a brief comment on colours
Melynda Reid
rag board or canvas or masonite depending upon the medium i am using. i blob
the tube colour in discrete units down one edge. on an edge across from
that edge i blob on other colours in my palette particularly the whites
and yellows i employ the most. i start out by brushing the tube colour with
mediunm until it fades away. i then reduce the colour on a separate line with
the whites i set out. then i test the yellows. and if need be blues and reds.
quite often a tube colour when reduced with white will tend to get blue or
green or amber. some siennas reduce out to a pinkish glow. others turn a
sickly green. if you are trying to mix flesh colours knowing how siennas behave
in reduction can make a lot of difference. some alizarin crimsons reduce out
to a blue while others reduce out to a golden. i test out all new tubes. and
i do not assume that the same pigment from different maufacturers will behave
similarly. there are great differences in the behaviour of tube paints in
mixture. it is not possible to predict from body colour (straight from the
tube) how the colour will behave as a tint or in admixture. sometimes the
most expensive formulations can be the trickiest to control in mixing.
i tend to dislike the rigid systems i read about for colour mixing. yawn.
by directed play and experimentation it is possible to learn very quickly
what works. it is important to realise that colours in a tube are not the
same as the primary colours in light itself.
melynda claire reid
melynda reid who wears hats but does not type caps
eel: mel...@titipu.resun.com or nosc.mil!titipu.resun.com!melynda
snail: p o box 378 greensboro, florida 32330
fran...@delphi.com
including tests for permanence ( I'm a retired pigment chemist).
A tip that I'd like to pass on is to try and work with single pigment colors
as opposed to mixtures of pigments which invariably create mud and chalkiness.
My favorites are phthalo blue, phthalo green (yellow shade), Quinacridone
crimson, perinone orange, ultramarine blue,Hansa yellow (py73), Carbazole
violet and a good light fast scarlet.
Many companies like Holbein and Winsor & Newton don't like you to know the
pigments but you can usually find out.
regards, -Frank in Delaware-
Kevin Krueger
>Melynda, I like your empirical approach to colors and always do it myself,
>including tests for permanence ( I'm a retired pigment chemist).
>Many companies like Holbein and Winsor & Newton don't like you to know the
>pigments but you can usually find out.
>regards, -Frank in Delaware-
I have found a book regarding watercolors and the pigments used for the
different brands and colors. The author discussed the pigments
typically used in the color and then referenced every different brand of that
particular color to it's original pigment. I found it very useful in helping
me find colors and brands for my new palette. The analysis also includes
overall ratings and results from lightfastness tests. The book is called The
Wilcox Guide to Watercolor Paints. I found it in the library, but I have seen
it in your better bookstores for $24.95.
-Kevin
Charles Eicher
> Many companies like Holbein and Winsor & Newton don't like you to know the
> pigments but you can usually find out.
> regards, -Frank in Delaware-
Absolute rubbish. I've had extensive discussions about the chemical
compositions and permanence of pigments with the head chemist at ColArt
(windsor and newton). All I did was just call ColArt on the phone, they
were very responsive. They had many good suggestions and dumped a TON of
technical data sheets on me.
Maybe it helped that I know a little chemistry.. that got the guy
interested.
-------------------
Charles Eicher
cei...@halcyon.com
-------------------
John Clemens
>In article <Ze2om1f....@delphi.com>, fran...@delphi.com wrote:
snip snip snip
>>
>(windsor and newton). All I did was just call ColArt on the phone, they
>were very responsive. They had many good suggestions and dumped a TON of
>technical data sheets on me.
>Maybe it helped that I know a little chemistry.. that got the guy
>interested.
>-------------------
> Charles Eicher
>cei...@halcyon.com
OA>-------------------
I agree with your observations about the availability of paint mixture data.
You don't even have to evince the slightest interest in chemistry. My local
art shop has a rack of technical data sheets from W&N there for the taking.
I mean, why would they hide their formulas? Artists have been mixing paint
for centuries; it's no big secret. What the companies offer is that they
can often do a better job at making the paint smooth and consistent.
-ellie
Charles Eicher
Stewart [Dept. Psychology, SWGC, Corner Brook, NF, CAN]) wrote:
>
> Surely the issue is the quality of the preparation and not the brand name.
> Some of the Cotman colours are fine--they use reliable pigments and the
> properties of the paint are acceptable (e.g. ultramarine, yellow ochre,
> ivory black, etc.). Others such as the cadmium "hues" and the viridian are
> poor.
>
true, perhaps, but I find Cotman uses a poor quality binder (pure gum
arabic being scarce these days) and isn't ground very finely. Pigment
durability is an issue, only up to a point.. Often I find durable colors
that I can't use due to other factors.. again, I'm using them in a
photochemical process so this may not be a general concern.
> On the other hand, I threw out many of my Holbein colours after reading the
> results of Wilcox's testing--particularly and paradoxically most of the
> ones with "permanent" in the colour name.
>
geez.. throw them out to me.. I'll pay shipping. I'm especially fond of the
holbein blacks and whites (about 7 different blacks in gouache and
watercolor) but permanence is usually not a problem there.. and I'd KILL
for a few tubes of Holbein Copper or Gold (discontinued, dammit!) but these
aren't permanent colors.. I think Holbein grinds their pigments more
finely than any other brand I've used and I can use less to get the
coverage I want.. But to each their own...
Daniel Stewart [Dept. Psychology, SWGC, Corner Brook, NF, CAN]
> Don't buy the cheapo W&N Cotman colors if you want serious colors. Get
> their swatch sheet (which lists the real names) if you're stuck on chemical
> names.
> Besides, if you were really serious, you wouldn't buy ANY W&N products,
> you'd be buying Holbein or LeFranc & Bourgeous (sp?) colors.
> -------------------
> Charles Eicher
> cei...@halcyon.com
> -------------------
Surely the issue is the quality of the preparation and not the brand name.
Some of the Cotman colours are fine--they use reliable pigments and the
properties of the paint are acceptable (e.g. ultramarine, yellow ochre,
ivory black, etc.). Others such as the cadmium "hues" and the viridian are
poor.
On the other hand, I threw out many of my Holbein colours after reading the
results of Wilcox's testing--particularly and paradoxically most of the
ones with "permanent" in the colour name.
Dan. Stewart
fran...@delphi.com
read his results and then do my own tests by taping masked off brushouts
on a south facing window for a year! I check every month. One of my
disagreements with Wilcox is the the Caebazole Dioxazine violet which he
rates as impermanent. After 1 year in the sun on my window there was no
change! He rates Chrome yellow as impermanent because it darkens, but after
the initial darkening there is no change. AS to brands, you have to take
them one by one. Cottman Intense Blue is as deep & pure as W&N Winsor
Blue. Cottman raw & burnt umber are unmatched by any other brand. Da Vinci
raw siena is transparent and the only true raw siena; the others use yellow
oxide. No Ultramarine Blue comes even close to Rowney French Ultramarine.
It is a rich reddish shade with non of the sediment we usually associate
with ultra Blue. I now investigating the Daniel Smith watercolors which
may be the best of all. They are the only ones to have the yellow shade of
phthalo green and the green gold. The have 3 permanent azoic yellow and a
scarlet (tehese are the weak sisters for permanence). While I haven't
seen any watercolors from them, Golden makes truly the best acrylic and
air brush colors. I use them in W/C techniques.
Happy painting, -Frank in Delaware-