Dr. Georg Kremer from Kremer pigments took the time to read my blog and wrote several comments, and I was quite honored. It is enormously helpful and educational to get information from an expert such as Dr. Kremer. He made a very interesting observation about my color tests on viridian and Veronese green from a couple of weeks ago. Even … [Read more...] about Veronese vs. Viridian the Sequel
Pigments: Historical and Modern
There is a distinct difference between modern day pigments and the natural pigments used prior to the middle of the 1700s. In the past, artists had apprentices who ground the colors for them throughout the oil painting sessions. Because they were made by hand, the pigments retained a natural grittiness and consistency with larger particle size. Today's oil paint manufacturers make synthetic colors in huge vats where the end result is exceptional smoothness. Prior to the middle of the 1700, natural pigments came from dirt, minerals, and even plants.
Seeing Red
The color tests here are a perfect way to portray the differences between the modern pigments and the historic. On the left is the historic vermilion, pure above and mixed with white below. On the right is the modern pigment, cadmium red, pure on the top and mixed with white below. The intensity of the two colors is immediately apparent. The … [Read more...] about Seeing Red
Very Vermilion
Back in October of 2006 while viewing the Rembrandt exhibit at the Dayton Art Institute, I knew in an instant this one must be used as a source painting for one in my Lessons from the Low Countries series. The anticipation of using this masterpiece was heightened because of the brilliant and varied pigment possibilities. After seeing this small … [Read more...] about Very Vermilion
Southwest Sienna
Several years ago while traveling in the Southwest, we visited Utah's famous Bryce and Zion National Parks. As many of you probably know, the hills there are spectacular colors, glowing with reds and golds in endless varieties. Because I did not want any trouble from those pesky park rangers, I waited until we were outside of the boundaries of the … [Read more...] about Southwest Sienna
Viridian vs. Verona
Often in this blog documentation, I have talked about color saturation. This is very important to anyone using color in any way, no matter the medium. The saturation of a color, paint, or dye, is the intensity of the pigment, meaning how weak or powerful it is. Often, I have mentioned a color having a weak tinting strength, especially the earth … [Read more...] about Viridian vs. Verona
The Blues
Many of the history books I have read over the past months often give multiple names for one pigment. This is something that has happened over and over again for the historic pigment called SMALT. Ralph Mayer states in his book, The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques, it is a kind of cobalt blue glass. As many as 3000 years ago, the … [Read more...] about The Blues