Page 15 - George O'Hanlon

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.

Du Fresnoy wrote about colors that appear on the palette of seventeenth-century artists, such as Rembrandt and Rubens, and that appear in Roger de Piles’ translation of De Arte Graphica.

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.

Shellac is a resin secreted by the female lac bug, Kerria lacca (Order Hemiptera, Family Coccidae), on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. The insect secretes resin forming tunnel-like tubes as it traverses the branches of trees. This insect is in the same family as the insect from which cochineal is obtained. The resin is collected, processed, and sold as dry flakes that can be dissolved in ethyl alcohol to make liquid shellac. Shellac forms a durable natural coating that is useful as a primer, sanding sealant, tannin-blocker, odor-blocker, and high-gloss varnish.

Natural Pigments congratulates Julio Reyes upon winning the Draper Grand Prize at the 2012 International Portrait Competition for his painting Tread Softly. The finalists in the competition were announced at The Art of the Portrait conference Gala Banquet on Saturday, May 26, 2012, at the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown Hotel.

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.

Natural Pigments congratulates David Gluck for his painting, The Trapper, which won an Exceptional Merit award at the 2012 International Portrait Competition. The top finalists in the competition were announced at The Art of the Portrait conference Gala Banquet on Saturday, May 26, 2012, in the Grand Ballroom of the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown Hotel. The painting The Trapper depicts a man David befriended when he moved into an old factory district in Toronto. When David knew him, the man did not have a job or home, but he kept himself extremely busy collecting scrap metal.

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.