Period Pigments Help (Long)
BBrisbane
Sorry, I lost your Address and your original post! I hope
you find this.
I am Lord Brendan Brisbane, Minister of Arts and Sciences to the
Principality of AEthelmearc in the Kingdom of the East. I would like to
give you aid in your endeavor and perhaps point you down the path of
period painting. I have followed the replies that your missive has
received and it appears that none of them answered your query. I
apologize in advance if my letter appears too terse or hard, but it is my
desire to provide you information in a succinct form. Also be aware that
I have but your original posting (now a memory) to base my response upon,
and so I am not aware of what You KNOW about working with Period Pigments.
Standard Disclaimer: I am not an Expert, I am simply passing on to
you what I have learned via my experiences in studying and working with
Period Pigments (PP). I would admonish you to weigh, sift, test, any
information given to you, and find out for yourself whether what was
passed on to you was the truth. That goes for my writings too! I would
also like to say that an Artist is not made by having a Degree in art and
you should not let anyone's credentials be the deciding factor in your
search for knowledge. Find out for yourself.
Firstly, I was thrilled to find your posting and to see the
enthusiasm of your missive. I applaud such enthusiasm and intent.
However, your missive did give one the opinion that someone told you that
Egg Tempera was the only period form of painting, and so you dove right in
and studied just that, Egg Tempera Painting. There are many differing
forms of period painting, each of which has traits and characteristics
that makes that form suitable for using upon one type of surface, while
often making it unsuitable on other surfaces. Furthermore, Egg Tempera
painting is one of the most dificult forms of painting (second to Fresco
in my experiences), and can yield dissapointing results if one does not
adequately study the form, and experiments a little. As you have sited,
you have already had at least one dissapointing result.
MiLord, you wished to find a paint that would function more like
Gouache. I can only presume that you are at least familiar with that form
of painting. To attain a PP paint more like Gouache you should begin by
finding what precisely Gouache consists of. "The Artist's Handbook, of
Materials and Techniques" by Ralph Mayer, 5th Edition, Viking Press, ISBN
0-670-83701-6 ($30, Hbk). in chapter 7 tells us that Gouache consists
primarily of Gum Arabic and chalk. The Gum Arabic is a binding medium, a
tempering agent, a glue if you will. That causes the paint to adhere to
the surface of application. In Egg Tempera this is facilitated by the egg
yolks. The chalk is simply an additive for the purposes of yielding an
Opaque paint. If one were to remove the chalk so as to have just PP and
Gum Arabic, you will have Watercolor paints. I beleive that this is what
you are looking for. Gum Arabic is easily manipulated, dissolves in
water, but will not keep. It does produce the ease of painting you find
in using Gouaches, however, PP have varying characteristics which means
they do not all flow the same. Your Gouaches are all consistent in their
ability to flow, your PP will be determined by the amount of processing
(grinding, milling, and mulling) they receive by your hands, and the
structural make-up of the pigment substances (ie. . . ., Clays will grind
up to a fine creamy consistent powder, while semi-precious stones like
Malachite and hematite will tend to break apart into crystalline bits,
pieces, and powder.). You will find that in the processing of Lapis that
as you grind in finer and finer, it becomes lighter and lighter until its
color washes out completely. As lapis is ground, it's crystaline
structure defracts the light stiking it further and further and finally
you will have but a useless white Powder. In - "The Craftsman's Handbook,
Il Libro dell Arte" by Cennino Cennini as translated by Daniel V Thompson
Jr. Dover Publications, ISBN 0-486-20054-X (Still available for about
$6, Pbk. This was written in Period). - you will find on pages 36 to 39
that Ultramarine Blue is gained from Lapsi via a 'leaching' process, and
not by grinding. Lapis alone utilizes this technique.
Now what I'd like to address, and would admonish you to do, is on
becoming a Craftsman. Being an Artist is simply not enough, one must also
be a Craftsman. An artist, particularly one who works in PP, needs to
intimately familiar with his tools, surfaces, materials, and all of their
interacting characteristics. There is much more to making paint than just
mixing PP with a binding medium. There is the processes of grinding your
pigment substances, Mulling the paint (this process thoroughly mixes your
PP with the medium, and then there is the actual process of painting.
Painting is NOT as easy as all that! The craftsman will be aware of the
chemical properties of his paints, what paints to use with what techniques
(meaning; panel Painting, manuscript Illumination, Fresco), for PP are not
universal in regards to the surfaces and binders with which they are
mixed. Fresco work has a palette which is limmited to Earthy pigments:
yellow/red/brown clays, lampblack, terre-vert, and others. Other painting
forms have restrictions due to the interactions of the chemicals
themselves. In watercolors (using pigment with your gum arabic) the
mixture of Vermilion Red (Mercuric Sulfide) with Lead White (Lead
Crabonate) yields . . . not pink but Grey. It does not matter how or in
what quantity you mix them, you always get the same dead grey. It is
chemically something other than it had been, and you cannot readily know
what you have made. There are much worse reactions! Some of them are
deadly, while others are a cumulative poison, and you must also consider
safety precautions as you work. The fine dust produced in grinding
pigments is one of the most dangerous parts of the work. So you can see
that there is much more involved with using PP than slapping paint onto a
scroll. Lead white and Silver leaf, or any other paint with a heavy metal
content is unsuitable for painting work that is exposed to the air. Such
paints will dull, tarnish, or blacken over time and alter the painters
original intent. It is a matter of craftsmanship to know which paints you
can use how and with what binders. The remedy for these chemical
reactions lay in several techniques; Laying a WASH if color over a DRY
under painting which allows the two colors to be seen together (this of
course means using a binding medium which encapsulates (surrounds) the
paint layers completely and keeps air from affecting them. ALL of these
things the Artist/Craftsman will know. I would Admonish you, my lord to
savor that enthusiasm, harness it, and focus it on knowing your tools and
materials before you find your wasting your time and money.
Other Books for your Contemplation: (You Should Read These!)
The Craftsman's Handbook, "Il Libro dell Arte" by Cennino Cennini as
translated by Daniel V Thompson Jr. Dover Publications, ISBN
0-486-20054-X (Still available for about $6, Pbk. This was written in
Period).
Vasari on Technique, by Georgio Vasari, Dover Publcations, ISBN
0-486-20717-X (About $10, Pbk. This was written in Period).
The Materials of the Artist, and their use in Painting, By Max Doerner,
Harcourt Brace Pub, ISBN 0-15-657716-X (About $14, Pbk).
The Painter's Handbook, by Mark David Gottsegen, Watson Guptill Pub, ISBN
0-8230-3003-2. (About $30, Pbk --- Great Book!!).
Artist's Pigments, a handbook of their History & Charcteristics, Volume-1,
Robert L. Feller Editor. Nat'l Gallery of Art Pub, ISBN 0-89468-068-2 (
$17, Pbk. Very Tough to find!! You can still get them through Kremer
Pigments in NY. Epitome of Books on the subject of specific chemical,
analytical, and historical pigment information).
Artist's Pigments, a handbook of their History & Charcteristics, Volume-2,
Ashok Roy Editor. Nat'l Gallery of Art Pub, ISBN 0-89468-189-9 ( $35,
Hbk. Very Tough to find!! You can still get them through Kremer Pigments
in NY. Epitome of Books Vol 2 in serires (Vol 3 not released yet) on the
subject of specific chemical, analytical, and historical pigment
information).
I hope you can chew on this for awhile. There is plenty more where
that came from! If your coming to Estrella Wars look me up at 'Brendan's
Banners'
-------------- Brendan