set, and toward getting a la carte colors as recommended by the teacher/influencer prior to their brand partnership – or whatever colors you wish! Boudon’s teaching approach is so flexible and so focused on teaching you to make your own decisions that it is really very unnecessary to use the exact same colors that she does.
Comments
2 responses to “Artist Palette Profiles: Marie Boudon”
This is an interesting palette. Very pretty to look at, and lacking in darks, though you were able to make some very nice ones, clearly! Did you find it easy enough to do that, or did you miss them? A brown and/or dark blue would be helpful, I think. I have most of these colors in Sennelier, and may try my hand at using this combination, with the exception of opera. I, too, would sub PR122.
The painting is a tutorial from the book, and I used the book methods, but I didn’t stick too strictly to the palette come to the think of it! I used a palette that is at least close. Most of the darks are made from ultramarine and Transparent Red Oxide (of course I substituted TRO for the weird burnt orange mix), sometimes with crimson (PR264 in place of the alizarin mix) – dark greens from crimson/phthalo green.