Page 10 - Artist Materials Advisor

Fluorescence is a phenomenon where a substance absorbs light at a specific wavelength and then re-emits the light at a longer wavelength. This re-emitted light is known as fluorescence. Fluorescent pigments are substances that can fluoresce and are widely used in various applications, such as in art, science, and industry.

Fluorescence occurs when a molecule, called a fluorophore, absorbs a photon of light at a specific wavelength and then re-emits the light at a longer wavelength. This process is known as fluorescence and is caused by the movement of electrons within the fluorophore.

Fluorescent pigments are made up of a variety of different compounds, such as fluorescent dyes, fluorescent inks, and fluorescent plastics. These pigments are used in many applications, including art, science, and industry.

There are several types of fluorescent pigments, each with its unique properties. One type of fluorescent pigment is called a “dayglow” pigment, which is highly fluorescent and visible...

Lead sulfate (British spelling, sulphate) formed the basis of several white pigments that were made on a large scale in the 19th and 20th centuries and sold under a variety of names, such as "Patent White Lead," "Non-poisonous White Lead," "Sublimed White Lead," etc. Some of these pigments did not consist entirely of lead sulfate but contained other minerals, such as zinc oxide, barite (barium sulfate), magnesia (magnesium carbonate), etc., in varying quantities.

A comparison of grounds for egg tempera by artist, Koo Schadler. She compares seven different grounds based on six criteria she developed for egg tempera painting. Read this article to see how they measure up.

Support Induced Discoloration (SID) occurs when paint changes color due to pulling up water-soluble substances from the substrate. As the paint dries, these particles remain in the paint, discoloring it. Read how to avoid the discoloration of paint on wood supports.

It’s not possible to physically blend egg tempera paint once it’s been applied because reworking fresh paint dissolves and lifts underlying layers. Thus whatever tool is used to apply egg tempera leaves behind its mark: A brushstroke stays visibly a brushstroke, sponged on paint, and carries the imprint of the sponge. This “mark making” tendency means egg tempera is ideal for rendering fine details, crisp textural effects, and other linear elements. The challenge in tempera is to create smooth, mark-free transitions.

Tempera is a method of painting with pigments dispersed in a binder that is miscible with water such as egg yolk, casein, gum, or hide glue. This article examines the type of supports used today for tempera and the best practice of preparing them for tempera paint using a new ground, Tempera Ground, made by Natural Pigments.

Teresa Oaxaca has been using transparent pigments for about a year and a half now, and a blog post of this nature has been on her to-do list ever since. Seldom very popular (unless the paint tube is labeled the ever famous "transparent oxide yellow"), little known and less understood, most people question why someone would want to go to the trouble of producing, let alone painting with a weak pigment. In the age of cadmium and other bright hi-keyed pigments, earth colors have come into question. Why not mix it down? Why settle for a lower chroma?

It is an old saying that rules are meant to be broken. No one did this more successfully than Rembrandt. For instance, the rich red in the tablecloth in the Syndics is obtained by glazing a translucent red over brown instead of a brighter red. Rules are meant to be broken, but it is necessary to know them first. Read more about these painting rules.

For over a hundred years, most of the causes of cracking have been explored: humidity and temperature, expansion and contraction, stress, and paint embrittlement. The symptoms were obvious—cracking and paint loss—but the causes were not clearly understood. In 1982, Marion Mecklenburg and other scientists at the Smithsonian Institute reported the first systematic explanation of painting mechanics, especially that of canvas paintings.

This rule appears to confuse so many artists or is ignored completely by others. Perhaps a better way to express the rule "always paint fat on lean" is always paint a slower-drying paint film over a faster-drying film. Think about the last applied paint film being more flexible than the paint film underneath. Another way to clarify this rule is to add a little more oil in the last application of paint than was included in the paint layer just covered or not to dilute with solvent the last applied layer any more than the previous one was thinned.