Margret E. Short Fine Arts

Portland, Oregon artist Margret Short - a modern day master of 17th Century Dutch art using the chiaroscuro technique to create still life and floral paintings.

Historical Pigments

Monks Seeing Red

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  Very early manuscripts document both the manufacture and use of vermilion. Some called this indispensable color the prince of reds which was more brilliant than the natural cinnabar. Theophilus (Roger of Helmarshausen)the Benedictine Monk, described the alchemical synthesis in his technical handbook De diversis artibus (On Divers Arts … [Read more...] about Monks Seeing Red

Red Haired Men and Other Curiosities on Pigments

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A lively and strange excerpt from Bright Earth by Philip Ball,  gives us a recipe for Spanish Gold using pure magical thinking. From the writings of Theophilus: "There is also a gold named Spanish gold, which is compounded from red copper, basilisk powder, human blood, and vinegar. The heathen, whose skill in this art is … [Read more...] about Red Haired Men and Other Curiosities on Pigments

Seeing Red

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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

Viridian vs. Verona

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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

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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

Art Studio-CSI

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Countless times over the past months of Lessons from the Low Countries research, I have made splendid discoveries. And, yesterday's was no less so. While reading the Still Lifes: Techniques and Style book where the pronk discovery developed, I found a delightful reference to a relationship between an artist's wealth and pigment use. Pictured … [Read more...] about Art Studio-CSI