Page 6 - Pigments

The recent shortage of lead white (flake white) oil paint by many artists’ material companies has created a panic among many artists. Understandably so because lead white is the most useful color on the artist’s palette for oil painting and many artists are dependent upon a steady supply. Much wild speculation has become rampant about this situation, so we want to help dispel the growing number of myths surrounding lead white. Here is the situation regarding lead white oil paint...

Explore our range of Traditional Oil Paints, crafted with historical pigments for true art enthusiasts. Discover the charm of classical painting techniques...

Welcome to Natural Pigments' Glossary of common and not so common Paint and Art Terms. Here we hope to give you a brief definition of various art terms which might be unfamiliar. If you have any questions, comments, or ideas, please contact us...

Natural Pigments introduces a new way of making traditional waterborne paint: Rublev Colours Aqueous Dispersions. Aqueous dispersions are pigments dispersed in water ready to be mixed with water-based mediums. These dispersions are specially made for traditional painting mediums, such as egg, casein, fresco, watercolors, and distemper (glue tempera). They are also ideally suited for use with gesso for making toned grounds for drawing and painting...

The reaction of natural and synthetic mineral pigments with binders containing lipids, such as egg yolk, drying oils, etc., has been reported by various authors. Generally, the formation of metallic soaps with the free fatty acids in the binders is assumed to be the reaction. These metallic soaps may act as driers, accelerating the oxidation and polymerization of the binder and providing a hard and resistant pigmented film...

Paint basically consists of two components: pigment and vehicle. Pigment particles do not dissolve in the paint vehicle but are suspended in the liquid. Making paint simply means mixing a solid and liquid component together into a smooth paste. Making paint is easier than you may think. You can start making small batches of oil paint with basic supplies, such as pigment, linseed oil, a spatula, and a clean, flat surface...

During the history of Art, from the earliest times to the present day, certain pigments have remained common to the artists' palette, and while some have dropped out of use, others have been added. Although a great deal of information on the subject has been collected from the examination of old records and, in addition, by the occasional analysis of the actual pigments used, the whole subject seems to me to be deserving of a more exact inquiry than it has as yet received...

Purifying natural ultramarine requires more operations than grinding, washing and sieving the mineral. Here are several resources on the method described by Cennino Cennini in his famous treatise Il libro dell'arte...

The palette is one of the most essential tools in the history of oil painting, and its effect is one of the most minor studied aspects in art history. Setting the palette has a significant history; its development is relatively easy to trace in pictures of artists at work. The use of a set, limited palette, a portable surface upon which colors are arranged according to their tonal value, and its implications in painting is the subject of a lecture by George O’Hanlon, Technical Director of Natural Pigments. The first part of the lecture is featured in this article...

Rublev Colours Stack Process White Lead is made in small amounts according to the 16th-century Dutch method, differing little from the historical “stack process.” It is a basic carbonate of lead and usually contains about 70% lead carbonate and 30% lead hydroxide. This grade of white lead is composed of the actual flakes that fall off the corroded lead coils of the stack process and the white lead that is mechanically removed. It is washed and ground, ready to be mixed with a paint binder...

Vermilion and cinnabar are historical pigments of red mercuric sulfide (HgS). The former is the artificial mineral pigment, whereas the latter, cinnabar, is the mineral found in nature. Their hues and undertones are unmatched by any modern equivalent pigments, such as cadmium red...

An earth color palette, the core palette used by old masters, provides both important limitations and advantages. The most significant limitation is the number of hues available in very light and dark values at a high intensity (chromatic purity). Earth colors, because of their subtle nature and the harmony of their hues and relative values, can be used more spontaneously. Although the limitation mentioned, a great variety of color effects is nonetheless possible; a variety considered more than adequate by many of the greatest old masters, including the most famous colorists of the Renaissance...