p-

M
i - >1

t •
•s >*
Practical, inspiring and informative, this

book is the artist's bible on color. Aimed

at painters in particular and visually

creative people in general, Artist's Color

Manual is an important resource for

artists, designers, art students and educators

alike. It looks at all the crucial aspects of

color in four absorbing sections:

Information on

paints and pigments, plus some straight-

forward science and a concise buyer's

guide to materials. '" •'

-^4 *&- V,
A guide to mixing
mi^P
- jj^j^^^^A Iflfef'-^c . !V~~"!

and working with the various color groups.

^1

Creative mMguMi <1L f

I^ "H

ideas for color usage, as well as interviews

with and first-hand tips and techniques

from practicing artists.

A reference to and
visual synopsis of over 450 colors in
t J !

a variety of media. \aHEL II%>w 1n

1

1
1 u i

'M

m*~~ IP
1 III !

£.t>3'8Mm
THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO WORKING WITH COLOR

SIMON JENNINGS
First Published in the United States in

2003 by Chronicle Books LLC

Copyright © 2003 by
HarperCollins Publishers.
Photographs and illustrations © 2003
Simon Jennings/Ben Jennings
Paintings and artworks © the
individual artists.

All rights reserved. No part of this

publication may be reproduced, stored

in a retrieval system, or transmitted in

any form or by any means, electronic,

mechanical, photocopying, recording,
or otherwise without prior written

permission of the copyright holders

and publisher.

Pages 8-9 constitute a continuation of

the copyright page.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-

Publication Data available.

ISBN: 0-81 18-4143-X

Cover design by Julie Vermeer.

Distributed in Canada by
Ramcoast Books
9050 Shaughnessy Street
Vancouver, British Columbia V6P 6E5

1098765432
Chronicle Books LLC
85 Second Street
San Francisco, California 94105

www. chroniclebooks. com

This book was conceived, edited,

and designed at Hill Top Studio,
East Sussex, UK

Research and Text,

Design and Art Direction
Simon Jennings

Text Editor
Geraldine Christy

Technical Consultant
Emma Pearce
Winsor & Newton

Art Educational Consultant

Carolynn Cooke
Impington Village College
Cambridge. UK

Consultant Editor
Sally Bulgin
Publisher. The Artist and
Leisure Painter Magazines

o Photography
lennings

: page make-up assistant

Amat

Color ,rch

Chris Perry ;ngs

Index
Mary Morton

Manufactured in
Artist's Color Manual
x#ont Gilts

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

What Is Color? Color by Color Creative Directions Color Index &

10^45 46*~93 94^153 Reference Section

Pigments in history 12 Color by color 48 Creative directions 96 154^192

Blue 50 Color index 156

Pigment standards 16 Watercolor:
Optical illusions 20 Turquoise 54 straight and mixed 98 Guide to main suppliers 1 80

The four-color process 21 Violet 55 Glossary of terms 1 82

Subdued colors 102
Optical color mixing 23 Red 56 Bibliography
Working
and further reading 187
Colors of the spectrum 24 Orange 60 without black 104
62 Index 188
Additive and Yellow Fast color for flesh 106
subtractive color 25 Yellow Ochre 66 A seven-color palette 110
The basic color wheel 26 Green Earth 67 Renaissance skin tones 112
Color in action 29 Green 68 Massive color in oils 114
Choosing media 30 Brown and Red Earth 72 Rich color
Oil colors 30 Black and darks 76 from acrylics 118
Watercolors 32 Gray 84 Transparency
Acrylic colors 33 White 86 and luminosity 124
Gouache & Metallic and special- Color contained 128
egg tempera 34 effect colors 88 Broken color 132
Pastels & Flesh colors 90 Painting with
colored pencils 35 nonart colors 136
Mediums 36 Colors from the mail 140
Media in action 38 Colors for free 144
Choosing palettes 40 Traveling color 146
Color language 42 Color on cloth 148
Interpreting color 44 Smooth color 150

Dry color and line 152

 The Artist's Color Manual
Sketchbooks 12/ x 8'/in (31 x 21cm)
Simon Jennings
Examples of original manuscript, research notes

and color experimentation for the

Artist's Color Manual, 2001-03

wirti .iilWS
&=, -

• •» 000

## r
Sr
fc

fc
J
**J

1
r #
4-

»•

J :»

JJ
« S3

*1 a

._ -*- -jg fa "* i*i.V2

 "Color possesses me.
1 don't have to pursue it.
It will possess me always,
I know it.

Color and I are one,

I am a painter."
Paul Klee (1879-1940)

><...1S,U '/-/^w A<.<-'')

COLOR
is essentially such a
visual subject that perhaps
it is rather strange that
so man,/ millions oi words
have been written about it.
But that is no bad thing -
and to add to them here are
a few more, along with some
... stunning pictures as well.
V-
^ »-.< • *"<* *—*'
I

-f- luany thanks to all who have

-?-

contributed to the Artist 's

SC
Color Manual, especially
.-:

the eleven participating

Sc
manufacturers who supplied
invaluable technical
information and scores
of colors with which to
experiment. I am also
deeply grateful to the
galleries that pointed me
toward artists whose work
demonstrates a unique
relationship with color,
and finally to the
individuals themselves who
opened up their studios and
provided me with firsthand
information and access to
their fabulous imagery.
Their inspiration and
enthusiasm demonstrated to
me that "hands-on, eyes-
open" is the one and only
way when it comes to
understanding

COLOR •
Simon Jennings, hill top studio (mmiiij
A hook such as this is made I am particularly grateful to the Sally Bulgin The following Galleries assisted
possible h\ the goodwill and following individuals and Publisher of The Artist & Leisure in contacting artists for partici-

cooperation of many people

companies for their support in Painter Magazines, for pation in this project, and I am
organizing and obtaining enthusiastically supporting the grateful for their help:
and represents the work of
materials and images for use in project and ratifying the content.
many hands and minds. I am
the Artist's Color Manual: Len Hodds (Gallery Manager)
indebted to the following for
Dr Francis Duck and Robin Prewerof
their generous contributions, Andrew Long, Winsor & Newton of The Royal United Hospital, Bath, The Buckenham Gallery
enthusiasm and support. George Frangeskou, Liquitex UK UK, for reading and corroborating 81 High Street
Neil Hamer, Daler-Rowney the technical and scientific content Soufhwold, Suffolk, UK
Main contributing artists Arjan Knegt, Royal Talens of the physics of color and the colors Telephone: (+44) 01 502 725 41
in alphabetical order:
Ben Woolfitt, Tri-Art of the spectrum information. Email:
Guenda Burgheim, Maimeri len@[Link]
Ray Balkwill. page 98
Ute Hallerbach, Lukas Geraldine Christy [Link]
Joan Elliott Bates, page 102 Christine Wiegold, Schmincke for editing my manuscript and
Nick Bowering. page 104 Andrew Street, Schmincke UK research notes, and contributing to Michael Richardson
Paul Schulz, Golden the writing, and looking after the (Michael Richardson Contemporary Art)
Jessie Carr. page 136
details of text, type and language Art Space Gallery
Judith Chestnutt. page 140 Jason Mackie, Global Arts and preparing the text for press. 84 St Peter's Street
Lucy Dunsterville. page 136 Unit 8, Leeds Place, Tollington Park London N1 8JS, UK
London N4 3QW, UK Chris Perry Telephone: (+44) 020 7359 7002
Sue Fitzgerald, page 118
Telephone: (+44) 020 7281 2457 for enthusiasm and general all-round Email: artspacegallery@[Link]
Peter Graham, page 28 Email: mail@[Link] support and particularly for diligent [Link]
Desmond Haughton, page 110 For facilitating the cooperation of: work in the preparation of color

Daphne Jo Lowrie, page 128

Old Holland in the Netherlands, samples and pigment declarations Bourne Gallery
Sennelier in France and for the color index. 33 Lesbourne Road
Chris Perry, page 148
UK
Golden in the USA. Reigate, Surrey,
John Reay, page 132 Additional contributions Telephone: (+44) 01 737 241 614

Tim Riddihough, page 106 James Stock, Great Art Additional research, writing and Email:bournegallery@[Link]
(Gerstaecker UK Ltd) editing contributions: Emma Pearce [Link]
George Rowlett. page 114
Normandy House, 1 Nether Street (Pigments general), Brenda Howley
George Underwood, page 113 Alton, Hants, GU341EAUK (Choosing media), Rose Jennings The Alresford Gallery
Marina Yedigaroff. page 124 Telephone: (+44) 0845 601 5772 (Blue and general research), Sally- 36 West Street
Email: welcome@[Link] Anne Schilling (Blue), Kate Gwynn Alresford, Nr. Winchester

[Link] (Red), Susanne Haynes (Yellow), Hampshire S024 [Link]

Additional contributing artists
m alphabetical order Chris Perry (general research), and Telephone: (+44) 01 962 735286
For technical and editorial Ashley Howard (additional editing).

Helen Banzhaf, page 148 support, advice and encourage-

Carolynn Cooke, page 152 ment, my particular thanks to: Color samples and swatches

Helen Dougall, page 148 All the color samples and swatches

Jackie Simmonds, page 39

Emma Pearce were created specifically for this
of Winsor & Newton, for reading the book by Simon Jennings, Rose
Douglas Wilson, page 39
manuscript, corroborating the Color Jennings and Chris Perry, with the
Index International listings and exception of the diagonal color chart
Art materials suppliers
writing the Pigment History and samples used in Chapter 2, "Color by
The following manufacturers generously
donated materials and equipment for review Pigment standards information at Color." These samples, on pages 48,
and sampling, and for use in color charts and the beginning of the book. 49, 50, 54, 55, 60, 62, 66, 67, 68, 72,
photography throughout this book (Emma Pearce's quotation p. 12, is reproduced 84 and 85, were kindly supplied by
In alphabetical order by kind permission of David Pyle
Schmincke and show colors from
their Mussini resin-oil range. The
Daler-Rowney Sarah Miller
color swatches on page 98,
Golden UK Education Manager at Winsor &
"Watercolorstraight and mixed,"
Newton, for cheerfully answering
Liquitex are by Ray Balkwill.
questions and promptly dealing with
[Link] my technical and general enquiries.
Special photography
Maimeri All special photography, studio set-
Carolynn Cooke
Holland ups and rostrum photography by
of Impington Village College,
Ben Jennings. Thank you.
Cambridge, UK, for supporting the

project, reading the manuscript and

Page make-up
commenting on art-educational and
Thanksto Amanda Allchin
curriculum issues.
Tri
American text translation
Ml (\ iM
Thanks to Theresa Bebbmgton.
(Seepagesl80-8i
© The copyright in the images Picture credits/Image sources Chapter 2 Chapter 3
reproduced in the Artist's Color All images are identified in the following p.51 col. I, Benedetto di Bmdo, c. 1400, p. 96 col.3, from top/Pay Balkwill, Joan
listing by chapter and page number (p.), Madonna. of Humility (diptych Elliott Bates, Nick Bowering,
Manual remains with the individual
followed, in italics, by either description detail)/Philadelphia Museum of Art; col. col.4, from fop/Tim Riddihough, Desmond
artists/successors, photographers,
or abbreviated title, or column (col.) 4, Iznik f/'/e/from Turkish Ceramics, Haughton, George Underwood, p 97 col. 1,
art materials manufacturers and
position, from left to right. Tashin Oz; col.4, Dutch tile/ Traditional from top/George Rowlett, Sue Fitzgerald,
publishers, and is reproduced here
Dutch Tile [Link] Pepin Press, Marina Yedigaroff. col. 2 from fop/Daphne
by prior arrangement and/or kind Chapter 1 Amsterdam, from the collections of the Jo Lowrie, John Reay, Jessie Carr and
permission. The producers of the p.12 Abbe Breuil, Young Bison/ t\\ia\on Royal Tichelaar Makkum. p. 52 Lucy Dunsterville; col.3, from the
Artist's Color Manual have attempted Press, 1948; Portrait of a Woman/British cols.2-3, pigments/SenneWer, fop/Judith Chestnutt, Simon Jennings,
to contact all copyright holders of Museum; Michelangelo, Madonna, Child col.4, pigment/SenneWei Simon Jennings; col.4, from top/Chris

images shown in this book. In case and St John with ,4nge/s/National p. 53 col. I, p/gme/?f/Sennelier; Perry, Simon Jennings, Simon Jennings,
Gallery, London, p. 13 pigment col. 3, fube/Schmincke; col.4, //C/3/Simon p. 98 col. I, artist at work/Pay Balkwill,
of any errors or omissions please
samp/es/Sennelier; Mauve, Simon Jennings, col.4, Franz Marc, Blue cols. 3-4, color charts/Pay Balkwill. p. 99
contact the publishers for rectification
Garfield (book jacket)/Faber & Faber, Horse 7 (detail)/Stadtische Galerie im paintings/Pay Balkwill. p. 100 studio
in subsequent editions. All the color
design by Pentagram (portrait of William Lenbachhau, Munich, p. 57 col. I, fire details/Pay Balkwill, col.4, painting
samples and swatches were created bucket/PhW Hind;
Henry Perkin courtesy of the National col. 2, Giotto, Kiss of detail/Pay Ba kwi I 1 1 . p. 1 1 painting/Ray
specifically for this book, with the Portrait Gallery, London), p. 15 Science of Judas (detai )/Sca a, Scrovegni Chapel,
I I Balkwill. p. 102 Sir William
exception of the diagonal color chart Art images/Wmsor & Newton, p.16 Padua, p. 58 col. 2, preparing Co/dsfream/Simon Jennings Archive,
samples used in Chapter 2, "Color by watercolor pans/Sennel ier. pp. 1 6-1 madder/Winsor & Newton; col. 3, dried p. 103 painting and detail/Joan Elliott

Color". These samples, on pages 48, main /mage/Great Art (Gerstaecker). madder/Wmsor & Newton; col.4, Bates, p. 104 col.4, Linear defa/V/Nick

49, 50, 54, 55, 60, 62, 66, 67, 68, 72, p. 17 pigments, teff/Sennelier; pigments, crimson and carmine/Wmsor & Newton, Bowering. p. 105 all /mages/Nick

84 and 85, were kindly supplied by right/ Winsor & Newton, p. 19 pigment p. 59 col. I, factory/lukas. p. 60 col. I, Bowering. p. 106 Redman
yars/Sennelier. pp.20— 21 dot /acfo/y/Maimeri, Giovanni Manzoni; sfand/ng/TimRiddihough. p. 107 Check
Schmincke. The antique product
screen/Simon Jennings archive, p. 22 col. 2, Antonio Mensaque, Headband/l\m Riddihough. p. 108 col. I,
engravings, paint tubes and
Masterpiece, Roy Lichtenstein/©Df\CS. Oranges/National Trust, p.61 col. 2, bof./Tim Riddihough. p.1 09 all
watercolor pans are from G. Rowney color swatches/Great Art (Gerstaecker). main
p.23 Le Chahut, Georges Seuraf/Kroller- /'mages/Tim Riddihough. p. 1 1 1

& Co 1 91 3 Wholesale Catalogue and Muller; Sigma r Poke, Girlfriends/Jate [Link]/.2, bof./Winsor & Newton, image and detail/Desmond Haughton.
are reproduced by kind permission of Modern, p. 24 Newton and the Prism, p. 65 col I, yellow p/gmenfs/Maimeri, pi 1 2 Michelangelo, Madonna, Child and
Daler-Rowney. The micro- after George Romneyftmm Life of Giovanni Manzoni; col. 2, /.emoos/Simon St John with Angels/Na\\or\a\ Gallery,
photography images from "The George Romney, William Hayley,1809; Jennings; col. 3, bof./Simon Jennings London, p.1 13 all /mages/George

Science of Art," are reproduced by Dark Side of the Moon Album Archive, p. 66 col.4, fop/Simon Jennings Underwood, p.1 1 5 Sunlit Walmer Beach,
Coi/er/George Hardie, Storm Thorgeson; Archive; col.4, bot. p/gmenfs/Maimeri, Deal Pier, Bathers and Crab Boat/George
kind permission of Winsor & Newton.
John Everett Millais, The Blind Giovanni Manzoni. p.67 col.4, Rowlett; col 4, Sudden Storm over
^////Birmingham Museums & Art Earth/Simon Jennings Archive. Thames, Rotherhithe Pier/George
Galleries, pp.24— 25 Patrick Gries, The p. 68 col. 3, Scheele engraving/Chroma- Rowlett. pp. 1 1 6-1 1 7 Sudden storm over
Hand of A/afure/Fondation Cartier pour tography, 1869. p. 69 col 4, bot. color Thames, Rotherhithe P/e/idetail)/George
I'art contemporain, Paris, p. 26 swatch/Great Art (Gerstaecker). p. 70 Rowlett. pp.1 18-119 Cardinal Grapes
diagrammatic co/or/Daler-Rowney; coll and col.4, fop/Maimeri, Giovanni and Silken Shawl (and detail)/Sue
sketchbooks/S\mon Jennings, p. 27 Manzoni; col.3, bof./Great Art Fitzgerald, pp. 120-121 Two Dragons/Sue
Orange jug/Simon Jennings, pp. 28-29 (Gerstaecker). p. 71 Green sketch/Simon Fitzgerald, p.1 22 col. 7, detail/Sue
all paintings/PeXerGrabam. p. 31 Jennings, Vincent van Gogh, Night Fitzgerald, p.1 23 col. 2, bot. painting
co/.3/Schmincke. p. 32 cols cafe/Yale University Art Gallery, p. 72 (detail)/Sue Fitzgerald, col.3 painting
3-4/Sennelier. p. 38 Sudden Storm over col.3, bof./Maimeri, Giovanni Manzoni. (detail)/Sue Fitzgerald, p.125
Thames, Rotherhithe Pier/George p. 77 col. 2, top/ Observer, Simon Jennings Chrysanthemums/Manna Yedigaroff
Rowlett; Red Tulips/Manna Yedigaroff Archive, col.3, Vines/How To Books, (photo Richard Heeps). p.1 27 Red
(photograph Richard Heeps); Morning Simon Jennings Archive. p79 Kasimir Tulips/Mama Yedigaroff (photo Richard
Mist/Hay Balkwill; S/?ore//ne/Judith Malevich, Black Supremacist Heeps). p.1 29 S/Mngs/Daphne Jo Lowrie.
Chestnutt. p. 39 Carnevale di Sguare/Tretyakov, Moscow; Rembrandt, p.1 30 all images/Daphne Jo Lowrie.
l/enez/a/Jackie Simmonds; Se/f-porfra/f/National Gallery London; p.1 31 cols 2-3, paintings (and
/.emon/Douglas Wilson; Check After Ad Reinhardt {iacs\m\\e)/5>imor\ details)/Daphne Jo Lowrie. p. 133
Headband/l\m Riddihough, cols 3-4, Jennings, p.81 col.4, pigments/P\oya\ Lowestoft Beach/ John Reay (photo Dean
centre p/?ofos/Sennelier. p. 40 Talens. p. 83 Our Lady of Annison). p.134 col. 7/John Reay. p. 135
co/.J/Winsor & Newton; col. 4, Czestochowa/PoWsh National Tourist main image/John Reay (photo Dean
fop/Winsor & Newton, col.4, oof./Daler- Board, p. 85 Homage to Gray Annison). p. 131 preparatory sketch/'Jessie
Rowney; col. 5, mid. and bot./VM'msor & (facsimile)/Simon Jennings, p.86 col.1, Carr and Lucy Dunsterville. p. 140 col. 1,

Newton, p. 41 col. 7, fop/Winsor & White lead stacking/G. Dodd, British Color sample/ Judith Chestnutt. p. 141
Newton; col. 2, pa/effes/from Art Manufacturers 1844; Shoreline/ Jud'Wh Chestnutt. p 142 col.4,
C/ass/HarperCollins; col.4, fop/Winsor & col. 7 bof./Winsor & Newton; top and middle/'Judith Chestnutt. p. 143
Newton, col. 4, bof./Schmincke. p. 42 co/J/Winsor & Newton; co/4/Daler- col. 7, Color samples/Judith Chestnutt,
col.4, color sketches/Simon Jennings. Rowney. p. 87 col. 2, Resists/Simon cols. 3-4, H/asfepapef co//ages/Simon
p.43 Hymn, photograph/ Science, On the Jennings, p. 88 Antique Bronze/S\mon Jennings, pp.144— 1 45 all images/S\mor\
Way to Work, Hirst & Burn/Faber & Jennings Archive, p. 89 Framed Madonna Jennings, pp. 146-1 47 main image and
Faber; Young Scientist (facsimile)/Simon Jennings Archive, p. 90 defa//s/Simon Jennings, p.1 48 col. I and
7by/Joustra/Humbrol Ltd. p. 44 color col. 7, Flesh experiments/Simon Jennings, cols.3-4, l/esse/s/Helen Banzhaf; foot of
sfefc/j/Simon Jennings. p. 92 Vincent van Gogh, Italian page, Set Aside/He\en Dougall. p. 149,
Girl/Musee d'Orsay, Paris. all images Chris Perry, p.1 50, all images
Heinz Edelman/TVC, King Features.
p.1 51 Building Fasc/as/S imon Jennings.
p.1 52 col. 2, centre /mages/Carolynn
Cooke, pp.1 52-1 53 all other
/mages/Simon Jennings.
 !

•:S

,.. J

color!
CHAPTER 1

ffl

«!S^"
i z figments in nisiory
"Today's artists work The first colors The Chinese The Romans
More than 15,000 years ago Although the discoveries and For the most part the Romans
with colors produced by cavemen began to use color to knowledge of the Chinese inherited the palette of the
an industry which has decorate cave walls. These were civilization ran parallel with other Egyptians and Greeks. Pompeii is

spent two centuries earth pigments, yellow earth (ochre), ancient societies, the Chinese were one of the main historical sources,

red earth (ochre) and white chalk. In well in advance of the rest of the dating to ad79, and Vermilion has
getting better and better
addition they used carbon black world with many inventions, been identified on many Pompeiian
and better, while most (Lamp Black) by collecting the soot including paper. Pigments were wall paintings. One of the most
people in this world from burning animal fats. These no exception and Vermilion was important colors was Tyrian Purple,
colors were that were needed to developed in China around 2,000 which was also one of the most
have to work with all

produce the sensitive and exquisite years before was used by the
it costly. The color is prepared from a
things that have got drawings and stencils that we are Romans. Vermilion was made by small color-producing cyst within a
worse and worse." still able to see today. heating mercury and sulfur, whelk. Huge quantities of whelks
producing an extremely opaque, were required - P. Friedlander, in

Emma Pearc e strong red pigment that had almost 1908. collected just J^ooz (1 .4g) of
(in "Whai Everi Artist Neei>- to Know
abolt Paint & COLORS" B\ David P-iLE) entirely replaced Cinnabar by the pure dye from 12,000 molluscs.
eighteenth century. By the end of Huge piles of discarded shells can
the twentieth century, Vermilion still be seen at the sites of ancient
Young Bison itself was replaced by a range of dye works in the Mediterranean. Its

(Altamira, N. Spain) cadmium colors, which provide high price ensured that Tyrian Purple
From a watercolor by the Abbe Breuil
greater permanence. was reserved as a dye for the togas
Prehistoric Painting/Brodric/Avalon Press 1948
of Roman dignitaries, and it became
The Greeks a symbol of power and status.
Today's artists are lucky in
The Greeks also added to the artist's
being constantly provided palette, notably by manufacturing
with pigments that are more white lead, the first completely
permanent and offer an ever- opaque white (known today as
widening choice of handling The Egyptians Flake White or Cremnitz White). The
There is evidence that by 4000bc manufacturing process took several
properties. In less than 200
the Egyptians were manufacturing months and involved stacking lead
years the finest quality ranges
colors. The earth colors were strips in a confined space with
have improved from around
cleaned by washing, which vinegar and animal dung. This
30 percent permanent to increased their strength and purity, method (with a few refinements)
99-100 percent, as well as and new pigments were being was used until the 1960s and
providing two or three times derived from minerals. Perhaps the produced arguably the finest
the number of colors. most famous is Egyptian Blue, first
pigment of all for the artist's palette.
Although many early produced around 3000bc. This was The physical structure and reaction
pigments are now replaced by a blue glass made from sand and with oil give a superbly flexible and

more reliable ones, many are copper, which was then ground into permanent paint film. The Greeks
a powder. It was replaced in the made red lead, which was used
not. Incurable romantics may also
sixteenth century by Smalt, itself for priming metal until the 1990s,
find it pleasing that the first
finally superseded by Cobalt Blue when lead pigments were banned The Renaissance
pigments remain some of the in the early nineteenth century. for use by the general public. Little changed in the first
finest available to the artist.
The Egyptians also utilized millennium ad with regard to
malachite, azurite and cinnabar by colors, and was the rebirth of
it

crushing and washing each mineral. artistry that fueled new pigment
Cinnabar was prized as the first
development from the fourteenth
known bright red century. The Italians further
Vegetable dyes were also developed the range of earth
developed by the Egyptians, who pigments by roasting siennas
found a way of "fixing" the dye onto and umbers to make the deep
a transparent white powder to rich red of Burnt Sienna and the
produce a pigment. This process is
rich brown of Burnt Umber. Earth
called lake making, and it is still
colors featured heavily in their
used today to produce rare colors. painting technique, Terre Verte
also (Green Earth) being the principal
1118-19 ivati d al Hawara in 1888
underpainting color for flesh.
Portrait of a Woman, ad100-120
35
Encaustic on hmewood
Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 15G4)
Madonna, Child and St. John
36-152
with Angels, c. 1506
Color Index 1! Oil on wood panel (detail)

National Galler) London

 Pigments in history 13
Renaissance developments Cadmium pigments
The Italians improved the lake- In 1817 the metal cadmium was
making processes of the Egyptians discovered by Strohmeyer, but it was

and developed Naples Yellow, not until 1846 that cadmium yellows
another opaque lead-based pigment. were introduced to the artist's
However, it was the development Early nineteenth century palette. Immediately popular for their
and use of genuine Ultramarine that The Industrial Revolution at the great permanence, range of hues,
perhaps personifies the paintings of beginning of the nineteenth century moderate tinting strength and high
the Renaissance. produced both new processing opacity, Cadmium Yellow remains
Lapis lazuli was first used as a possibilities and new opportunities the mainstay for artists in this area
pigment by simply grinding it, but for trade in every quarter of life, of the spectrum. Cadmium Red was
even the best stone can have up to including artists' pigments. not available until after 1910.
90 percent impurities and it was the Scientists were driven by the
discovery of how to extract the blue demand for new, more permanent, Genuine Emerald
that enlightened the Renaissance colors and were able to utilize new Genuine Emerald Green was first

palette. The bright, deep blue minerals and chemistry to invent Chrome pigments documented in 1822 and was highly
produced had excellent lightfastness many of the colors that we think
The isolation of new elements in the toxic. Consisting of copper aceto-
and was the most expensive of today as "traditional." late eighteenth century also played a arsenite, it provided a bright clean
pigment known to man. This high part in providing new colors. In 1820 emerald color until the 1960s. It

value was the reasoning behind Cobalt pigments deposits of chrome in the USA is most famous, however, for its

gracing the Madonna in blue. Cobalt Blue was discovered in 1802 facilitated the easy manufacture of potentially fatal effects. It is thought
by Thenard. It was a wonderful Chrome Yellow, a highly opaque, that Napoleon died as a result of
transparent, granulating mid-blue of low-cost color available in a variety arsenic poisoning from the wallpaper
great permanence. It is used widely of hues. Although chrome colors in his prison home on St Helena.
in ceramics and loved by artists for
had a tendency to darken, they Emerald Green was a very popular
its moderate tinting strength, as well remained popular until the 1990s, wallpaper color, but, unfortunately,

as for its fast-drying and watercolor because of their good covering in damp conditions arsenical fumes
characteristics. power and economical price. were released.
Cobalt Green, although first
Chemically, the colors are lead

made in 1780, did not enter common chromes, and, as such, they fell foul The first modern
usage of the legislation against lead organic pigments
until after Cobalt Violet first

appeared in 1860, with Cobalt pigments at that time. In 1856 William Henry Perkin
Yellow (Aureolin) becoming available was a student at the Royal
in 1862. The color Cerulean Blue is
Zinc pigments College of Chemistry. In his
Similarly, the isolation of zinc in
also a type of cobalt and was improvised laboratory at
available as early as 1805. 1721 eventually led to the use of Greenford, Middlesex, he was
By combining cobalt oxide with zinc oxide by the late eighteenth attempting to synthesize quinine
The beginning
of modern pigments aluminum, phosphorus, tin, zinc or century. This was used as an artists' when he unexpectedly produced
number white in preference to lead white, a purplish dye from oxidizing
By the eighteenth century, the a of other metals, a variety

world was not only enjoying of colors is produced. The cobalt because it was less hazardous and impure aniline with potassium
greater trade between the pigments have always been more permanent, particularly in bichromate. Mauvine, the first

expensive and the search continued watercolor. However, it lacked organic color (based on carbon
continents, and, therefore, more
industry than previous centuries, for a less expensive dark blue opacity until 1834, when Winsor & chemistry) was born. This led to
but it was also beginning to see pigment for the artist's palette. Newton developed a method of the distillation of coal tar, which
the 1820s a national prize of heating the oxide to increase its produced a huge range of new
the benefits of modern scientific In

chemistry. In 1704 a German 6,000 francs was offered in France opacity. This new type of zinc oxide pigments over the decades to
color maker named Diesbach to anyone who discovered a method was called Chinese White. come. Mauvine as a dye was an
was manufacturing red lake of artificially making Ultramarine at instant success and became the
pigments, which required the a cost of less than 300 francs per most fashionable dress color for
use of potash as an alkali. He kilogram. Both the French and Victorian ladies.
ran out of his supply and used Germans competed, but it was
some that was contaminated J.-B. Guimet who succeeded in

with animal oil. Instead of 1828. Known as French Ultramarine

making red he made purple and
then blue - the first chemically
ever since, the pigment
identical to
is

genuine Ultramarine, but

chemically WM
synthesized color, Prussian physically finer and is without the
Blue, had been produced! impurities of the lapis rock.

Prussian Blue remains a popular

color to this day and is also
known for its novel ability to
fade in daylight, yet recover its

strength in darkness!
 1 4 gments in history

The twentieth century Monastral Blue The Science of Art

Pigment development continued In 1935 Monastral Blue was (opposite)

apace into the new century. introduced by ICI. Known also as In the 1990s Winsor & Newton
commissioned these striking microscopic
Phthalocyanine Blue, this offered a
photographs of pigment sources.
"Hansa" yellows deep transparent blue of enormous
During the first decade of the tinting strength, yet moderate cost.

twentieth century, the Hoechst Prized for its mixing abilities, it has
company brought out the first of also become the basis of many
Chemically, pigments are
the "Hansa®" yellows. Here was a student-range blues, because it can
categorized by whether or not
synthetic organic pigment of good be reduced considerably and still
they contain carbon. This results in
permanence, clear bright hue and offer a strong color.
a more technical, but more accurate,
high transparency. The color is
definition of possible types.
Impressionism and portable colors known as Lemon Yellow, but the Quinacridones
The explosion of new pigments during the Hansa group quickly led to darker A very important group of pigments
Inorganic pigments
nineteenth century, the invention of the yellows, and this pigment type is originated in the 1950s. The first
Earth, mineral (for example,
metal tube and the arrival of the railways still important. The chemistry of quinacridones were introduced to
cinnabar), synthetic (for example,
all combined to facilitate the rise of the this and other synthetic organic the artist's palette as Permanent
Impressionist movement. Bright new cobalt).
pigments is immensely complex. Rose and Permanent Magenta.
colors in portable, stable tubes and a Natural organic pigments
In a few words, Hansa is made Until then the pink and mauve
method of easy traveling led to a period Rose Madder is an example in
by coupling diazotized amines color area had suffered from poor
of painting that has become one of the this category.
most recognized in the history of art.
containing nitroso and/or halide lightfastness; now crystal-clear hues
Synthetic organic pigments
groups with acetoacetanilide or one were available without fading. Over
The quinacridone colors fall into
Alizarin Crimson of its derivatives! No longer can the next 50 years many more colors
this category.
Alizarin Crimson is arguably the most
they be called a basic name relating became available, ranging from
to their origin, such as cadmium or deep crimson to gold. This is
important organic pigment of the Can it get any better?
nineteenth century. was introduced
cobalt. Instead, we see trade names, achieved by juggling the chemicals
It
By the 1 990s more pigment types
such as "Winsor" Yellow, or involved. It is a quinacridone that is
in Germany in 1868, providing a blue- of synthetic organic origin were
sometimes shortened names, such used as Permanent Alizarin Crimson.
shade crimson of strong tinting appearing. Perylenes, pyrroles and
strength and high transparency.
as Azo Yellow Medium. Reds were
It
new arylides (for example, Hansa
immediately became a core color
similarly developed, and, from the pigments today
Artists'
in come into use. In
yellows) have
the common palette At that time,
1920s onward, these new pigments An average palette today of only
some cases new hues are available,
and until the 1960s, it was the most
were offered as artists' materials. 12 colors contains a selection of
further extending the possibilities
permanent crimson available.
pigments from every historical
in watercolor or filling a perfect gap
Titanium White era, as well as every pigment
However, in pale washes it is
in portraiture, or providing even
The most important pigment of the type. Broadly defined, there are
susceptible to fading and modern greater transparency for mixing or
quinacridones are more lightfast.
century in terms of volume was three pigment types.
glazing. In other cases some good
Titanium White. Although the
lightfast pigments were replaced
element had been identified in Earth colors
Synthetic iron oxides by pigments that were even more
The nineteenth century also saw 1795, it was not until 1920 that an Ochres, siennas, umbers and Mars
lightfast. So, we replace colors
economical method of purifying the colors.
the development of the Mars colors. that last for a few hundred years
These "earth" colors are produced metal oxide was established. A Traditional colors
with colors that last many hundreds
nonhazardous, and the strongest, Cobalts, cadmiums, titanium and
in a wide range of browns, reds, and hundreds of years! Today's
yellows and black, according to the
most opaque white available, ultramarines for example.
artists are certainly fortunate to
levels of moisture and heat used.
Titanium quickly became the most Modern colors
be living and painting in the
popular white for artists. Phthalocyanines, quinacridones,
Originally, they tended to be opaque, twenty-first century.
perylenes and pyrroles for example.
and they are much stronger than the
natural earths. They have become
important to artists of today,
because the deposits of good natural
earths have become depleted.
Thanks to the automobile!
The car has to permanently endure the
elements, whether rain, hail or sunshine,
and pigments used for automobiles
must withstand snowbound or desert

conditions. Artists have everything to be

thankful for that such lightfast pigments
had to be developed. Without the car we
would not have the reds, yellows and
purples that we enjoy today.

wi
Winsor Green, magnified x 240
Winsor Green, which is found in most ife-t*

Winsor & Newton color ranges, is made

from a single pigment. Despite the

M
higher cost, single pigments give
cleaner, brighter mixtures, better
handling, and greater brilliance when AV
they are diluted.
Microscopic photography by Florida State University

Lapis lazuli, magnified x 150

Lapis lazuli, the semiprecious stone
from the hills of Afghanistan, is the
secret of the blue used by the old
masters. Modern pigments used for

Ultramarine Blue are chemically

indistinguishable from lapis lazuli,

resulting in a beautiful blue with the

characteristics of lapis lazuli at an

affordable price.
Microscopic photography by
The Natural History Museum, London

Cochineal beetle shell,

magnified x 150
The rich pigment of Carmine is created
from the cochineal beetle, yielding a
unique crimson that is beautiful, but not

lightfast. In 1 996 Winsor & Newton

scientists finally succeeded in

formulating Permanent Carmine, a new

pigment that enables artists to enjoy this
^^'..T!
unique color with superior permanence.
Microscopic photography by Florida State University
rm ,r

Madder root, magnified x 240

The unique pigment of Genuine Rose
Madder
in
is impossible to match precisely
hue, strength and texture with modern
fjM m
pigments. Winsor & Newton's formula
for Genuine Rose Madder pigment,
developed by George Field in 1806, still s>-
yields the most permanent Genuine Rose
Madder color available today.
Microscopic photography by Florida State University

Indian Yellow, magnified x 240

Used in India from the fifteenth century,
this warm transparent yellow of great
depth and beauty was said to be made
from the urine of cows fed solely on a
diet of mango leaves. Production of the
color halted in the 1 920s due to concern
over the religious status of the cows and
the rise of improved, more easily
manufactured colors.
Microscopic photography by Florida State University

Alizarin Crimson, magnified x 150

Alizarin Crimson has been one of the
most popular colors through the ages.
However, it can fade in thin layers or
washes. In recent years Winsor &
Newton, in the pursuit of improved
lightfastness, developed and introduced
Permanent Alizarin Crimson into its

ranges wherever possible.

Microscopic photography by Florida State University
1 6 Pigment standards
There are a number of universal
s\ stems and standards that help Colors are not the same
Just as loaves of white bread from
artists to identify

know ledge in
and build
key areas of
r different bakers will differ, so will
artists' colors from different
manufacturers. The formulation or
eoneern. Most importantly, artists recipe of the color in conjunction with
the manufacturing method and choice
are interested in the specific
of raw materials produce variations
characteristics of pigments, so between colors with the same name
from different suppliers.
that they can use them to achieve
their own creative ends.

Next, they need information

regarding the permanence of
pigments. The characteristics
of a color - such as granulation,
staining, bleeding, transparency
or opacity, color bias, drying
rate. etc. - are to be found in
both reference books and
manufacturers' color charts.
Permanence ratings are also
provided by manufacturers.
There are no set standards
for pigment characteristics.
After all. it is the diversity and
individuality of each material
that painters want to exploit.
Generally, good-quality
products are offered by the
whole art materials industry,
and for most artists the
literature and information
supplied is sufficient for their
needs. However, you may
want to know more about the
media you are using, and to
do this, pigments need to be
clearly identified.

The Color Index International

Since the development of modern
organic pigments, pigment names
are no longer sufficient to identify
the actual pigment being used
For instance, there are dozens
of naphthol reds with varying

characteristics and different

I iightfastness. The Color
ational identifies each
pages 18-19),
-now what they
'materials

jlors.
 Pigment standards 17
ASTM
The ASTM abbreviation stands for the American Society for
Testing and Materials. (The UK equivalent is the British Standards
Institute.) The ASTM has set standards for the performance of art

materials and this includes lightfastness. It is the lightfastness

ratings with which artists are most familiar. Pigments are tested in

reduction with white in both artificially accelerated conditions and

desert sunshine. Ratings I and II are recommended as "Permanent
for artists' use." Art materials manufacturers rate their colors in

a similar way, and, where no ASTM rating is given, this usually

means that the pigment is new and has not yet been tested by
ASTM. In these cases the manufacturer's rating will be available.

Do not take color

for granted!
With just one color there
are many factors that affect
what you see on the paper
or canvas; these include
thickness of color, medium
used, surface used, strength
of pigment, use in mixtures,
juxtaposition, transparency,
color bias and more. This
variation is multiplied by the
number of colors available.
In a well-spaced artists'
range, there may be as many
as 80 single pigment colors.
Combine this with individual
artists and an infinite array of
results is an understatement!
Painting is a joy and there
are certainly more colors
available than any one artist
can use in a lifetime. Of
course, it is important to
remember that each artist is
aiming for self-expression,
and this means that what is
right for one painter is not
Some
suitable for another.
may never need opaque
colors;some will never use
more than six hues, for
example. The important
point is that the widest
variety of characteristics
is available to all artists.

*~See also
CI International 18-19
Colors of the spectrum 24-25
The basic color wheel 26-27
Creative directions 96-153
Color index 156-179
1 8 Color Index International

!olor Index International is the standard compiled and

1 1 shed by the American Association of Textile Chemists and PO: PIGMENT ORANGE
Colorists and The Society of Dyers and Colourists. The Color CI Name Color/Pigment Name Chemical Description
P013 Pyrazolone Orange Pyrazolone
Index classifies pigments by their chemical composition. This is
P020 Cadmium Orange Cadmium selenosulfide
an excellent identification method for lightfastness, because the
P034 Pyrazolone Orange Pyrazolone
Index separates variations of pigment types, such as Naphthol, P036 Benzimidazolone Orange Benzimidazolone
so that you can see if the permanent versions are being used. P043 Perinone Orange Perinone orange

However, the physical characteristics, as well as the chemical P048 Quinacridone Gold Quinacridone gold
P049 Quinaci idone Gold Quinacridone deep gold
ones, affect the actual color of the pigment. For example, all
P062 Benzimidazolone Orange Benzimidazolone
Cadmium Reds are PR108, yet hues exist from scarlet to maroon. P065 Golden Barok Red Methine nickel complex
Most ait materials makers print the abbreviations and often the P067 Coral Orange Pyrazoloquinazolone

chemical description on the tube label and in their literature. P069 Isoindoline Orange Isoindolme

•"See opposite page for explanation of tables and pigment identification systems. P071 Translucent Orange Diketo-pyrrolo pyrrole orange

P073 Pyrrole Orange Diketo-pyrrolo pyrrole orange

PY: PIGMENT YELLOW

Name Color/Pigment Name Chemical Description

^^^^^^^^B
CI
NY24 Gamboge (Natural Yellow) Garcmia gum resin PR: PIGMENT RED
PY1 Hansa: Arylamide Arylide
CI Name Color/Pigment Name Chemical Description
PY3 Hansa: Arylamide Arylide
NR4 Carmine Cochineal lake
PY4 Hansa: Arylamide Arylide
NR9 Rose Madder Lake of natural madder
PY5 Hansa: Arylamide Arylide PR3 Toluidine Red Toluidine
PY10 Hansa: Arylamide Arylide PR4 Chlorinated Para Red Chloriated para red
PY12 Diarylide Yellow Diarylide yellow PR5 Naphthol Red Naphthol
PY13 Diarylide Yellow Diarylide yellow PR8 Naphthol Red Naphthol

PY14 Diarylide Yellow Diarylide yellow PR9 Naphthol Red Naphthol

PR12 Naphthol Red Naphthol
PY16 Diarylide Yellow Diarylide yellow
PR23 Naphthol Red Naphthol
PY17 Diarylide Yellow Diarylide yellow
PR48 Scarlet Lake Beta oxynaphtholic acid
PY30 Benzimidazolone Yellow Benzimidazolone
PR48:3 Geranium Strontium salt
PY32 Strontium Yellow Barium chromate PR49 Lithol Red Lithol
PY34 Chrome Yellow Lead chromate PR81 Basic Dye Toner (Red) Rhodamine
PY35 Cadmium Yellow Cadmium zinc sulfide PR83 Alizarin Crimson Dihydroxyanthraquinone lake
PY37 Cadmium Yellow Cadmium sulfide PR88 Thioindigo Violet Thioindigo
PR101 Venetian/Indian/English/Light Red Calcined synthetic red iron oxide
PY40 Aureolm Potassium cobaltinitrite
PR 102 Red/Burnt Ochre/Mars Calcined natural red iron oxide
PY41 Naples Yellow Lead antimoniate
PR 104 Molybdate Orange Lead molibdate
PY42 Yellow Oxide Synthetic yellow iron oxide
PR 106 Vermilion (genuine) Mercuric sulfide
PY43 Yellow Ochre Natural yellow iron oxide
Cadmium
PR108 Cadmium Red selenosulfide
PY53 Nickel Titanate Yellow Nickel titanium oxide PR112 Naphthol Red Naphthol AS-D red
PY65 Hansa Arylamide Arylide PR 122 Quinacridone Red/Magenta Quinacridone
PY73 Hansa: Arylamide Arylide PR 146 Naphthol Red Naphthol
PY74 Hansa: Arylamide Arylide PR 149 Perylene Red Perylene
PY83 Diarylide Yellow Diarylide yellow PR 166 Azo Condensation Red Azo condensation red
PY97 Hansa Yellow Diarylide yellow PR 168 Dibromanthone Anthraquinone scarlet
PY98 Hansa Yellow Diarylide yellow PR170 Naphthol Red Naphthol AS carbamide
PY100 rartrazme bellow Tartrazine lake PR171 Benzimidazolone Maroon Benzimidazolone
PY108 Indian Gamboge Modern Anthrapyrimidine PR173 Basic Dye Toner (Red) Rhodamine/Aluminum lake
PY109 Isomdolinone Yellow Isoindolinone PR 175 Deep Scarlet Benzimidazolone
PY110 Isoindolinone Yellow Tetrachloroisoindolinone PR 176 Benzimidazolone Red Benzimidazolone
PY112 Flavanthrone Yellow Naphthol PR177 Permanent Alizarin Crimson Anthraquinonoid red
PY119 Mars Yellow Zinc iron oxide PR178 Perylene Red Perylene
PY120 Benzimidazolone Yellow Benzimidazolone PR179 Perylene Maroon Perylene
PY128 Azo Condensation Yellow Azo condensation PR 188 Scarlet/Naphthol Naphthol/Arylamide
PY129 Green Gold Azomethine copper complex PR 190 Perylene Red Perylene
PY137 Isoindolinone Yellow Isoindolme PR202 Quinacridone Crimson Quinacridone
PY138 Isoindolinone Yellow Isoindolme PR206 Quinacridone Burnt Orange Quinacridone burnt orange
PY139 Isoindolinone Yellow Isoindolme PR207 Quinacridone Red Quinacridone
PY150 Nickel Azo Yellow Nickel azomethine PR209 Quinacridone Red Quinacridone
Benzimidazolone Yellow Benzimidazolone PR214 Deep Red Disazo condensation red
Nickel Dioxine Yellow Nickel dioxine PR224 Perylene Red Perylene
Benzimidazolone Yellow Benzimidazolone PR251 Permanent Red Pyrazoloquinazolone scarlet
Benzimidazolone Yellow Benzimidazolone PR254 Pyrrole Red Diketo-pyrrolo pyrrole red
Benzimidazolone Yellow Benzimidazolone PR255 Pyrrole Scarlet Diketo-pyrrolo pyrrole scarlet
Benzimidazolone Yellow Benzimidazolone PR260 Vermilion Extra Isoindolme scarlet
PY184 Bismuth Vanadium Bismuth vanadate PR2B4 Pyrrole Red Diketo-pyrrolo pyrrole red

PR270 Pyrrole Red Diketo-pyrrolo pyrrole red

 International 19
^Identification system Pigments are identified in two ways:
1. CI Name - Color Index Generic Name PBr: PIGMENT BROWN
Pigments are placed within their part of the spectrum and then given a number. CI Name Color/Pigment Name Chemical Description
For example: Cadmium Red is Pigment Red 108, abbreviated to PR108; PG is NBr8 Vandyke Brown Bituminous earth

Pigment Green; PB is Pigment Blue, and so forth. PBr is Pigment Brown and PBk PBr6 Mars Brown Calcinated synthetic iron oxide

is Pigment Black. PBr7 Raw & Burnt Sienna/Umber Natural iron oxide
PBr23 Azo Condensation Brown Azo condensation brown
2. CI Number - Color Index Number
PBr24 Naples Yellow Deep Chrome titanium oxide
Pigments can also be identified by their number. For example:
PBr25 Benzimidazolone Brown Benzimidazolone brown
Cadmium Red is 77202.
Mineral Brown
PBr33 Zinc iron chromite
Of the two methods, the Color Index Generic Name
is the most common and is used in these tables.

PV: PIGMENT VIOLET PBk: PIGMENT BLACK

CI Name Color/Pigment Name Chemical Description CI Name Color/Pigment Name Chemical Description
PV1 Basic Dye Toner (Violet) Rhodamme violet NBk6 Bitumen Gilsonite

PV2 Basic Dye Toner (Violet) PTMA toner PBkl Aniline/Jet Black Aniline black

PV3 Basic Dye Toner (Violet) PTMA toner PBk6 Lamp/Blue Black Carbon black
PV4 PTMA Violet PTMA toner PBk7 Lamp Black Carbon black
PV14 Cobalt Violet Cobalt phosphate PBk8 Vine Black Wood charcoal
PV15 Ultramarine Violet Sodium aluminum sulfosilicate PBk9 Ivory Black Bone black
PV16 Manganese Violet Manganese ammonium pyrophosphate PBk10 Graphite Powdered graphite
PV19 Quinacridone Quinacridone PBk11 Mars Black Ferrite black iron oxide

PV23 Dioxazine Violet/Purple Dioxazine violet PBk19 Davy's Gray Powdered slate/Hydrated
PV31 Isoviolanthrone Violet Isoviolanthrone aluminum silicate

PV42 Quinacridone Quinacridone PBk28 Mineral Black Copper chromate

PV49 Cobalt Violet Cobalt aluminum phosphate PBk31 Perylene Perylene

PB: PIGMENT BLUE PW: PIGMENT WHITE

CI Name Color/Pigment Name Chemical Description CI Name Color/Pigment Name Chemical Description
PB15 Hhthalo Blue Copper phthalocyanine PW1 Flake White Basic lead carbonate
PB15:1 Phthalo Blue Alpha copper phthalocyanine
PW4 Zinc White Zinc oxide
PB15:3 Phthalo Blue Beta copper phthalocyanine
PB15:4 Phthalo Blue
PW5 Lithophone Coprecipitated zinc sulfide/
Beta copper phthalocyanine
PB15:6 Phthalo/Blue Epsilon copper phthalocyanine
Barium sulfate
PB16 Phthalo Blue/Turquoise Green Metal-free phthalocyanine PW6 Titanium White Titanium dioxide
PB27 Prussian Blue Hydrous ferriammonium PW18 Whiting Calcium carbonate
ferrocyanide PW19 China Clay Hydrated aluminum silicate
PB28 Cobalt Blue Cobalt aluminum oxide PW20 Mica Aluminum potassium silicate
PB29 Ultramarine Blue Sodium aluminum sulfosilicate PW, 1
! Blanc Fixe Barium sulfate
PB33 Manganese Blue Barium manganate
PW22 Barium Sulfate Natural barium sulfate
PB35 Cerulean Blue Cobalt tin oxide
PB36
PW24 Aluminum Hydrate Aluminum hydrate
Cobalt Turquoise Cobalt chromium oxide
PB60 Indanthrene Blue Indanthrone
PW25 Gypsum Calcium sulfate

PB72 Cobalt Deep Cobalt zinc aluminate PW26 Talc Magnesium aluminum silicate

PB73 Cobalt Deep Cobalt silicate PW27 Silica Silica

PB74 Cobalt Deep Cobalt zinc silicate

PG: PIGMENT GREEN

CI Name Color/Pigment Name Chemical Description •"See also
PG7 Phthalo Green
Blue 50-53
Chlorinated copper phthalocyanine
PG8 Naphthol Green Nitroso iron complex Violet 55
PG10 Green Gold/Nickel Azo Yellow Azomethine nickel complex Red 56-59
PG12 Naphthol Green Ferrous nitroso-beta naphthol lake
Orange 60-61
PG17 Chromium Oxide Green Anhydrous chromium sesquioxide
Yellow 62-65
PG18 Viridian Hydrous chromium sesquioxide
PG19 Cobalt Green Cobalt zinc oxide Ochres/Earth colors 66-67
PG23 Terre Verte Green earth Green 68-71
PG24 Ultramarine Green Polysulfide of sodium alumino-
Brown/Earth colors 70-75
silicate
Black 76-83
PG26 Cobalt Green Deep Cobalt chrome oxide
PG36 Phthalo Green Brominated copper phthalocyanine
White 86-87
PG50 Cobalt/Teal/Light/Oxide Green Cobalt titanium oxide Color index 156-179
20 Optical illusions

The subject of color is so vast and the ranges of

"...it is no more pigments and materials available to the artist so
possible to learn to wide, variable and subtle, it is inevitable that the
paint from books than
best means of finding out how particular colors
it is to learn to swim
really look and handle is by actually using them.
on a sofa."
In this book there is a great deal of information
M\\ DOERNER(1870-iy3 » l

about color and its value to the artist. Hundreds

of colors are mentioned and shown in the various
media in numerous combinations, mixtures and
applications. To a certain extent, Doerner's
comment holds true and most artists will admit
that the only effective way to knowledge and
confidence is to experiment with the actual colors
and different media yourself.

Four-color enlargement
Four colors make all colors White is crucial to the four-color
It is hoped that this book can provide a springboard into the printing process. Without a white
world of color for the artist. Unfortunately, there is one background, the full-color illusion

obvious drawback to it. This is that when it comes to the does not work properly.
subtlety of reproducing color, all of the colors shown in this
book are printed, not painted. They are not the actual colors
but are reproduced by the four-color printing process, using
only four ink colors.
Process colors Modern printing technology and the skills of graphic
Artists' paint colors that resemble reproduction have brought us very close to the reality of seeing
the process ink colors used by
real, pure pigment color on the printed page. Although color
printers are available. Some
printing has been around for a long time,50 years or so ago,
manufacturers, particularly in
or even 25 years ago, would not have been easily possible
it
acrylic ranges, offer colors that are
to mass produce a color-printed book to this standard, and the
specifically identified as process
colors, and these, too, are very
expense of doing so would have been immense. Color printing
versatile for mixing and for color is among those technologies that, in the right hands, improves
experimentation. in quality year by year. Billboard detail, actual size
The four-color dots that create a full-

color image can be clearly seen on

outdoor advertisements that are
designed to be viewed from a distance.

^
#«

*ss*v
OCESS MAGENTA tSSYEU-0\N
PROCESS CYAN '• C
675
412
120
 The four-color process 21
CMYK [Link]")
Every color you see in this book
is printed by using the four-

color process. Every hue, and shade is made up of a

tint
Color control
combination of only four colors. These are: cyan - a bright,
At the foot of every page
greenish blue; magenta - a bluish-shade red; yellow - a
proofed, a control strip is
middle yellow, neither reddish nor greenish; and black.
printed. This enables the
White is provided by the white of the paper on which these printer to judge the
four colors are printed. weight, density and
In printing terms these colors are known as the process accuracy of the four
colors and are designated as CMYK - C for cyan, M for colors used to create a

magenta, Y for yellow and K for black. The last letter K is full-color image.

used for black, because, if the initial B were used, this might
lead to B being misinterpreted as meaning blue. The acronym
for the four process colors is "smike." This was previously
only a term that was heard within the confines of the printing
industry, but, with the advent of computers, scanners, desktop
publishing and digital photography, it is becoming more
familiar to the general public.

PROCESS CYAN PROCESS MAGENTA

en
BLEU CYAN MAGENTA 10%
NORMAL BLAU
AZUL CYAN
NORMAL MAGENTA
MAGENTA
-^ m en

50% 70%
CYAAN BLAUW MAGENTA 4-
ro

en
o
SS

CO
I

"O
CD
"^

CMYK CD
Cyan, magenta, CD

yellow and black

are the four process
colors from which C/100% M/100%
all mass-produced,
full-color images
are derived. PROCESS YELLOW PROCESS BLACK
JAUNE 10% 30% N0 |R
NORMAL GELB NORMAL SCHWARZ
AMARILLO NEGRO % ._
50 o/o CO "}
GEEL NERO z* 9
o^
~
(S

CO

<w
CJI
.

CD °.
o"
z,
^ CO

3
ro
Y/100%
n
en
cr>
o
o
r-

WHY, BRAD DARLING, THIS PAINTING IS A

MASTERPIECE/ MY, SOON YOU'LL
HAVE ALL OF NEW YORK CLAMORING
FOR YOUR WORK/

Roy Lichtenstein (1923-97) Lichtenstein exploited the dot screen seen in crude
Masterpiece, 1962 comic-strip printing, using what was cheap and
Oil on canvas popular as the inspiration for his imagery. He did not,

54 x54in (137.2 x 137.2cm) in fact, use the process colors to achieve his color

/; Collection, Los Angeles effect, hut a kind of purplish blue, a lemon yellow,
©DACS a green that was between the red and blue in value,
a medium-standard red, and black and white
 Optical color mixing 23

Georges-Pierre Seurat'
Le Chahut, 1889-90
Oil on canvas
66^ x54 3/in (169cm x 139cm)
Kroller-Miiller State Museum,
Otterlo, Netherlands

Seurat juxtaposed dots and dashes

of color to produce brilliant,
Sigmar Polke
Dot screens (b. 1941)
luminous effects in his paintings.
The infinite range of printed colors is formed out of dots of Girlfriends, 1965-66
The detail below is actual size.
Oil on canvas
only the four process colors. These dots conform to a regular
59 x 75in (150 x190cm)
pattern or screen for each of the four colors, although they are
Froehlich Collection, Stuttgart
printed in various combinations and proportions to achieve a
multicolored effect. Along with the white of the paper, these
Polke based his paintings on
minute dots form the printed image. This process is known magazine photographs. By
as optical mixing, because it is the eye of the viewer that emphasizing the printed dot
translates the dots into recognizable pictures or shapes with patterns, he could transport a low-

continuous tone and color. quality, mass-culture snapshot to

As well as being a technical process, optical mixing is a the high-culture realm of painting.

device that has been employed by artists in their quest for

color originality. In the late nineteenth century, Georges
Seurat (1859-91) and Camille Pissarro (1831-1903) were
two painters who experimented with dots of color effectively,
a technique that became known as pointillism. This approach
to color mixing in painting was happening at the same time as,
but independently of, late-ninteenth-century developments in
printing. Later, in the twentieth century, such artists as Sigmar
Polke (b. 1941) and Roy Lichenstein (1923-97) exploited See also
CI International 18-19
optical color mixing and dot screen effects in their work,
Optical illusions 20-21
consciously celebrating the effects to be derived from four-
Choosing media 30-35
color printing methods.
Color by color 48-93
Creative directions 96-153
Color index 156-179
24 Colors of the spectrum
In physics color is defined as an attribute of an
object or entity that results from the light that is
Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
English mathematician, physicist,
reflected, transmitted or emitted by that object
astronomer and philosopher, or entity. This light is transmitted in different
Newton was known for his law of
gravitation and his work on the
wavelengths, which are perceived by the viewer
physics of color. In this engraving as different colors - thus, for example, butter is
after a painting by George Romney,
Newton demonstrates the formation
yellow, the sky is blue, a rose is red.
of the spectrum through a prism.
The spectrum
The simplest demonstration of color physics is to transmit
abeam of white light (sunlight) through a prism and see
how the white light is refracted and separated into different George Hardie
The Dark Side of the Moon, 1973
wavelengths. The wavelengths are transmitted through the
Album cover 12 x 12in (30 x 30cm)
other side of the prism as a spectrum or band of colors, from
red, the longest wavelength, to violet, the shortest. Seven
On this well-known Pink Floyd album
colors are usually distinguished in a spectrum, and these are
cover, the artist employs a graphic
red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
illustration of the prism and the
spectrum as a powerful visual
metaphor for expectation, anticipation

and uncertainty.

After George Romney

Newton and the Prism
From The Life of George Romney
by William Hayley, 1809

The prism and the spectrum

Newton discovered that sunlight
(white light) is separated into
colored components when passed
through a prism. He observed a
sequence of colors ranging from
violet through indigo, blue, green,

yellow and orange to red. This range

of colors is the visible spectrum.
White light can also be
separated into colors when it is

reflected from very thin films and

layers. Many transparent natural
objects form colors in this way.
Soap bubbles, sea spume, oil on i
water, and some birds' plumage are
prime examples of colors produced Colors of the rainbow

by interference through thin layers. A rainbow is a prime example of

A phenomenon of
similar sunlight passing through millions of
prisms - raindrops - to create a
segmented colored light known as
spectrum. In this sentimental
"Newton's Rings" can also be seen
painting, the sighted girl is
i
reflected through a curved
nd on a mirror. awestruck by the rainbow, but,

sadly, her companion can never

experience its beauty.
a also
John Everett Millais (1829-96)
The Blind Girl, 1856
Oil on canvas (whole image, unframed)
32/ x24/in (82.6 x 62.3cm)
Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery
 Additive and subtractive color

Iridescence Additive color mixing

The photograph of the insect The term additive color mixing refers to the mixing of light.
displays a spectrum of colors When you mix colored light, it behaves very differently from
that shimmer and change due when you mix paints. Colored light is essential for film, theater,

to interference and the televisionand video, and photography to a certain extent, so

scattering of light as a knowlege of additive color mixing is important for those
the position of the working in these media.
observer changes. The additive primary colors are red, green and blue, and
This phenomenon they are often referred to as RGB. When white light
is known as / projected through filters of these colors and two of the beams
is

iridescence. are mixed, they produce the secondary colors yellow, cyan and
magenta. When you combine the three primaries, RGB, the
resultis white light.

Subtractive color mixing

The term subtractive color mixing refers to the mixing of
pigments, and this is where some knowledge of the color

wheel helps (see page 26). Pigments approximate the

appearance of reflected and projected light, but when mixed
together, they produce very different results from those
achieved by mixing colored light. Subtractive color mixing
Additive primary colors
is the concern of the painter, and in subtractive mixing the
The additive
primaries are red, yellow and blue. When two of these
primary colors
primaries are mixed, they produce the secondary colors
are red, green
orange, green and violet. When the three primaries are
and blue, and
combined, the result is black. these are often
referred to
as RGB.

Additive secondary colors

When white
light is

projected
through filters

of these colors

Subtractive color and two of the

Red, yellow and blue make black. beams are
mixed, they
produce the
secondary
colors yellow,
cyan and
magenta.
Patrick Gries

The Hand of Nature Mix red, green and blue

Photograph When you combine the three
Fondation Canier pour I'art contemporain, Paris
primaries, RGB, the result is
Nature demiurge, insectes
Collection Anne et Jacques Kerchache, Paris white light.

the spectrum are

Spectrum colors
The seven distinguishable colors
all available
various artists' media. These colors
are red, orange, yellow, green, blue,
in

indigo and violet.

of
the

V
26 The basic color wheel
The spectrum is the Primary
red
foundation for
understanding the
physics of color. From
this, a useful system for
Secondary
classifying pigment orange

color for artists, known

as the color wheel, has
been developed.
Six-color division
This circular diagram helps A basic six-color division of the Primary

wheel shows the primaries yellow

to explain subtractive color (red,

mixing and provides a yellow and blue) and the secondaries

Diagrammatic color
theoretical basis for using (orange, green and violet).
The color wheel, also known as
the color circle, may be described colors. The color wheel acts
as the spectrum turned into a circle, as common reference for the
reflecting the natural order of terminology and language of
colors. The primary colors are red, color for artists, and it

blue and yellow, and they are demonstrates how colors

unmixable. Secondary colors are one
relate and interact with
mixtures of any two primaries. Primary colors
another. An understanding
Complementary colors - for Primary colors are those that
of the color wheel helps
example, yellow and violet, or red cannot be mixed from others. These
with color mixing and
and green - are colors that are are red, yellow and blue. Because
directly opposite one another on color identification. pigment colors are not as pure as
the diagrammatic color wheel. those of the spectrum, when all

three are mixed together, they

produce "black" or gray-brown.
Twelve-color division
Varying proportions of the
By increasing the number of
Color primaries mixed together will
divisions, the intermediate colors
experimentation produce all other colors, and
linking the basic primary and
Many manufacturers different sets of primaries will
secondary colors become apparent.
recommend primary produce different mixes.
These colors are often described as
colors within their -
having a bias bluish reds or
ranges that are suitable
reddish yellows, for example.
for clean mixing.

Follow the concept of

Primary
the color wheel to
blue
experiment with
colors and mixing
combinations.
green

-~ <-- *

*
•

t •

« : ^»
i

=»

« r» i

*: 3 Primary
t 3 yellow
• :
:»
1 •

t :

t
Ad infinitum
•
* : • 1 It is theoretically possible to

0" 1
continue subdividing the color
wheel until the appearance of
a continuous merge is

achieved.
 he basic color wheel 27

Harmonious colors
same
Colors from the section of
the color wheel share common
color roots and are termed
harmonious. They involve the
use of only two primaries and
the colors in-between. When
Naturally occurring color inspiration
combinations of harmonious colors
are used together, they create no
visual discord.

Orange jug with complementary accent

Secondary colors
Warm and cool colors
An important aspect of a color for
A color produced b$ mixing two
Complementary colors use is its temperature. Colors are
primaries is termed a secondary
Colors that are immediately opposite
considered to be warm or cool.
color. Red and yellow produce
orange as a secondajycolor; yellow each other on the color wheel are Generally, warm colors are those

termed complementary. A primary that are in the red/orange/yellow

and blue create green; ar- blue and
Alizarin Crimson a bluish red. complemented by the sector of the color wheel, while
is red make violet. The secondary color is

cool ones are in the green/blue/

colors are situated between the secondary color mixed from the other
pair of primaries. So green the violet sector. The undertone of a
Top tone and undertone primary colors on the color wheel. is

color can make it appear warm

The particular hue or top tone of When mixing secondary colors, complement of red, violet of yellow
or cool when compared to other
a primary color may have an cleaner and brighter hues may be and orange of blue. This process
colors of the same hue. Warm
undertone that veers toward one of obtained by mixing primaries that continues around the color wheel,
colors appear to advance toward
the other primaries - for instance, a have related undertones and veer with red-orange the complementary
the viewer, while cool colors
red may be a yellowish red, such as toward each qther. A yellowish red of green-blue, and so on.
recede toward the background.
Cadmium Red, or a bluish red, such mixed with a reddish yellow, for
Assessing the temperature of a
as Alizarin Crimson - and this will instance, will result in a clean, Using complementary colors
Artists can use complementary colors color can help the artist create
affect the resulting mixes. bright orange.
paired together effectively, because
space and depth in a painting.

visually one enhances the other when

they are juxtaposed. For instance, an
orange placed next to a blue will

make it look much brighter, and vice

versa. Conversely, adding a small
amount of the complementary to a Tints and shades

color can help to gray it slightly, Adding white to a color lightens it

toning down its brightness. and creates a tint. Similarly, a color

Tertiary colors darkened with black is called a

A further set of colors, termed shade. Tints and shades may be

further classified by their tone
-
tertiaries, are produced by mixing a
primary with one of its secondaries; that is, how dark or light they are

for instance, blue mixed with violet compared with other colors. Tone
makes blue-violet and red mixed can be altered by adding varying
Basic primaries with orange creates red-orange. An amounts of gray, not necessarily

Three primaries that can produce a infinite number of colors can be mixed from black and white, but
practical range of mixed colors are mixed by combining tertiaries with Darks or "palette mud" also from combinations of colors

those used in photography and secondaries, and so on with When two complementaries are that contain the three primaries.

printing - magenta, yellow and cyan. neighboring pairs, enlarging the mixed, they produce a gray or brown,
These colors, or close approximations color wheel into a gradated because the resulting color contains
•~See also
CI International 18-19
to them, are available in many ranges progression of colors. all three primaries. These mixes may
of artists' colors. Optical illusions 20-21
be planned, but it is all too easy to
make mixes that lack subtlety. Color by color 48-93
Artists term these "mud." Color index 156-179
28 or in action
 Color in action 29
Theory into practice
Peter Graham is an artist who uses a radiant palette, and he

isanything but faint-hearted when it comes to color use and

interpretation. Employing a bold and robust brush work
technique, he achieves an unexpected visual harmony with
the use of seemingly opposite colors. His vibrant oil and
watercolor paintings show hot red, pink and orange hues
forming exotic relationships with blues, turquoise, violet
and accents of yellow.

Manhattan (detail)

Graham
Peter
Manhattan
Watercolor
17 x24in (43.4 x 61cm)

"Through color I strive to bring the

canvas to life. Looking into the

evening sun presented me with a
chance to evoke the sounds and
and interpret
flavors of the scene,
what I saw into how I felt.

PeterGraham
Southern Sun
Oil on canvas
12 x16in (30.5x40.5 cm) Manhattan (full image)

"The layers of watercolor tell my

story of New York. Here, color
conveys my experience of a great city
that's full of sensation and power -
a city glowing with confidence.
30 Choosing media Oil colors

This section is included to give those who may be uncertain Traditional Oils
When they were first
about what to buy an idea of the media available. Nearly all the
developed during the
major manufacturers provide informative leaflets and brochures fifteenth century, oils

on their products and publish comprehensive catalogs. were described as

"a most beautiful
Many independent suppliers, too, have detailed catalogs
invention."
of materials that are available by mail order. Most towns have Many leisure

an art supplies store, ranging from a corner display in the painters think they
are too difficult, or
stationery department of a bookstore to large retail outlets
too smelly, to tackle
dedicated solely to art materials. Here, you can look at the at home - and even if

they did want to try

stock and pick up useful product information, so a visit to one Quality and price
using them, they do not
of these is well worth it in order to make an informative choice. know where to begin
Artists'-quality oil colors
are the most expensive, and
A huge amount of different media In theupper price ranges, you or what exactly they
they are usually priced in

is available to artists who wish to will find more choice of colors and need to get started.
series, according to the cost
express themselves in color. Oil stronger pigments, but when it of the pigment. Students'-
Oil colors have a mild odor,
paint is probably the accepted comes to making a personal quality oil colors are more
but it is not strong or
traditional medium, while
most the selection, particularly if you have affordable and, with the
unpleasant. The powerful
popular option favored by amateur not picked up a paintbrush for a increasingly sophisticated
smell associated with
synthetic pigments that are
artists, and widely respected by number of years and you are in them is produced by the
now available, they are even
professionals, too, is watercolor. the experimental stage, it may be turpentine or mineral spirits
better value for the
comparison to these two
In worth considering buying a starter used to thin color and to
newcomer to painting.
traditional media, acrylics are a set or a limited selection of mixable clean brushes. However,
Most colors are made
relatively modern invention and primaries in your chosen medium you can reduce the smell
by dispersing pigment in

provide a medium that combines before making a greater investment. considerably by keeping a
linseed oil, which is
lid on your jars and using
the versatility of both watercolors In addition to cost, other generally considered to be
low-odor thinners.
and oil paints. More specialized important considerations when the best oil for a flexible

media are also available, and these choosing your media are space and paint film. However, linseed
Drying times
include egg tempera and gouache, facilities for cleaning up. Do you oil has a natural tendency
Oils take longer to dry than
to yellow, so it is often
or body colors, which have their have a studio or dedicated working watercolors or acrylics,
replaced with sunflower
own unique characteristics. area? Is there a sink and water because they dry by
oil or another similar oil in
Some coloring materials cross supply close? Are you affected by absorbing oxygen from the
the manufacturing process
the divide between drawing and chemicals and solvents? The style air instead of by the more
for making whites.
painting - pastels, water-soluble of your work may affect your first speedy evaporation of

colored pencils and oilbars are choice of medium, too. Will you water. But it is still possible
A basic starter palette
among numerous products in to complete a painting in
the need volume and texture? Is your Six to eight colors are all
one session as
you need to begin with -
or, it is
this category that you can use for approach precise and graphic?
sometimes known, "alia
creative expression. A number of Think about the support or surface three primaries, an
prima." The Impressionists
additional green, an earth
manufacturers and suppliers also list on which you will be applying your worked in this way,
products with applications in craft color and white. A good
chosen color. Will it be board, capturing the transient mood starter palette might be
and hohb\ areas for painting on canvas, paper, textile or some other of a subject and completing
Cobalt Blue, Alizarin
textiles, ceramics and glass. material? These factors all have a finished painting in a
Crimson, Cadmium Yellow
Ait materialscan be expensive, price and practicality considerations. matter of hours. Different
Yellow Ochre, Raw
(Hue),
particularly if you consider products colors dry at different rates,
Umber, Viridian (Hue),
labeled "artists" quality," which so drying agents are usually
Cadmium Red (Hue) and
that the) contain the finest added to the slower drying
is Titanium White. This is the
colors, such as Alizarin
I his is not to sa\ that type of selection you often
Crimson and Ivory Black, to
luality and less-expensive find in small sets, or you can
help equalize them.
not good, lor there are buy them individually.

k ;nii advances in
!
As you progress, you will
Correcting mistakes
want to broaden your palette
re In some cases An advantage of this slow- of colors, and there is no
brands from the drying medium is that you
shortage of good ready-
i ..'. have can simply wipe mistakes
mixed tube color from which
teristics. away or paint over them.
to select.
 Choosing media Oil colors 31
White Water-Mixable Oils Resin Oil Colors
White is probably the most There is a saying that Natural resins,
important color on an oil
"oil and water will extracted from living
painter's palette. Titanium
not mix," but the and fossilized trees,
White is the whitest and the
introduction of water- have been used by
most opaque, with the best
mixable oils has proved artists for almost
covering power, and it is the
that it can be done. If 2,000 years. Byzantine
best to use for highlighting. It

is also a useful white for

you hate the smell of painters added natural

mixing paler tints. Although turpentine, mineral resins to enhance color

the most versatile all-purpose spirits or even low-odor brilliance and the Oilbars
white, because of its thinners, but you want impression of depth - Drawing and painting
strength, the beginner may to paint in oils, these and, in the early days come together in one
find it overpowering for could be the materials of oil painting, artists fluid movement with
mixing precise tints.
for you. are known to have oilbars, also known as
Zinc White is a less oil-painting sticks. Not
added resins, such as
powerful, semi-opaque white,
The linseed and safflower oils mastic and copal. to be confused with oil
so it is good for tinting and
used to make water-mixable pastels, oilbars are
translucent glazing. (See
oils are modified so that they made from artists'-
White, pages 86-87, 179.)
mix with water instead of quality pigments
repelling it. For the best
Solvents and diluents mixed with drying oils
results, it is recommended
Turpentine is the most and waxes.
to use compatible water-
commonly used diluent for
mixable mediums to improve
thinning oil color and Oilbar enthusiasts love their
paint flow, to build heavy
cleaning up, but low-odor immediacy and the direct
impasto and to alter drying
thinners are more pleasant link they forge between
times. During drying, the
to use, because they give off artist and canvas, without
water evaporates quickly, but
less harmful fumes and The practice died out when the intervention of a brush.
the oil component takes the
irritate the skin less. They it was found that resin Colors can be blended
usual 2 to 12 days to become colors did not take kindly to
are also less flammable, so and spread directly on the
touch dry.
safer - and they keep better. transportation in leather or surface with a knife or brush

Household turpentine is
hide pouches, which was the and traditional diluents, or
Alkyd Oils traditional packaging for oil you can buy special colorless
not recommended for art use.

It contains impurities that

Alkyd oils are a fast- color before the invention of bars, designed to blend
can leave a sticky residue, drying alternative to the metal tube. colors and increase their

cause yellowing and stop conventional oils. They In 1881 a collection of old transparency. Dipping the tip

the color from drying. are ideal for single- masters' formulations was of the stick in turpentine will

session "alia prima" acquired from a Professor improve the flow of color.
Oils and mediums Cesare Mussini, who lent his Applied in thick layers, then
painting, as an
The more oil or painting name to today's Mussini modeled with a knife or
underpainting medium
medium you add to color, the resin oils. brush, creates heavy
for oil painting, for
"fatter" it becomes (see The paints are made from impasto effects. You can use
Mediums, page
quick design work and artists'-quality pigments,
36). "Fat" oilbars on their own, or as a '&t&
paint more prone to for decorative painting mixed with artists' oils and
is painterly drawing tool in

movement as it dries, so it
on a range of surfaces, natural dammar resins that combination with traditional
prevents cracking. It is usual from glass to ceramics. allow light to penetrate tube oil colors.
to thin early layers of paint further into the paint
with diluent and increase the They are made from pigment layers. It is this enhanced Oils
medium as you go. mixed with oil and a reflectivity that makes Oils are the traditional artist's

In the early stages of synthetic resin, originally colors look more brilliant. medium. Renowned in modern
drying, oil color increases in developed for use in The addition of resin also times for their opacity and
robustness, they can equally be
weight and it expands. As it industrial coatings and house promotes more even drying
used thinly to create delicate
continues to dry, it loses paints, which accelerates times, giving a more stable
glazes, depth and luminosity.
weight and starts to shrink drying and creates a durable paint film.
and harden. So, if you apply water-resistant finish. In use Resin oils come in over
they are very similar to
«~See also
less flexible "lean" paint over 100 ready-mixed tube colors.
Mediums 36-37
more oil-rich, flexible paint, traditional oils. Thin them You will not find them in
:

i
Choosing palettes 40-41
there will be more movement with a diluent, such as every art store, but they
in the lower layers than the turpentine or low-odor are available from larger
Color by color 48-93
top ones. This may result in thinners, and enrich them specialty art stores and mail- Creative directions 96-153
wrinkling and cracking. with linseed oil or Liquin. order suppliers. Color index 156-179
32 Watercolors Choosing media

'AH artists have an urge Availability, price Black and white remove the masking fluid Transparency and opacity
tocommunicate their and quality Watercolor sets usually by simply rubbing it away to The formulations used by
ow n unique view of the In recent years advances in contain Chinese White and reveal the white of the leading makers vary
pigment technology have Ivory Black. Nothing causes paper beneath. according to the nature and
world, and one of the
extended the choice of colors more heated debate among behavior of the individual
beauties of watercolor
available, improved tinting watercolor painters than the Watercolor boxes pigment, which is suspended
is itsimmediacy. It
strength and enhanced rights and wrongs of using and mixing palettes in a solution of gum arabic
invites a direct and
permanence. black and white. Most Until a few years ago, dissolved in water. The mix is
spontaneous response Watercolor can be bought watercolor artists consider watercolor boxes were then passed repeatedly
to a subject - whether in tubes and moist cakes, tube black to be too flat and either made of wood or tin, through a triple roll mill to

you are painting a also known as pans. As with lifeless, preferring to mix and you can still buy these grind it to super micron
landscape, a portrait, a oils and acrylics, major their own darks. For paler today. More recently, tubes fineness and release the full

figure study, still life or manufacturers produce tints, the traditional and pans have been intensity of the color.

an expressive abstract. both artists'- and students'- technique is to add more packaged in lighter-weight By their nature, pigments
quality colors. water, but Chinese White plastic boxes. These, in turn, vary in their transparency and
No other medium is

Professionals and serious useful for highlighting and have seen some innovative opacity. Highly transparent
has the capacity to
amateurs working indoors adding opaque body to changes with additional colors allow the reflective
capture a subject
usually choose tube color, pastel tints. For even more features such as extra slide- white of the paper to shine
\\ ith such speed squeezing out small blobs of covering power try out palettes added. through, imparting an airy
and economy of paint, then picking up the Titanium White, which is You can buy cylindrical luminosity that captures light,
brushstroke. By far the color they need with a brush. useful for highlighting in field sets now that flip open space and atmosphere. As
most popular painting, Beginners and artists cases where the white of to reveal mixing areas. The you would expect, more
medium, watercolor is working outdoors often find the paper has been lost. wells within a watercolor opaque colors have more
also probably the most dipping into pans easier and Bright white highlights box set probably offer covering power. Check

challenging for the more immediate. can add sparkle to a enough mixing area for artists'-quality color charts

watercolor painting. The small outdoor sketches, but for details of transparency
artist. Used well, it can
Buying watercolors traditional method of they have to be cleaned and opacity.
make a clear statement
You can buy both tubes and portraying white is to leave regularly as you paint or
in pure color.
pans as individual colors or the area unpainted and rely the colors will lose their Staining and granulation
in sets. Starter sets and field on the reflected white of the clarity and become muddy Artists'-quality color charts
The clarity and freshness of
boxes offer a limited paper, but this is not always and confused. will also give you information
a good watercolor painting
selection of colors, which as easy as it sounds, More serious on properties such as
depends on skilled glazing
you can mix to create all the especially for less watercolorists tend to staining and granulation.
with dilute washes of richly
colors you will need. The experienced painters. choose large flat-sectioned Powerful colors, such as
pigmented paint. For the
larger the set you choose, Art masking fluid can be plastic palettes or muffin-tin Prussian Blue and Alizarin
best results, lightly mix the
the bigger selection of ready- applied to keep white areas style mixing wells. Choice Crimson tend to penetrate
color in a clean palette with
mixed color you will have to white as the painting of mixing surface is largely the fibers of the paper,
clear water and apply with
work with - but that is not progresses. Once it is dry, it a matter of personal leaving traces of color
single, confident strokes.
always an advantage. creates a waterproof rubbery preference, but because behind when you try to lift
film that can be painted over of the transparency of them off - whether to correct
A basic starter palette with complete confidence. watercolor, it must always a mistake or when creating a
Traditional pigments still When the paint is dry be white. special effect.

form the basis of many Some pigments,

colors, but newer pigments, particularly the traditional

such as quinacridones, have earth colors, have a natural

opened the way to brilliant tendency to separate out
new transparent colors. when you mix them with
Newcomers tend to use water. As the wash dries,

too many colors and the particles of pigment float to

finished work lacks harmony the surface and tiny granules

across the whole surface. may sink and settle into the

If you opt to buy colors hollows of the paper surface,

separately, a basic palette causing an effect known as
might include Ali/iinn granulation. This is a useful
Crimson, Yellow Ochre, phenomenon when you want
Cadmium Yellow Pale, to add character and texture,

Cadmium Red, Hooker's but where a smoother, more

Green and French uniform wash is required,

-iu Ultramarine. Useful additional choose a color that will not

colors would be Cerulean granulate as it dries.

Blue, Raw Umber and Burnt

Sienna. (See also page 41.)
u
 Choosing media Acrylic colors 33
Acrylic resin was first 15 minutes to dry, but allow

developed in the early a day or more for thick layers

of impasto.
nineteenth century for
Some oil painters use
industrial use. Its
thin layers of acrylic color
potential for develop-
as a quick-drying
ment into artists' underpainting to
colors was quickly speed up the
noted by art materials painting process.
companies, and the
first acrylics were Correcting mistakes
available by 1947. As each glaze dries it

Today, they are used becomes insoluble, so you

can safely paint over it

around the world by
without fear of lifting the
leisure painters and
layer beneath and losing the
professionals, working Quality and price Acrylic whites do not
clarity of the color. The
in both watercolor and The major manufacturers yellow with age and the
water resistance of acrylics
oil painting styles. produce a choice of painting surface does not
makes them an ideal choice
students' and artists' become brittle over time, so
for outdoor work.
qualities, sold in standard paintings on canvas can be
When acrylic colors were Good-quality acrylics
many size tubes and larger safely rolled and stored
first developed, purists have great covering power,
discounted them as "plastic containers for high-volume without danger of cracking.
and it is easy to paint over
paints," because they lacked users. As with other painting
mistakes, so they are a boon
the subtlety of color and media, the quality of the Drying times
for beginners.
tone associated with pigment used in artists'- Acrylic colors dry more
oils. They have improved quality brands is reflected in quickly than oils through
Liquid acrylics
considerably since then, and the price, but it is worth uniform evaporation of the
Liquid acrylics can be used
their position as the second noting that with advances in water in the binder. As the
like watercolors, applied
most popular painting color technology, some of color dries, the acrylic resin
with a traditional brush or an
medium speaks for itself. the student-quality brands around each tiny particle of
airbrush. They are sold in

Acrylics are particularly now on the market perform pigment fuses to create a
small bottles and, like their
popular among illustrators, exceptionally well and offer flexible water-resistant film
thicker, creamy counterparts,
floral artists and silk
high levels of permanence. with a matte-satin finish.
are also available in tubs.
painters, who move from The rapid drying time of
With liquid acrylics, you can
fabric to paper as a painting An acrylic starter palette acrylic colors enables the
create transparent layers of
surface (see Color on cloth, Being a heavy-bodied artist to apply layers of
brilliant permanent color that
page 148). medium, a basic acrylic color in quick succession
can be repeatedly glazed
starter palette can follow and finish a painting in a
over without disturbing the
Versatility closely that recommended fraction of the time it would
color beneath.
You can use acrylic colors in for oil paints and might take in oils.

a variety of techniques for include Cadmium Red, The down side is that

fine-art painting, murals, French Ultramarine, because acrylic color dries

mixed media, airbrushing, Cadmium Yellow, Burnt so quickly, the paint cannot

screen printing and Umber, Raw Umber, Yellow be manipulated for long

decorative crafts. No other Ochre and Titanium White - periods on the surface. Also,

painting medium matches but you will probably want it soon tends to dry out on
acrylic color for versatility. to add a few more useful the palette. To overcome

Thinned with plenty of colors, such as Permanent this problem, you can use
clean water, acrylics create Rose, Phthalo Blue, Cerulean special palettes that keep
* Acrylics
transparent washes of color. Blue and Cobalt Blue. the color moist for weeks.
Acrylics have become a popular
Used straight from the tube, It is also important to
medium since their invention in

they retain the mark of the Diluents and mediums wash the color out of
the 1960s. They can be diluted
brush to add character to Because acrylics are water brushes thoroughly - once
for use like watercolor or with
artwork - and you can based, you do not need to the paint has dried into the added mediums for impasto
create highly textured use solvents during the head, it sets like concrete. effects similar to oil paints.

impasto surfaces by applying painting process. You can While acrylic paint is still

the paint with a knife. add a variety of mediums to wet it looks slightly milky,
alter the consistency, but that disappears as it

texture, handling properties dries and the color deepens.

and drying times (see Undiluted acrylic paint
Mediums, page 36). applied thinly takes about
34 Gouache & Egg tempera Pastels

Gouache Egg tempera touch. The medium works Pastels, sold in sticks
ire the advent of Egg tempera is one best when thin veils of color, or larger chunks, and
of the oldest painting diluted with clean water, also in pencil form,
computer-generated
are carefully applied in
design, gouache was media, used by the are probably the most
one-stroke washes. The
the most popular ancient Egyptians and popular of the so-called
brightness and translucence
painting medium in laterby the legendary
of a tempera painting rely
dry painting media.
professional design master artists of the Unlike wet color,
on gradual and controlled
studios, where it was Renaissance before it buildup of these layers of where the pigment
widely used to create was overtaken by oil diluted color. bonds with the painting
crisp visuals and color in popularity. While it is still wet, surface, pastel marks
illustrations in solid Egg tempera is not premixed egg tempera is are held by the "tooth"
color that reproduced a mainstream painting very easy to lift and rework. or interweave of the
well in print. medium. In fact, it is It takes about a week or two paper fibers.
to "cure," then it is fixed in
probably the least used
place for good. To maintain
Gouache is, intact, a of all the wet color Pastel sticks
the purity of the color, each
retinement ot the more media on the market, Pastel sticks are made from
layer must be left to dry
familiar poster paints, but a mix of unground pigment,
but it offers an
completely before adding
the quality and permanence chalk, china clay and small
exciting challenge to the next.
of pigments used in good amounts of binder and
the more experienced Egg tempera is best
makes are far superior. preservative. The mixed
Also known as body
artist who is prepared suited to smooth, rigid board
"dough" is passed through
color, gouache is a water- to experiment. or canvas panels, often
an extruder to produce long
primed with layers of white which are cut
based paint with chalk or strips of color,

blanc fixe added to create As its name suggests, this gesso to increase the
to size and dried.
paint is made by dispersing surface reflection and
opaque color with good
pigment egg yolk to intensify the luminosity of
covering power, which can in Choosing
create a long-lasting, highly the color. Paper is not
be further enhanced with Soft pastels have a deep
the addition of Permanent adhesive painting medium. recommended unless it is
velvety texture, best suited
White. It dries to a matte, Some dedicated tempera soaked in gesso, stretched
for broad sweeps of rich

chalky finish andean be artists make their own paint, and backed with cardboard color and painterly effects.
but a difficult process or metal. Hardboard is a
used on its own or with it is Hard pastels, pastel pencils
that takes time and good support for tempera
transparent watercolor. and conte sticks contain
Considering its versatility, experience to perfect. painting, but it must first be
more binder and give a
Newcomers to egg tempera sealed back, front and sides
gouache is an underrated harder, more defined mark;
are more likely to buy color with rabbit-skin size.
medium. Use it in dilute they are ideal for drawing
washes to achieve attractive already mixed in tubes, and illustration work.
misty effects. Thicker which often contain a little Chalk-based pastels of all

gouache creates a more added linseed oil to make kinds can generally be used
rugged finish, ideal for bold, the paint easier to work and together for a variety of
energetic paintings A increase its flexibility. effects - but they are not
starter palette might include The painting techniques compatible with oil pastels
Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium associated with egg (see opposite).
Red, French Ultramarine, tempera have much in

Vindian, Raw Umber and common with watercolor, Hard pastels

Yellow Ochre - plus the but glazing with transparent and pastel pencils
essential Permanent White washes of tempera gives a Hard pastels, usually square
denser, more painterly in shape, come in fewer
quality to a painting. colors, and because they are
Egg tempera paintings Gouache and Egg tempera more robust, they tend to be
are characterized by their Gouache, or body color, is an sold unwrapped. In use, they
pure, translucent color, and opaque watercolor paint do not release their color as
\ their luminosity and sheen. favored by illustrators for
immediately as soft pastels,
artwork for reproduction. High
As a fine-art medium, so you need to exert firmer
pigment quality ensures
tempera is particularly pressure. The same goes for
brilliant colors that dry to a
suited to painters who like
appearance. pastel pencils, which are
slightly chalky
to preplan, make detailed
Egg tempera consists of cleaner to hold and easier to
preliminary drawings and pigment bound with egg yolk carry for sketching outdoors.
paint with precision. and vegetable oils Applied in

Qualities essential for thin layers, its pure color has a

successful tempera painting luminous sheen.

I are patience and sureness of

 Choosing media Pastels & colored pencils 35
Buying pastels Fixing pastel work Colored Pencils Pastel pencils
Artists'-quality pastels are It is worth noting that work Colored pencils are Pastel pencils create a

sold in sets and as individual in soft pastel must be fixed an essential part of harder mark than soft
sticks of color. A starter set to prevent it smudging.
just about everyone's
pastels, but they do not

will probably contain about Aerosols give a fine, even make the same clouds of
childhood, so they
a dozen colors, and you can spray, but they should be dust, so are cleaner to use,
are not always granted
add to these as you discover used outside if possible, or and they are easier to carry.
the recognition they
which colors you find most at least in a well-ventilated Charcoal pencils have
useful. In addition to basic room. Bottled fixative deserve as a more similar advantages over
assorted sets, there are also delivered through a diffuser serious art medium. sticks or pieces.

boxes of colors specially may be less harmful, but

selected for use in landscape more tricky to apply evenly. Choice Other media
and portraiture. Recent years have seen a In addition to the drawing
rapid expansion of different and painting media covered
Color choice Oil Pastels types of pencils for both here, you will find a host of

The major manufacturers drawing and fine art, with other options any good art
Oil pastels are one of in

of soft pastel offer a vast significant improvements in store. For decorative art,
the least understood of
choice of up to 200 colors, permanence at the top end there are specialty colors
painting mediums, yet
subdivided into tints, ranging of the market. for painting on glass and
they are also one of the Alongside traditional
from the palest to the ceramics, as well as silk
cheapest and most graphite pencils, there are
deepest shade based on the paints and fabric colors.
same pigment. Better-quality
convenient. now water-soluble versions You can draw and paint
soft pastel sticks come that are ideal for preparatory using wax crayons, felt-tip
handwrapped in paper to
Not to be confused with soft tonal sketches or for pieces pens, watercolor sticks, and
them from crumbling and hard pastels, oil pastel of artwork in their own right.
protect chalks. By their nature,
and contamination. sticks are made from pigment They are graded from hard to artists love to experiment,
bound in oil, and sometimes soft, giving powerful blacks and it is not unknown for
animal fat. Applied directly
A basic palette to gentler tones of gray. the Royal Watercolor
You can start with as few as
onto paper, they make marks Colored pencils, with a Society to hang a work
six colors in cool and warm similar to wax crayon. Brush waxy color core, come in a painted in mud! The only
over with turpentine and the huge range of colors. Major
tints of red, yellow and blue, limitation to creativity is lack
result is brilliant fluid color. manufacturers offer up to -
which can be used to mix a of imagination but, before
Oil pastels are sold in sets, 120 colors, which maybe
wider range of colors on the you get carried away, make
paper surface. which are inexpensive and bought individually and in a
If you are not sure your chosen color
handy to carry for on-the-spot wide choice of sets in tins
confident of your mixing medium is lightfast, so that
sketching and color notes. and boxes.
skills, it is wise to choose a your work will not fade
larger starter set. when sees the light of day.
t Color mixing
it

Papers for pastels Color mixing in pencil can be

Pastels need a paper with achieved with a variety of

enough "tooth" to catch the mark-making techniques, but
fragile color and hold it. you still need a wider range
Watercolor papers work of colors than you do with

well, but most pastel artists wet media. Early attempts

prefer to use tinted paper, at colored pencil drawing

which gives greater harmony usually have a childlike

and depth. You can choose quality, but, with some

from a range of subtle tones, experience, you can achieve
according to your subject and a high-quality fine-art finish. Dry color media
key color theme. Darker Among the dry media (right) are
traditional soft pastels with a
colors add dramatic effect. Watercolor and aquarelle
chalky, friable texture (top), and
Ingres, named after the pencils
pastel pencils, which are
master pastellist who Watercolor and aquarelle
normally harder in texture and
devised its characteristic pencils are increasingly
easier to control (center). There
chain-and-laid surface, is the popular, especially for
are many varieties of colored
most popular pastel paper. It outdoor sketching. You pencil, including the water-
comes in a wide range of can use them dry like soluble types (below).

tints in single sheets and conventional colored pencils,

books, or bonded to board for
a more rigid working surface.
or add water to the color on
the paper for an instant
*~See also
Color by color 48-93
s^n
wash of color. Creative directions 96-153
Color index 156-179
36 Mediums Oil painting mediums

In art materials' terminology, the word The "fat over lean" rule Low-odor thinners improve transparency and
Thinners are used for the Because turpentine has the flow of paint, so they are
"medium" can sometimes be confusing. coats of paint and for
initial a strong odor and is particularly useful for fine
The type of paint you choose - for washes. If you are intending flammable, in many studio detail work. They also tend to
to apply several layers of situations, has been enhance the gloss effect and
example, oil, acrylic or watercolor - is
it

paint, however, you will need superseded by less some are formulated for
known as a medium (plural "media"). to add oil to the paint to hazardous, commercially glazing. However, specific
prevent the possibility of the formulated low-odor or products are also available
If you use two or more materials in a
surface cracking at a later odorless products that that ensure a matte surface
painting, it is termed a "mixed-media stage when dry. This "fat perform a similar function. when dry.

over lean" rule involves Another liquid thinner that

painting." However, the term "medium" adding progressively more avoids the smell of Linseed oil

(plural "mediums") is also used to refer oil or medium ("fat") as you turpentine is oil of spike The traditional oil used as
paint further layers. lavender, but this dries more an additive for later layers of
to the various liquids, gels and pastes that
slowly than turpentine or paint is linseed, available in

may be added to paint when you use it. Turpentine mineral spirits. many different forms. It may
As water is to watercolor, so be described as "purified,"
These mediums can be added to color to
turpentine is to oil painting. It Alkyd mediums "cold-pressed," "bleached,"
alter paint's handling A properties or is the classic, traditional These mediums are based on "boiled," "thickened,"
solvent-thinner used in oil alkyd resin. Depending on "refined," "stand" or
surface appearance.
painting. Used as a solvent, their formulation, they can be "drying" linseed oil. Each
it thins paint to provide tints used not only to thin oil has its own characteristics
and washes of color. It is paint, increasing its flow and and you should read the
fairly slow in evaporation transparency, but can manufacturers' labels to
and, when mixed with colors, considerably accelerate its check which type is suitable
tends to create a matte drying time. They provide for your purpose. Generally,
finish. There are various durable glazing and can be linseed oil increases the
types of turpentine available: thinned with mineral spirits. flow, transparency and
you may come across To avoid the risk of cracking, gloss of the paint. The
"rectified turpentine care should be taken not to various types tend to have
essence" or "distilled use alkyd mediums over slow different drying rates, but
turpentine," for example. drying underlayers. Alkyd most increase it. One
Products such as these mediums are available in the disadvantage of linseed is

enjoy the same features as form of liquid or gel. that it tends to yellow the
turpentine, but have been colors Linseed oil can be
further processed and Artists' painting mediums thinned with mineral spirits

distilled to improve strength A huge range of proprietary or turpentine.

Mediums can be used change the paint's

to and purity. liquid thinners and gels have

characteristics of flow, transparency and drying been developed to minimize

Mineral spirits yellowing of colors and to dry
rate. They include a wide variety of additives
Artists'-quality mineral to a durable, flexible film.
such as gloss mediums, matte mediums and
spirits, a purified form, Generally, these products
various oils and drying agents. Pastes and gels
provides an alternative
can be added to build textures that the paint diluent to turpentine and,
alone, if used undiluted from the tube, cannot while it has a characteristic
provide, and certain other mediums may be used smell, its odor is less

to create special effects. pronounced. A completely

The addition of mediums can also affect the odorless formulation is also

color of the paint. Exactly how available that evaporates

the addition of
medium more slowly. Mineral spirits
a and color
will finally alter paint
dissolve the paint a little less
depends to a certain extent on the quality of
than turpentine, however,
the paint and the type and amount of medium
and, like turpentine, it should
added to it. Experimentation and trial and error only be used for the first
are the best methods of learning and mastering layers of painting. Oily
e '>l mediums. thinners, which are a mixture
I he list page and opposite outlines the
on this of solvent and linseed oil,

commonly available painting mediums and gives are used to reduce the
a briel description ol what the\ can do to bring consistency of oil paint in

an extra dimension to the color and texture of later layers without affecting
its richness; however, they
youi paintin
may yellow
 Acrylic painting mediums Watercolor painting mediums 37
Poppy oil Gloss mediums painting where hard edges Gum arabic
Variously described as Liquid gloss mediums impart are required. Gum arabic is the traditional
"purified" or "bleached," a gloss finish to acrylic paint, binder for watercolor paint,
this oil extracted from poppy forming a flexible film in Texture gels and pastes and it can also be used as a
seeds has less tendency
turn colors yellow and is
to the painting
They maintain the
when dry.

color,
There are many texture gels
and pastes on the market
medium.
a pale solution
It is available as
in water.
nirS
more suitable for use with sometimes making it look that will make it easier for When added to color, it

light colors and white than brighter, and they also you to achieve textured, increases its gloss and
linseed. It also enhances the improve the flow and fluidity impasto and molding effects transparency. Gum arabic
gloss effect, but the surface of the paint, so that it is with acrylics. These are may also be used with
when dry is slightly less easier to work with, as available in a variety of gouache paint to make it

durable. Poppy oil generally well as more translucent. thicknesses, such as light, more flexible and less prone
takes longer to dry than
linseed oil, but a "drying"
Gel gloss mediums
the paint slightly so that
thicken medium and
medium and
hard, or fine,

coarse, so
to cracking when dry.
[Link]
version is also available.
Thin with mineral spirits
brush marks are retained,
while dense or heavy gel
mediums are available for
choose depending on exactly
what is required for your
The thicker
Oxgall
This is another traditional
additive for watercolor. Only
mm. i

or turpentine. painting.

even thicker paint and formulations are more a few drops are needed to

Walnut oil particularly for painting suited to knife painting. improve the wetting and
Walnut oil, extracted from with a knife. Some pastes contain increase the flow of color.
walnut kernels, is similar texture materials, such as Oxgall also helps the Gouache medium
in use to linseed oil, but it Matte mediums sand, pumice, marble dust adhesion of the paint on Special mediums for

does not store as well. It These mediums decrease the or flint, and you will need to the ground and helps to gouache or designers' colors
enhances color brightness gloss effect of acrylic paint experiment to discover any prevent change in color. It is help adhesion of the paint
and dries well. and produce a matte finish. small changes in color when available in synthetic form. and prevent it from peeling
They can also be mixed with they are used. when dry. By thinning the
Safflower/sunflower oil gloss mediums to control the Watercolor medium paint, they reduce its

These oils have properties degree of shine required. In Special-effects mediums These specially formulated coverage, and it also dries
that are similar to those of liquid form they improve the For more unusual color mediums consist of with a slightly glossy sheen.
poppy seed oil, and they flow of color, while gel changes, you could try some formulations of gum arabic
are used by some makers. formulations are more useful of the additives that alter and glycerine in water. This Impasto gel
Because they do not have for thick painting. the effect of the color in a combination helps to Impasto techniques are not
a yellowing effect, they are specific way. Pearlescent or enhance the brightness of usually associated with
especially useful for light Retarding mediums iridescent mediums produce the color and increases the watercolor, but the addition
colors and white. They tend Since acrylic paint dries a shimmering metallic or transparency of the paint. of this gel enables washes
to soften the paint and relatively quickly, you may pearlized surface, particularly Glycerine extends the drying to stay put and not flow
increase fluidity. find it helpful to use an when used with transparent time a little and improves into each other. They give
additive that changes the colors. Interference mediums the solubility of the paint. watercolor the effect
Drying mediums drying rate. Translucent gels are available in colors, and of impasto.
These proprietary liquids are available that do not using one of these with your
and gels may be added to affect the consistency of the chosen color will result in

speed the slow drying times paint, but they may slightly a surface that appears to **See also
associated with oil painting. increase brightness of color. change according to the Choosing media 30-35
Sometimes, however, you These mediums are useful if direction of light and the Color by color 48-93
may want to increase the you wish to work "wet-in- angle from which the 96-153
Creative directions
drying time and retarding wet," and they also slow painting is
Color index 156-179
mediums are available for down the rate of drying on viewed.
that purpose. the palette. They should
generally be used sparingly.
Impasto mediums Larger amounts may increase
Special gels and pastes the transparency of the color.
provide the means of adding
"^1
bulk and texture without Flow improvers
using greatly increased Various commercially
amounts of
are ideal for impasto
and for
oil

more expressive
paint. They
work
formulated products are
designed to increase the
flow of acrylic paint, so
MsM
painting, where you want to that large flat areas can
retain the brush and knife be applied evenly and still

marks on the surface. retain richness of color. The

addition of a flow enhancer
is particularly useful for

"4¥H
38 Media in action

w ***>»-' ,.

(Left, clockwise from the top)

George Rowlett
Sudden Storm Over Thames,
Rotherhithe Pier, 1996
Oil on board
24 x 40in (61 x 101.5cm)

Ray Balkwill
Morning Mist
Watercolor
5 x 7in (12.5 x 17.5cm)

Judith Chestnutt
Shoreline, 2001
Paper pulp
12 x 12m (30 x 30cm)

Marina Yedigaroff
Red Tulips
Oil on board
20 x 30in (51 x 91.5cm)

Oils, robustly applied for bold color and texture

(Right, clockwise from the top)

Jackie Simmonds
Carnevale di Venezia (detail)
Pastel on paper
17 x 18in(43 x 46cm)

Douglas Wilson
Lemon (detail)

Acrylic on board
8 x 6in (20.3 x 15.3cm)

Watercolor, a classic medium for a classic subject Tim Riddihough

Check Headband
Reed pen and ink,

and mixed media on tinted paper

19 /xmin(50x35cm)
3

*~See also
-m.i— 'ng 1
i
wry Choosing media 30-35
Mediums 36-37
Choosing palettes 40-41
+ Creative directions 96-153
-
<il;i/ifH| and delicate transparency Watercolor: straight and mixed 98
Fast color for flesh 106

Massive color in oils 114

Transparency and luminosity 124
Colors from the mail 140

Dry color and line 152

Paper pulp, an alternative medium for painterly effects
 Media in action 39
The visual qualities of materials
There are many aspects to consider when
choosing media and many of the practical
options are discussed on the previous
pages. Oil paint is the traditional choice for
professional artists, and the most popular
choice among amateur painters tends to
be watercolors. The versatility and high
quality of today's acrylic colors are
increasingly recognized, and there is a
wealth of dry color and stick media
available, too. Various types of pastels,
colored pencils and oilbars provide
fabulous color and handling abilities, and
expressive possibilities in their own right,
as well as contributing to the success of many mixed-media
works. In Chapter Three, "Creative directions," you can learn
firsthand how the works shown on this page were created,
plus many more, and this information on the creative process,
combined with the practical, may help you make a more
Pastels, Pure acrylic, informed and personal choice when it comes to media.
a versatile dry medium for painting water-soluble opacity for depth of color

Mixed media, pen and ink combined with pastel

40 Choosing palettes
When it comes to your Palettes for oils days, as long as you keep
choice of palette, size Wooden thumbhole adding water to the reservoir
matters. Bigger is palettes are available in and keep the lid on between
better,because it gives oblong and traditional painting sessions. You can
store it in the refrigerator.
a greater mixing area, kidney shapes. They
which helps keep are designed for oil
Palettes
colors clean and pure. painters who like to
for watercolor
It is possible to work hold their palette as
Fluid color calls for a
with a small palette, they stand at the easel.
palette withmixing
but you have to be an A well-designed Tear-off paper palettes
wells. Metal and plastic
assiduous housekeeper. thumbhole is contoured For a convenient disposable
Once you are carried paintboxes have mixing
to relieve stress on the alternative, try tear-off

away with your paper palettes. You may areas incorporated in

hand during long
a chore waste some unused paint, the lid, and some have
painting, it is periods of painting. Try
but you will save yourself additional fold-out and
tohave to keep a tiny one before you buy it.

mixing area clean. the task of cleaning up. slider palettes. They are
useful for quick color
Palettes for acrylics sketches outdoors, but
Wooden palettes are the mixing area is

The traditional wooden not very suitable for limited. Unless you
kidney-shaped palette water-based colors, keep cleaning them, you
with a thumbhole has and this includes will end up with muddy
become an emblem of acrylics. A
nonporous color mixes.
fine art, but it is only material, such as

one of many options metal, white plastic or

you can choose. me 1 amine, is a more
Before you rush out Traditional palettes practical option.

and buy an expensive Mahogany looks sumptuous, One of the benefits

mahogany palette, it is and it is ideal if you are of acrylic color is its

worth considering the painting on a dark, preferably speed of drying, but

reddish brown, background. this is also one of its
variety of shapes, si/es
When painting on white and disadvantages when
and types of palette it

more neutral grounds, a paler

now available, and comes on the
to color
shade of wood is preferable,
Plastic palettes
what is best suited to palette. Like mustard
so that you can gauge tonal Plastic palettes are sold in
your media. on the plate, you can
relationships as you mix
the traditional kidney shape
waste as much as you
color on the palette. with thumbhole and as
Before using a new actually use.
oblong, square and round
wooden palette, prime it
table palettes, with deep
with linseed oil to seal the
and shallow mixing wells.
surface and prevent the oil
Artists working with broad
color seeping into the grain sweeps of color need large
and drying out. Cover both deep wells, so they can mix
sides, and leave the palette enough paint to complete a
for a few days to allow the wash. Muffin-tin style
oil to penetrate the grain of
palettes provide plenty of
the wood and harden. separate deep mixing areas
Once you have prepared # to help keep color mixes
your palette, blobs of unused clean and contained. A big
oil color need not be wasted. table palette with shallower
Simply break the surface film mixing areas in a range of
with a painting knife when Stay-Wet Palette sizes is also useful.
you come back to it and use The Stay-Wet Palette is

,k, [Link] designed to keep color

workable for longer.

• ••
The color is held on a
semipermeable membrane
"v. that draws water up from a
reservoir sheet below. The
paint will stay moist for
 Selecting a palette 41
Palette management Choosing colors Starting points

It pays to get into the As well as meaning a There are many practical
considerations to take into
habit of laying your transportable surface,
account when shopping for
eolors out in a usually oblong or oval,
individual colors, such as
systematic order. You on which a painter
budget, subject and media,
willsoon get to know arranges and mixes
and there is a temptation to
where each color is and color, "palette" also
buy more colors than you
find yourself picking refers to the selection means of storage. By the time need at first. It is better to
them up automatically. of colors the artist has the colors are finished, you begin with a restricted range,
A systematic layout chosen to work with may be more certain of your adding to these gradually as
allows you to or has selected to use own creative direction and you gain more experience.
you can replace them with Atypical, small
concentrate fully on in a particular picture.
colors of your own choice. prepackaged box of starter
mixing and painting. You will come across
Sets vary in size. The more watercolors contains about
such descriptions as
colors they contain and the 12 colors: for example,
There are no hard and fast "limited," "restricted,"
quality of the paint - whether Cadmium Yellow and Red,
rules for the order in which "hot" or "cool" palettes, artists' or the less-expensive Alizarin Crimson, Burnt
you place colors on a and these terms refer to student ranges - dictate the Umber, Raw Sienna, Yellow
palette, but many painters
the color range being price, as does the box design, Ochre, Light Red, French
follow one of the following
used by the artist. such as the number of mixing Ultramarine, Prussian Blue
White porcelain well-known layouts.
wells, brush storage areas, and Ivory Black. (See also
As an alternative to white
When buying colors for the integral palettes and so on. page 32.)
plastic, you could go for a
first time, or if returning to Similarly, starter sets are Palette choice is a
versatile china palette, made
painting after a number of available in other media, subjective and individual
from hard white porcelain,
years, it may be difficult to particularly oils and acrylics. area, too, but the colors
which resists staining and
decide which colors to buy. Some manufacturers even go listed above are a good
can also be used with
Most manufacturers publish as far as to market sets with general choice from which it
solvents for oil painting.
helpful leaflets on color color selections that are is possible to mix many hues.
choice for the beginner, with identified as appropriate for You could extend your range
Home-made palettes Warm to cool -
recommendations on the specific subjects portraits or further with the addition of
Many artists working in a Keep the warm colors and cool colors
most useful reds, yellows and landscapes, for example. a green hue-Viridian, for
separate, with the white and the
studio devise their own
earth colors in between. blues to choose from their example. A lighter blue and
tabletop palettes from a -
ranges - the primary colors a greenish blue are useful
sheet of nonporous material,
that give the widest and perhaps Cerulean and
such as white laminate or
cleanest variety of mixing Phthalo Blue -and you will
a sheet of glass. Others use
combinations. have to include a white.
a glass-topped table with a
Some manufacturers Titanium White is usually
neutral backing below or a
prefer buyers to make the the popular choice for the
piece of hardboard sealed
decision on individual color opaque media, and Chinese
with white or a neutral- Light to dark
Precisely as it says, a counter-
purchases themselves, saying White for watercolors.
colored paint. You can mix
clockwise layout, ranging from white they believe color choice is a
water-based colors on an through to the darkest hue selected. personal matter. However, all
old white plate and in cups,
the major manufacturers offer
cans and jars, which can be
sets of colors, and these can From these fairly limited
sealed with plastic wrap and
represent good value for the starter selection boxes, the
stored. Whatever type of
beginner who is uncertain of choice proceeds upward to
palette you use, the same
which direction to go in. lavish, wooden presentation
rule applies -keep it clean
This is especially the case cases and chests, which, in
and it will last for years.
with watercolors. You can addition to colors, contain
Spectrum order
buy empty watercolor boxes brushes and mostly
A classic layout, which follows the
colors of the visible spectrum as
and fill them with pans and everything else you may
seen on the color wheel - from red
through to violet, with the earths and
tubes yourself, but more often
than not people will start
need. These selections can
be expensive and even look
8 ^^Sr^
darks separated by white.
with a box selection that a little intimidating, but they
the manufacturer has put are usually wonderful
**See also together. These boxes cover productions, and the boxes
Colors of the spectrum 24
a wide range of painting alone will probably increase c^a ^^" ^^
The basic color wheel 26
situations and are a good in value as the years go by.
Choosing media 30-35 initial investment; in addition
Color by color 48-93 to the colors, they provide a
Color index 156-179 mixing area and, of course, a
42 Color language
Color is a language and it has a vocabulary of its

own. Just as spoken or written words have shades Color as function

of meaning, so, too. do individual colors. Pink may The camera body is black plastic,
which is cheap, seviceable,
convey soft, feminine; blue, brittle, cool; red, hot, functional and honest. Green and

dangerous; yellow, optimistic, sunny. An artist can gold are used for circuits and
contacts; red, yellow, orange, gray
record a scene much as a camera does, but you also and blue for the wiring loom. The
have complete freedom of choice to call upon any person who assembles the camera
knows what goes where every time,
color to communicate atmosphere or to emphasize a as does the engineer who services

feeling or state of mind. You have full control over or repairs the camera. Both
recognize the function of each
the palette to manipulate mood in your art. colored wire.

Manipulating
mood and atmosphere
A simple palette of colors was used
to make both these color sketches.
Naples Yellow, Cobalt Blue, Raw
Umber, Permanent Green and
Titanium White, and a touch of
Cadmium Red, form the basis of
two very different atmospheres.
The subject matter greatly
influences the different moods, too -
moods that are again reinforced by
the proportions of the colors and the
way they are mixed and blended.
In the top study, simple
uncomplicated color application
conveys brightness and warmth. The
bottom sketch is more somber in

tone and darkened with mixes and

washes of Raw Umber.

Practical color
As well as being an emotional communicator, color is

important for practical purposes. It is used to tell people what

to do and what not to do: red, stop; green, go; yellow, caution;
red. again, danger; and so on. Color can tell you what does
what, and what goes where: green wire to earth, red wire to
live. Color is widely used as a code to impart and order
information and to give instructions.

Change of use
Surplus telephone cable
has been used to create
this woven wire basket.

Color as communicator
Color has the power to instill

images; it is a great communicator.

When we look at a map, we can
interpret the printed colors to

imagine the busy highway and quiet

Anon., South A' 1

minor road. We build a picture in

Woven Basket our mind's eye of roads, lakes and

Plastic-coated wire mountains and visualize what to
6m (15 2cm) diameter expect on our journey.
 Communicating with color 43
Polychrome sculpture
Much sculpture from the ancient world,
particularly from the civilizations of Joustra/Humbrol Ltd
Young Scientist Three-dimensional color
Greece and Rome, was originally very
Anatomy Toy The anatomical model (left) is a child's
colorful. Vestiges of pigment have been
Plastic educational toy made of colored plastic.
found on many examples that indicate
Height lO^in (26cm) The colors of the components are
sculpted figures may have been given chosen to make them distinguishable
blue hair and beards, and blue eyes, in Artists use color to convey from one another. To a certain extent,
addition to colored flesh and clothing. atmosphere and emotion. they follow the natural colors of the
The idea of sculpture remaining in the Designers, scientists and body parts - the bones are white, the
uncolored state of its natural material engineers similarly use iver is dark in color and the lungs are
seems to have taken hold during the color as a language to lighter - but they are loose and symbolic

Renaissance period of the fourteenth convey information. representations to give an organic and
anatomical feel to the model while
to sixteenth centuries; artists were
maintaining a clear visual separation
influenced by surviving sculptures and
between the various organs.
monuments from the classical period of
Greece and Rome, most of which then
survived only in their natural state, time
having stripped them of their pigments.
British artistDamien Hirst was
attractedby the color and form of an
educational toy (shown right) and
reinterpreted it on a large scale in
painted bronze. His sculpture, entitled
Hymn, stands some 20ft (6.10m) tall

and weighs several tons in contrast to

the few ounces and lOMin (26cm) height
of the original toy. On its unveiling in
April, 2000, Richard Cork, art critic of
The Tunes in London, described Hirst's
interpretation as the best sculpture of the
twenty-first century. It cannot be denied
that it is ambitious in size and color.

Left
Damien Hirst (b.1965)

Hymn
Painted bronze
Height 20ft (6.10m)

i
44 Interpreting color

In this 10-minute sketch,

the colors in nature are

described as orange and

yellow fruits on a white
plate, on a black table.

The setting is a neutral-

beige room, and the back
of a red chair breaks the
line of the table.

These basic colors and

simple shapes are influenced
by the lighting conditions
and the chosen media, as
well as the artist's mood
and technique. Chance and
accident play a large part,
too. in this quick study.
Acrylics, gouache and ink
arc Ireely applied over a
simple outline sketch, then
vigorously worked and
intermixed to build up a
rapid interpretation of the
natural colors of a classie-
st ill-life subject.
Plate of Fruit
Mixed media on paper
Robust solid colors and thinner washes
show a versatile approach to mixing
J
*~ Se e also 10 x 8in (25.5 x 20cm) acrylic and gouache. Thinned with
jlors of the spectrum 24-25
water and speedily applied, accidental
The basic color wheel 26-27
blots occur and the pure colors spatter
Choosing media 30-35 one another. Outlines made with water-
Color by color 48-93 soluble crayon and ink bleed and merge,
Creative directions 96-153 tinting adjacent areas.

Color index 15f

/ r
/
 Interpreting color 45

Mixing media Experimenting with color

Do not be afraid to mix media. Lay Experiment with how you
down colors using colored pencils,
look at colors in nature; the
pastels, acrylics and gouache for lively
colors are rarely like you
color experimentation.
think they are. Use any
materials that are available,
and ignore correct usage -
lay gouache over acrylic,
mix it with ink, and scribble
over it with colored pencils
and pastels.
Rub, scratch and scrub
into the surface, using a
simple limited palette of two
or three colors to avoid the
results looking toomuddy.
Use thick and thin paint,
draw lines and apply washes.
Neutral-beige Red against black Black Forget about making
White provides a neutral color to The back of the chair behind the Black is used for the solid tabletop an accurate drawing or a
indicate the back wall. Scrubbed edge of the table is a basic red. and shadows, with a touch of white photographic likeness of the
with watery red and a touch of Behind that, a dark patch of a thin and copious amounts of water. The objects -just apply the paint
black, it creates a warm interior. wash of black indicates a doorway. green tint is created by the colored as fast as you can. All you
pencil outline used for the drawing.
are trying to do is capture a
vibrant impression of the
simple still life in front of
you, so concentrate on the
colors. See what turns out.
If you what you have
like
done, keep it. If not, discard
it and try again.

Playing with color

An orange is orange and a banana
Orange White Yellow is yellow - but in art you can paint
Cadmium Yellow Deep combined Here, a detail of the plate shows Cadmium Yellow Light forms the an orange or a banana any color you
with pure red and a medium yellow white used at its purest. Other colors skin of the fruit, which is freckled want. There are no rules about
makes a vibrant mix. White provides break into its purity, giving a sense with typical ripe markings indicated having to stick to nature's colors.
highlights and surface reflection. of light and shadow. by random black and a touch of red. So try painting the orange blue and
the banana red.
 T^ • /-^

-^
•^
XS
.vv>
Is;
«£l i*2>

« p*

4S&>L
k/>t
C\v
V-'

f v,

> <><*
r#
fTr""'

P
3j
fr*.
ffff

*^: %
^ Afrs W^t '2 &&\*u<

'•_•.} urn
III,

\m
m
(f{ "m--

K '1
?v
4 IK
*

»fj-?"i'ii'.."^*
'«,
1
Wife I »T>a»s*B*|
A''

H Z&,
1
V&^&k
 * ->xl \Uh
uN %
j

^a i]
BE

Hi

W/^V^BEmYtI
X ;•: J
in J ©«Tut-*dj
Wl Biw ossfia]
ST*>*1 «TlST-i I

luh LLW
w£VS «i z-'-JL |
L
—
U3t)
11
W(J{jt
mJsHm
SCAM* ouiwH
'
Ir9
k&icnJ y wa*s emir

5S3?
^j^^ Mi
LAJ ll

//A
I
COLOR
?-o
BY COLOR
CHAPTER 2

^' 5^_
B«»~_feiiaroo
THcno
^_
"toim
™ HI*
i 5b- 'C

:
gm
w*
air- "vial
ffjp^ ^
*? it T-mh-h'i

W
i

r\v
ft' i 'M
i
ijyl
mm

^S"^
T?1

§' ' 'IT r//

^v .
48 Color by color

Blue *- 50*^1 *-52 53 •"Blue*" Turquoise *-54*- •-Blue*- Violet*-55«- *-Red*^ 56*-57*-58*-59*-

Hpy

Brown/Red Earth *72*^ 73*^ •Brown/Red Earth *74*75*^ Black*- 76*- 77^78 79 •-Gray*- 84*-85*^
Darks 80, 81,82. 83

m
 Color by color 49

On the following pages

we explore many of the
most popular "core"
colors that are currently
available to artists. We
learn about the history,
composition and
attributes of these

colors, and how they

have been developed
••Red*- 0range*-60*^1«- Yellow*- 62*-63*-64*-65*-66 -67 Green *-68*-69*-70*-71
Yellow Ochre 66 Green Earth 67 and refined into the
artists' pigments we
are familiar with today.

1
""*?! Wtittm

SB
- .. ..
^P*S

•Jk
>m ^«*
^
L—^"*^

nb

1 ^m
fr
^ :
r
Metallic colors,
Iridescent colors,
Fluorescent colors,
*P Interference colors, and

tor ^%w>^ EvT ^i jM ^ Mica formulations.

Due to the limitations of the four-color
printing process, it is not possible to
reproduce these special-effect colors
BP^nr^B with any degree of accuracy. See page
W£r 'ffiS^'
for further details and refer to
-^•^ w ^^~ 1
manufacturers' color charts.

•White*- 86 *-87*~ •-Metallic*- 88*-89*- Flesh*- 90*-91*-92*-93'

and special-effect colors and reddish yellow tints

See also
Optical illusions 20-21

Colors of the spectrum 24-25

The basic color wheel 26-27
Choosing media 30-35
Creative directions 96-153
Color Index 156-179
50 Blue
"In music a light blue is Blue is overwhelmingly present in our lives,

like a flute, a darker blue because it is the color of the sky, providing an ever-
a 'eel la; a still darker a changing backdrop that is echoed and reflected in
thunderous double bass;
the sea, rivers and lakes. In relation to the spectrum
ami the darkest blue of
and the color wheel, the term "blue" applies to all
all -an organ."
\\ \ssm [Link] (1866-1944) those colors that are between violet and turquoise.
Blue retains its distinct character more clearly than

the two other primary colors, red and yellow, when

white or black is added.

From space our planet looks blue.

Described by Kandinsky as the "typical
heavenly color," blue carries a sense of
The growth of blue
the spiritual. It suggests calmness and
Respect for blue increased
serenity in its lighter tones and mystery
with the discovery of the
as it approaches black. In some situations
extraction of Ultramarine
it may convey sadness and melancholy,
from lapis lazuli during
hence to have "the blues." Used in mid-bright
theMiddle Ages. It was not
clarity it is an ethereal, expansive color, while deeper, richer
until the sixteenth century,
blues have velvety depths that evoke opulence and mystique.
however, that blue was
properly recognized as
Early blues When ground this produced a soft an essential basic color.
Though blue was known blue pigment powder, a color later

and used by the ancient referred to by the Romans as Naming blues

Egyptian Blue or Alexandrian Blue. Many old names have been
civilizations, it was
considered a lesser color. superseded, but you may see
Azurite historical references to
The Greeks had no separate
Another color found in Egyptian wall the following:
word for blue, instead paintings was derived from azurite,
classifying individual blue a copper carbonate mineral related Alexandrian Blue
Antwerp Blue
colors with such terms as to malachite. This gave a deep blue
Berlin Blue
kuanos, from which we derive that veered toward green. Azurite Blue Ashes
the word "cyan." Blue as an was also used by the Greeks, Blue Bice
who obtained source mineral Blue Verditer
overall term was categorized its
Bremen Blue
as a black or dark. from Armenia, referring to it as
Delft Blue
"Armenian stone." It was still in
Egyptian Blue
use in the fifteenth century by Indian Blue
Frit
Renaissance artists, who tended to Leyden Blue
The ancient Egyptians used several Mountain Blue
use azurite as an underpainting for
shades of blue, among them a color Paris Blue
the more costly Ultramarine. The Pozzuoli Blue
that was synthesized from copper
silicates and calcium oxide. These
color was also known as azzurro Sky Blue
della magna or sometimes as Smalt
ingredients were fired with sand to Smalt Blue
Mountain Blue.
produce a ceramic glaze and a Thenard's Blue
glasslike substance known as "frit." Vestorian Blue
^^ Woad
Woad had been used in northern
What blue?
is
Europe since the time of the ancient
"Of the color between green Britons, who dyed their faces blue
inlet in the spectrum, in an effort to strike fear into the

olored like the sky or deep invading army of Julius Caesar in

•"See also
<>| things much 55bc. It was obtained from the
CI International 18-19
etc., ;is smoke. leaves of the Isatis tinctoria shrub
The four-color process 21
I
moonlight, a and was a color similar to indigo.
Turquoise 54
brui Artistmonks used woad for blue to
lified by or Violet 55
illuminate the Book of Kelts in the
qualifyii irs... i"
Color index/Blues 165-169
eighth century.
 Blue in history 51
Oriental blues
While the Greeks and, particularly, the Romans had brought
eolors and dyes from the East, the Middle Ages saw
nourishing trade routes reestablished. Two colors were
especially important - Ultramarine and Indigo.

Indigo
Indigo, as its name implies,
was imported from India.
Fermented from the leaves of
the Iridigofera tinctorwn plant,
it produced a deep purple-blue

dye that was 30 times stronger

than woad.

For painters it was available in the

form of a lake pigment produced by
dyeing. Indigo was sometimes used
Ultramarine by Renaissance artists as an
The name Ultramarine - underpainting to

meaning "from beyond the azurite to give

sea" - gives some indication depth and to

of the color's exotic standing. warm its effect.

This pigment, rich royal-to-

purple blue in color and more
expensive than gold, was
obtained from a semiprecious
gemstone called lapis lazuli
("blue stone"). Still rare, lapis
lazuli is chiefly found in
Afghanistan.

Smalt
The cost of Ultramarine was Smalt was one of the first useful
reflected in its use, and master
blues that had cobalt as an ingredient.
painters of the Renaissance were Indigo dye A deep blue color, Smalt was used
instructed to use the color to In the nineteenth century, under widely from the sixteenth to the
denote their patron's status and the Raj, the British turned Indigo eighteenth century and superseded
wealth. These artists were even production in India into a major azurite. It was ground from a glass frit
contractually required not to industry. As a textile dye, the color produced from cobalt oxide and
economize on Ultramarine by was used all over the world for J. M. [Link] (1775-1 850) is said
substituting a cheaper blue, such uniforms. Although all blues are to have used great quantities of
as azurite. Artists tended to use fugitive, Indigo is particularly prone "smalts of various intensities."
the color symbolically for the most to fading. It is still used on a large
important areas in a painting, such commercial scale for work clothes, Iznik tiles
as the Virgin Mary's robe. With the such as overalls, but the color has During the sixteenth century, the potters of

advent of paint, Ultramarine

Iznik in Turkey created beautiful glazed tiles
oil been synthesized since the early
based on geometric and floral motifs. Cobalt
appeared less saturated unless twentieth century. Perhaps its most was used
lead white was added, and
color lost favor a little.
the popular and obvious use
coloring of denim blue jeans.
is for the
blue first as a single color, but later
colors such as turquoise, copper greens and a

manganese red-purple were incorporated.

*
The stone's main coloring
component is the mineral lazurite, Blue Bice
but other components cause the Leyden Blue
Light blue could be obtained A type of cobalt blue called Leyden Blue was
pigment to take on a grayish tinge
from combining copper used as the glaze for the Dutch seventeenth-
if it is ground, so another method is century earthenware that became known as
carbonates with the precious
required to extract the brilliant blue. Delftware. In their were
turn the Dutch

The process involves mixing the

metal found in silver mines imitating the Ming Blue (also cobalt oxide) and

stone into a kind of dough that is

in India. Used in the white porcelain from China.

washed to leave a sediment. Further seventeenth century, these

washes give varying intensities. colors were descriptively
referred to as "ashes."
52 Blue
The quest for blue Modern blues
Chemical experiments and advances in industrial technology Many of the core modern
in the nineteenth century saw the discovery of new ways of blues that artists use have
synthesizing blues that were the forerunners of colors used familar names, such as
by artists today. Prussian Blue, Cobalt Blue,
French Ultramarine and
Prussian Blue Cerulean Blue Cerulean Blue. In addition
The first color to be made artificially Named from caeruleus (Latin for there are several new blues
was produced by accident. In 1704 a "blue"), this color was discovered in such as Phthalo. Monastral
paint maker called Diesbach, working 1802 by Hbpfner, a German scientist, and Indanthrene Blue.
in the Prussian city of Berlin, added who produced it through heating Manufacturers have developed
some impure potash containing cobalt and tin oxides. In 1870 it
their own colors and variations
animal oil into a cochineal lake he became an when the
artists' color
of them. With no historical
was making. The result was a English paint maker George Rowney
tradition to these colors, they
chemical mixture of ferric marketed it as Coeruleum. It is a
sometimes bear the maker's
ferrocyanide, and its color was a bright, greenish blue, particularly
deep, slightly greenish blue. suited to painting watercolor skies.
name or a descriptive name.
A powerful, staining color, Check the manufacturers'
Prussian Blue was fairly inexpensive French Ultramarine charts for accurate chemical
to produce for use in dyeing textiles Since Ultramarine was sourced descriptions.
and as artists' color. Other chemists from the rare lapis lazuli, it was

in Europe were soon making their prohibitively expensive. In 1824 the

How to make an own versions. Prussian Blue is also French Societe d'Encouragement pour
known as Berlin Blue or Paris Blue. I'lndustrie Nationale offered a prize
excellent Ultramarine Blue
Antwerp Blue is a lighter version. of 6,000 francs to any chemist who
could discover how to manufacture an
"Take lapis lazuli and grind
Cobalt Blue artificial Ultramarine. Four years later
it fine on a porphyry stone. The synthesized Cobalt Blue was
first the French color maker J. -B. Guimet
Then make a mass or paste created in 1802 by a French scientist came up with a winning recipe that
of the following ingredients: called Thenard; thus the color was included aluminosilicate, sodium
for apound of lapis, 6 ounces also known as Thenard's Blue. Its carbonate, silica and sulfur. Heating
of Greek pitch, two of mastic, chemical composition was cobalt and washing processes resulted in

one of spike or linseed oil, aluminate, and it took over from an ultramarine color that could be
Smalt. Cobalt Blue is a clean-looking changed slightly by simply adapting
and half an ounce of
blue that is neither warm nor cool and the ingredient amounts. The color
turpentine; bring it all to boil
is available in shades from light to became known as French Ultramarine,
in a pot until almost melted,
deep. Cobalt is also used to describe reflecting its provenance. Its Pigment use
then filter and gather the other colors derived from the metal, cheapness ensured that it became The blue pigments most frequently
product in cold water. Stir including violet and green. a core color for all artists. seen and widely used by modern
and mix it well with the manufacturers are PB15 Copper
powdered lapis lazuli and phthalocyanine, PB73 Cobalt silicate
lei sit for a week or so. The and PB27 Ferric ferrocyanide.

longer it rests, the better and PB15 is an ingredient in Indigo,

finer the blue will be. Next, Manganese Blue (Hue), Neutral Tint,

knead the paste with the Payne's Gray and Mauve, as well as

hands, sprinkling it w ith

the colors named Phthalo. PB73 is

used as a single pigment in Cobalt

warm water; the blue will
Blue Deep.
come OUl « ith the water. The
first, second and third rinsing
Blue pigments
should be done separately. PB1 5 Copper phthalocyanine
When you see the blue PB27 Ferric ferrocyanide

fall to the bottom ol the PB28 Cobalt aluminum oxide

container, throu out the PB29 Complex sodium
i and keep the blue.'" aluminum silicate

PB35 Cobalt tin oxide

LlBRI C'>l OKI M PB36 Cobalt chromium oxide
IRS)
PB60 Indanthrone
'
c.i 01
I i I

PB73 Cobalt silicate

if nil i '
 Mode n blue 53
Core blues Blue obsessions
The most common blues are Phthalocyanine, Cyan or One of the most well-known
Primary. Cerulean, Ultramarine and Cobalt. The pigment examples of a blue obsession
contents are usually the same, but hues vary from one maker is probably Picasso's blue
to another, depending on the formulation and the medium. period ( 1 90 -04). Many other
1

artists and movements in art

have also become known for

their association with blue.

Homage to blue
French artist Yves Klein (1928-62)
produced vivid single-hue paintings in

the 1950s. In his desire to celebrate

the full intensity of pigment, he

Chemical blues developed a new Ultramarine,
The twentieth century saw patenting it as International Klein
new synthetic chemical Blue (1KB). Suspending pure pigment
pigments and dyes that in clear resin allowed the particles of

mimicked natural colors. color to be displayed with startling

These colors have vibrancy. 1KB became Klein's

considerably expanded the trademark color.

choice available to artists.

Phthalocyanine Blue Cyan and Primary Blue

Phthalo Blue
This powerful color is made from Basic blues
copper phthalocyanine, first Many manufacturers offer
-ones
basic mixing blues
synthesized in the early 1930s. As a
that are recommended as
deep, intense blue (it is sometimes good mixers for creating

named Intense Blue), it has replaced secondary colors. Among

Prussian Blue to a great extent. MUSSINT these you will often
"
see Cyan Blue and/or
Phthalocyanine provides a variety of
(77 ® ..— Primary Blue. Cyan is
blue shades that are mostly slightly Lasur-Cyan
translucent cyan traditionally a highly
greenish, but sometimes have a saturated green-blue that
rfenie

reddish tinge - for instance, Winsor is the complementary of International Klein Blue

Blue (Green Shade) and Winsor Blue

magenta. Cyan Blue and
magenta, along with
^•^^
^^^M^^L^
(Red Shade). Other blues with
phthalocyanine as their base are ei5ml
yellow, form a set of
primary colors that are ^^11
Hortensia Blue, Monastral Blue,
Monestial Blue, Old Holland Blue,
well known within
printing industry (see
the
page m^ wr*
21). The word "cyan" is
Rembrandt Blue and Thalo Blue.
from the Greek kuanos,

Manganese Blue
meaning "dark blue."
flu \ji
1

This color, developed in the early

twentieth century, was made from
barium manganate. Described as
having "an ice-blue undertone," it
i ( j %.'
Idfc I
was a bright greenish blue, similar
h Jb mL
to Cerulean, but weaker in tinting
power. Unfortunately, the pigment
is now unavailable.
w"
Franz Marc, Blue Horse 1, 1911 (detail)

Indanthrene Blue The Blue Rider

This violet blue, similar to Indigo, Known in German as der Blaue
was developed in 1 901 . Some Reiter, this group of Expressionist
manufacturers market this color artists were associated with an art

instead of Prussian Blue, and it almanac founded by Kandinsky and

creates good dark colors when Franz Marc (1880-1916). The name
mixed with umbers. It is more was chosen because Kandinsky and
lightfast than the phthalocyanine Marc both liked the color blue and
blues, especially when used in tints. were interested in painting horses
Cobalt Blue Ultramarine Blue
It is also called Indanthrone Blue. and their riders.
54 Turquoise
The color turquoise replicates the hue of the same-
Frequently, "turquoise"
named semiprecious stone. Europeans gave the Prepared turquoise colors
is used as an adjective Manufacturers offer several colors named
mineral its name in the thirteenth century, because
to describe blue or green, turquoise, but you can mix these hues.

depending on its they imported turquoise through Turkey, although its

(From left to right, top to bottom)

particular bias. source was probably Persia. Turquoise was also found Phthalo Turquoise Light, Phthalo Turquoise,
Turquoise Blue, Turquoise Deep, Turquoise
in the American continent, where the Navajo, Zuni and Blue Deep, Phthalo Turquoise, Cobalt
Teal, Cobalt Turquoise, Cobalt Green
Hopi Indians crafted artifacts and jewelry, working
Turquoise, Cobalt Blue Turquoise Light,
turquoise with silver. Cobalt Turquoise (Hue).

Turquoise pigments
Natural turquoise varies in color from a bright greenish
Its components are hydrated
blue to a pale bluish green.
aluminum and copper phosphate. A pale turquoise green
ceramic glaze can be produced from roasting aluminum,
chromium and cobalt oxides.
There is no single synthetic organic turquoise. Artists
can simply mix turquoise from blue and green pigments,
thereby controlling the precise color of the turquoise
Blue or green
required. There arc also many prepared artists' colors
In ancient Mexico the Aztecs used
turquoise mosaics to decorate
thai novv bear the name turquoise. Manufacturers create

:-tures and precious objects,

turquoise by combining blue (PB) and green (PG) pigment Experiment with turquoise
combining the stone with jade This ingredients. These arc mainly based on phthalocyanines; these Itis easy to mix numerous varieties of
turquoise using chosen blue and green
position of the two minerals synthesized substances produce a range of blues that can veer
pigments, which allows precise control
perhaps led naturally to the use of toward red at one end, but generally tend to be greenish. Single of the required bias of the color
rtean both blue and pigmenl cobalt turquoises arc also available. They produce
point of
•'See also
t's clear, bright colors in ftatercolor, and both bright and duller Blue 50-53
because turquoise colors in oils and acrylics thai arc said to more closely
betwe Green 68-71
sits •
.vo colors in the
resemble the Opaque, matte appearance of the natural stone. Color index/Turquoise 168-169
spectrum, altho ot named
as a separate hue. Color index/Violet 165-166
 Violet 55
Violet is a secondary color and is the complementary
"/ have finally discovered
of yellow. The term violet is derived from the Old
the color of the
French "violete" or "violette," a plant or flower of the atmosphere. It is violet.
genus Viola, whose flower is of this color. Violet lies CLAUDI Mom i (1840-1926)

at one end of the visible spectrum, next to blue.

Together with mauve and purple, violet describes

colors ranging from reddish blues to bluish reds and
also violet-tinged reddish browns (Mars violets).

: ,:. ..-•-. :

B
'£'-•

;:.:-,•--•<-.- :.:-,;.
y :....-:•.•• :-
f

§s$ttm
1

Prepared violet colors Violet pigments Caput Mortuum

There are numerous manufactured violet
A number of violets exist as This is a subdued violet-brown
hues available.
pure synthetic pigments. For color seen in artists' oil colors
(From left to right, top to bottom)
example, PV15 (Ultramarine and sometimes in watercolors. Its
Brilliant Violet, Light Violet, Quinacridone
strange name, "death's head," which
Violet, Deep Violet, Ultramarine Violet, Violet), PV19 (Quinacridone)
Medium originated in the eighteenth century,
Light Blue Violet, Violet, Violet, and PV23 (Dioxazine Violet)
Dioxazine Violet, Violet Bluish, Caput is said to be derived from the color of
are frequently seen in product
Mortuum, Permanent skulls piled in the catacombs in Rome.
Violet Dark.
declarations on paint tubes. However, none of the constituents of
However, many manufactured the pigment are obtained from bone,
colors that bear the name and a more feasible explanation is

violet, including similar that the color was obtained from iron
hues, such as the mauves, salts that were baked down to their

magentas and purples, are "dying" embers. Caput Mortuum

often combinations of red or Mars Violet has a subtle violet
character that some artists find useful
and blue pigments,
in their repertoire of earth colors. It
sometimes with added
makes good flesh tones when mixed
white (see Light Blue
with white. Mars Violet is an artificial
Violet, above left). Many
pigment (red iron oxide PR1 01 ). It

of the prepared violet is a color that can be easily mixed

hues can be obtained on the palette.
by mixing. Caput Mortuum is a maroon Mars violet.
56 Red
Red is the most dynamic and vibrant color in the

"If one says 'Red' artist's palette. In its purest, saturated form it is the
(the name of a color) hottest of the warm colors. It is a color that needs to
ami there are 50 people
be used judiciously, since overuse may reduce its
listening, it can be
vibrancy. Set against its complementary, green, even
expected that there
will be 50 reds in
a small amount will sing and sparkle. It is one of the
their minds..." oldest color names - the first color word we speak
Josef Ai bi rs
(1888-1976)
of after black and white.
Cardinal Red
Red is a color with countless symbolic and contradictory In the Middle Ages, bright colors
associations in different cultures. can signify danger, or life;
It were rare - they were tedious and
good luck, as well as evil. In India red is the sacred color of difficult to produce. Hence, red

Lakshmi. the goddess of wealth and beauty, and in China a (along with purple) became the
exclusive preserve for kings, judges,
ruby represents longevity. The red planet Mars is named after
the nobility, and the pope and his
the Roman god of war. Early physicians wore red robes to
cardinals, in 1464 Pope Paul II

signify their healing profession, and doors were painted with

introduced "Cardinals' Purple,"
a red cross to signify the presence of the bubonic plague.
which was not purple, but a red

dye made from the kermes insect.

The first red palettes Earth reds
Red was a difficult color to Red iron-oxide pigments produce
make successfully and early many reddish hues with similar
properties, but slightly different
pigments were often fugitive,
variations, such as Mars Red and
turned black when mixed Red-letter day
Venetian Red with light, warm tones
with others and were The early Christian church used red
and Indian Red, Mars Violet and
sometimes extremely toxic. for directions in prayer books to
Caput Mortuum, which are darker,
guide the conduct of church services
Early red pigments were cooler versions. Earth reds are
and to show feast days on the
mostly made from earth permanent, lightfast colors with
ecclesiastical calendar, and so a
colors, berries, roots, insects good covering power. Other color
red-letter day became a lucky day.
and and many of the
resins, names within this category are
red paints were originally known as English Red, Pompeiian
obtained from dyes. Red, Persian Red, Sinopia and Terra
Rosa (see Brown and Red Earth,
The Egyptians found a
pages 72-75). These colors can
way of fixing dyes onto a
be either natural or synthetic.
powder
transparent white
(probably gypsum or even
Realgar
chalk); paint pigments Realgar was made from red arsenic
made by this process are sulfide. was a natural pigment
It

termed "lakes." Much later, found in volcanic areas and hot

Renaissance artists also used springs, and was used in ancient
A red lake pigments from Mesopotamia. The word realgar
stems from "rahj al-ghar" (Arabic
resinous sources, such as
brazil wood, and the Indian
for "powder of the mine"). Now an
obsolete pigment, its use continued
lac and kermes insects.
until the nineteenth century, when it

What red?is
was no longer used because of its
Scarlet women
Red lead
"Of OT approaching the color extreme toxicity. Red is associated with lust, and a
Once a highly prized color, first
woman suspected of committing
n at the least-refracted
manufactured by the Greeks, this
adultery in Puritan times was branded
ol spectrum, of shades
pigment is not used by artists •"See also with a scarlet letter. Even before
from crimson to today, because composed of 18-19
it is CI International Christianity linked red with the devil,
•
n and orange, lead monoxide and lead peroxide Violet 55
the color had negative connotations.
esp '

n in blood. ami, therefore, highly toxic It is also Orange 60-61

An ancient Egyptian incantation,
rubie oals, human known as Minium or Saturn Red. It Brown and Red Earth 72-75
praying for salvation from evil, was
lips, and in. hair..." was used for many years to protect Color index/Reds 161-165
"Oh, Isis deliver me from the hands
steel from rusting. Color index/Earths 174
of all bad, evil, red things."
 Red in history 57
Dragon's Blood
Also called Indian cinnabar by the
Greeks, Pliny maintained that the
color came from a mixture of an
elephant's and a dragon's blood,
following a fierce battle between the
two beasts. In fact, it is a red-brown
resin produced by the sap of an
Asian shrub known as Calamus
draco. The leaves have prickly stalks

Using red to attract attention that grow to resemble long tails and
Red attracts the attention of the the bark is covered with spines.
viewer, because the color appears to
advance, making red objects seem
closer than they actually are. This
visual phenomenon occurs because
red has the longest wavelength of

all visible light. Artists can use this

property of red to their advantage
for added dimension. Making some Vermilion
colors warmer will make them stand The Greeks made an artificial form
out from a picture's surface, while of cinnabar, called Vermilion, which
cooler colors will appear to recede. was an orange-red pigment. The
recipe was not known in the West
until the twelfth century, and it took
another 300 years for the pigment to
be in common use. Again, it was the
best bright red available. The color
was often used in manuscript
painting where it was glazed with
either egg yolk or "glair" (egg
white). Similarly, in painting
Vermilion was often glazed with
madder or cochineal lakes in order
Naming reds
to increase the purity of the color.
A wide variety of reds is available in longer relevant. Here are some of
Vermilion is made by heating
any of the media. Many of the colors the names you may find to describe
mercury and sulfur together in a
are also known under secondary various hues of red pigments:
flask. The combined substances
names - Alizarin Crimson is also
vaporize and recondense at the top Alizarin Crimson
referred to as Rose Madder or
Cinnabar of the flask in the form of a black Bright Red
Permanent Madder, for instance.
Red
Cinnabar, the precursor to Vermilion, mixture. A red color develops as Brilliant

was made from a dense hard rock.

Some manufacturers attach their Burgundy
the mixture is cleaned. The longer
own names to colors they have Cadmium Red
According to Theophrastus (c. 300bc) it is ground, the brighter the color Carmine
developed, such as Winsor Red.
in The History of Stones, cinnabar becomes. Cennini claimed that "if Chinese Vermilior
There are individual inconsistencies
ore was dislodged from inaccessible you ground it every day for 20 years, Crimson
that only become apparent to the Florentine Red
cliffs by shooting arrows to loosen the color would still become finer
artist after time and familiarity with French Vermilion
it. The chief mining area for cinnabar and more handsome." Vermilion Genuine Red
was Almaden in Spain. The Romans a medium or particular paint
continued to be used until the mid- Geranium
manufacturer. Generally speaking,
made paint from cinnabar and it was to late twentieth century. Helios Red
oil colors tend to have old names, Intense Red
their only source of a bright orange-
T while new media such as gouache Magenta
red color. It was not as bright as
Munich Lake
or acrylic are often given more
Vermilion, although both are forms Nacarat Carmine
descriptive color names. Flame Red,
of mercuric sulfide. Naphthol Red
for example, is a gouache name that Pyrrole Red
is very close in terms of handling Rose
"Judas hair"
Rowney Red
A term used to denote bright-colored hair and range of color mixing abilities to
Ruby
in paintings, particularly red hair. The the oil Cadmium Red.
paint called
Scarlet
expression originated, because artists Often, an old name may be attached Transparent Red
traditionally gave Judas distinctive red to a paint color, but it is now made Vermilion
hair in paintings. Winsor Red
synthetically and the problems of
diBondone (1267-1337)
Giotto
permanence or toxicity that were
The Kiss of Judas, c. 1305-06
associated with it in the past are no
(detail)
58 Red
Alizarin Crimson Madders
In general Alizarin Madder Lake and Rose Madder are now
Crimson mixes
produced synthetically, but the color
well with blues
to obtain violet
was originally made from the root of the
Purples and madder plant Rubia tinctorum. Native to
.
.violets mixed Greece, it was introduced into France and
''
with Cadmium
Italy in the twelfth century. George Field,
Red tend to be
a great colorman of the nineteenth century,
brownish in color.
who supplied John Constable (1776-1837)
Cadmium Red and William Holman Hunt (1827-1910),
Preparing natural madder
Cadmium Red. invented a press in order to extract the dye
Alun Foster, chief chemist
however, is
h
atWinsor & Newton from the madder root.
good for mixing
with yellows to
Crimson and Carmine
produce a clean
bright orange.
The original paint colors known as
crimson or carmine were precursors
Complementary of Alizarin Crimson. The names
color come from the kermes insect, from
As the comple- Dried madder root
which this color dye was first
mentary of green,
extracted. The sixteenth century saw
Genuine madders
red is a useful
Winsor & Newton are the only the introduction of the same color
color for toning
remaining large commercial derived from the cochineal beetle
down bright company to produce a natural
Dactylopius coccus. This tiny
saturated greens. madder in artists' colors, one
Eventually, the that has a pinkish rose hue.
Mexican Coccus cacf/-eating insect
two mixed The pigment declaration NR9 produces a transparent and highly
together, with
shows the product contains fugitive color when ground and
genuine madder. However,
the addition of precipitated on clay. There are
many modern colors (see left)
white, will create approximately 70,000 insects per
bear the name madder, and
either a greenish pound of cochineal. The color was
these vary in hue from a
gray or a warm medium rose color to a darkish held in high regard by the Aztecs,
pinkish gray. violet-brown and contain
and it was brought to Europe shortly
various synthetic organic
pigment combinations. after the discovery of Central and
South America. Today, it is more
commonly used as a food coloring,

Synthetic madders range in hue from light, pinkish rose to deep reddish browns. because as a paint it proved to be
Reds in the artist's palette extremely fugitive. Paints using the
As one of the primary colors, Red legs
word carmine or crimson are now
Natural madder produced
red one of the most
is
the deepest and most
synthetically produced.

important elements in the permanent reds until the

invention of Alizarin Scarlet Lake
artist's paintbox. Different
Crimson in the 1860s.
artists choose different colors Scarlet Lake is made from various
The French government
for their palette according attempted to protect its pigments, but itwas originally a
traditional madder-growing mixture of Vermilion and Cochineal
to individual preferences,
industry by making it the Lake. The color is also known as
but a minimum palette will compulsory red dye for
Scarlet Vermilion.
Madder plant
army-uniform trousers.
invariably include Alizarin Rubia tinctorum
Crimson, a coolish blue-red. Chrome Red
and Cadmium Red. a warm Alizarin Crimson Orange-red was derived from
orange-red. Alizarin Crimson Alizarin Crimson is a synthetic substitute
chromium, discovered in the early
for madder and was first introduced by two
is a transparent color and nineteenth century. Although
German chemists, Graebe and Liebermann,
good for glazing, especially brilliant in hue, the color is toxic
in 1868. It was the first natural dye to be

m oils and acrylics for had

and unstable and is no longer used.
manufactured artificially. By 1920, it

replaced most of the old lakes and madders, It is also called Chinese Red.
adding a blush to a cheek, for
which were often weak colors that
mple - while Cadmium
discolored rapidly and were not lightfast. Aniline reds
opaque and has
i

Alizarin Crimson is a color with a strong A number of aniline pigments were

lenl and greater staining power - a goes a long way.
little
developed in the 1850s and 1860s
rom these I It is also transparent and is, therefore,
(see page 81 Among these were a
).

two reds, possible to mix used a lot with glazes.

it i
cherry red that was named fuchsin
a wide spectrum "I colors. and a violet-red that was named

Magenta after the battle of 1859.

 Modern rec 59
New reds
The twentieth century has seen the advent of new chemical
pigments that have considerably augmented the artist's choice
of reds. Many of these provide reliable versions of natural
colors that are unstable.

Quinacridones
The first quinacridone colors were
brought onto the market in the 1950s.

These are a wide and vibrant range of

reds that range through oranges,

pinks and purples. They have

gradually replaced most of the lake

colors and provide new colors,

particularly increasing the choice of

bright magentas. They are lightfast

and resistant and, even in their oil

Cadmium colors versions, have a luminous quality. In

In 1 8 1 7 the heavy metal acrylic and watercolor, they provide Inspired by red
cadmium was discovered transparent luminosity and clean
The Fauves
by the German scientist mixes. A particularly deep dark or
The Fauves (French for "wild
Friedrich Strohmeyer. By colored black may be obtained from
Sample selection cadmiums
beasts") were the first artists to
the mid-nineteenth century, of
mixing Quinacridone Crimson with break away from using descriptive
various cadmium colors were
Phthalo Green. color and to use it as an emotive
being developed. Brilliant in
vehicle. Prime among them was
hue, they were opaque and Peryiene Red Henri Matisse (1869-1954), one of
also reliable to [Link]
Developed in the 1980s, these are the great colorists of the twentieth
colors all veer toward the
strong deep brown-red and maroon century. His influence can be seen
hotter part of the spectrum
pigments. In mixes they produce in the early works of Andre Derain
through the red/orange/
warm darks. (1880-1 954), who chose a bright,
yellow range.
emotional palette before reverting
Pyrrole Red to more subtle, traditional colors.
Cadmium Red
As their name implies, this
Cadmium Red was not introduced
until the early 1900s, since
has become a core red. Developed
from Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium
when it
is a group of bright, fiery

orange-red colors. They were

first introduced in the 1 990s,
fP
:
m
mm WoTTtHklO
- (»fn*cT]

Red made from cadmium sulfide

is and they are lightfast, have ^^ •: =8

and cadmium selenide. Top-quality reasonable opacity and ^P

ranges are composed of pure produce clean mixes that
cadmium, while cheaper makes are Sample selection quinacridones may give them an advantage IP
Kit
of
a cadmium-barium mixture, which
has less tinting strength and may
over cadmium colors.
4£
produce a less vibrant color. Naphthol Red
^|
Cadmium Red
important colors
palette and
for Vermilion.
is
is

in
one of the
the artist's
the best substitute
It is a very bright, hot
most Naphthol reds are a large
group of organic pigments,
first introduced in the 1 920s. *«*•
£ #
They range from yellow-shade reds Color field painting
red. Paint manufacturers will often
right through to deep crimsons, and The American painters of the 1 950s and
have a variety of Cadmium Reds in
1960s developed a style of abstract
they belong to one of the most
their chart designated as light, painting that became known as Abstract
complex chemical families. The main
medium and dark. Expressionism. The work of the artist
factor that is of concern to artists is
In a limited palette, Cadmium Mark Rothko (1903-70) emerged from
Red is often balanced by the the variable lightfastness of the movement. Rothko's work was
this

category, with some Naphthols reliant on the pure sensation of color.

inclusion of Alizarin Crimson, which
He painted huge canvases, overlaying
acts as a cooler red. It makes an being unsuitable for artists' colors.
large areas of color, so that the field of
opaque permanent color, but there The more commonly used high-
color seemed to go beyond the picture
are some concerns with toxicity, lightfast pigments are PR1 1 2, plane to allow the viewer to become
particularly if undiluted pigment is
PR170 and PR188, which appear as totally absorbed by the emotional
Sample selection of magentas
used instead of ready-made paint. impact of color.
Naphthol Red Light, Naphthol Red
Medium and Scarlet Lake.
60 Orange
The color oranse is named after the Sanskrit word
"narangah" for the fruit. Orange conjures up warmth
"Orange is like a man,
and vibrancy, and the color appears in the hot part of
convinced of his own
the spectrum between red and yellow. In pigment
powers. Its note is that
of tli e an gel us, or of an
form orange may often have a slight bias toward
old violin." either red or yellow. Although it may be mixed from
WASsm Kandinsky (1866-1944) these two primaries, the clearest and brightest
oranges are single-pigment hues.

Different proportions of ingredients

gave deeper shades. The chrome
colors were not lightfast and most
were later replaced by cadmiums.
Some modern oranges
Chrome Orange was also known by
several other names, including
Advances in chemical
Persian Red and Derby Red.
synthesis in the twentieth
century have given the artist

new orange pigments that are

Cadmium Orange
There huge number of cadmium
bright, clear and lightfast.
is a

colors that range from pale yellow

Among these are the
to deep red. Cadmium was first perinone. benzimidazolone
Antonio Mensaque discovered as a byproduct of zinc and pyrrole oranges.
Oranges, 1863 production in the early part of the
Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire nineteenth century, but cadmium Perinone Orange
Collection of The National Trust colorswere not widely used until An intense orange with a red bias,

much later, when cadmium was this color was first used as a dye in

more generally available. Cadmium the 1920s. Eventually produced as

Orange has traditionally been Orange is a bright warm color that is a lake pigment, it is available in

composed of cadmium sulfide and light or dark shades. In watercolor

sourced from earth colors
cadmium selenide. It is a reliable, it may appear to be a granular and
ranging from golds to
permanent color and has good semiopaque pigment. It is lightfast
browns. The toxic Realgar, and sometimes combined with
covering [Link] makers add is

derived from volcanic aluminum flakes produce a

Cadmium Red to Cadmium Orange to
minerals, which was used to increase its reddish tone and the copper-looking metallic paint.
from ancient times and range of colors available.
through the Renaissance Benzimidazolone Orange
iew period right up until the This mid-orange has a slight yellow

nineteenth century, could be bias. It is a reliable, staining color,

and today it is often used instead
classified as a red-orange.
of Cadmium Orange. These
New mid-oranges were
"azo" colors are often given
developed from chromium
manufacturers' names; an example
and cadmium in the early
is Winsor Orange. They may not be
nineteenth century, and as strong as cadmium colors when
recent improvements in mixed, but they have good lightfast
synthetic color manufacture properties.

have ensured reliable,

lightfast versions of these. Pyrrole Orange
The pyrrole pigments were
discovered in the early 1980s and
Chrome Orange create colors in the orange to red
This bright reddish orange was sector. Pyrrole Orange is a bright
developed from chromium in 1809. mid-orange that is transparent and
It was produced by the reaction lightfast. This is another color thai
*~Se e also of lead nitrate with potassium
may be used as a substitute for
U International 18-19 chromate and sodium hydroxide, and Cadmium Orange, and it produces a
the resulting mixture was filtered
broad range of colors when mixed.
Yellow 62-65 and dried to produce the pigment.
Color index/Orange 161
 Orange 61
Experimenting with orange
Orange exists as a single pigment
(see page 18), but it is one of the

easiest and most satisfying

secondary colors to mix from reds
and yellows.

" Warm red, intensified

by a suitable yellow,
is orange."

Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944)

Prepared orange hues Naming orange

Manufacturers offer several prepared Orange used as a name to describe

orange hues. Many are single pigment a color was unknown until the

oranges and will carry the declaration importation of the fruit into Europe
PO, followed by the appropriate in the Middle Ages. Even in the
reference number. Others are mixed fifteenth century, Cennini

pigments containing red PR and yellow describes Realgar, which is an

PY ingredients. obvious orange hue, as a yellow.

(From top to bottom, left to right)

Cadmium Yellow Orange (Old Holland)

Scheveningen Orange (Old Holland)

Perinone Orange (Winsor & Newton)
Chrome Orange Hue (Rowney)
Brilliant Orange (Liquitex)

Cadmium Orange Azo (Talens)

Transparent Pyrrole Orange (Golden)

Cadmium Orange (Lukas)

Indo Orange Red (Liquitex)

Burnt Orange
Cadmium Orange (Tri-Art)
There are various hues carrying the
Cadmium Orange (Rowney)
descriptive name orange that veer
Cadmium Orange (Tri-Art) toward transparent reddish browns.
Cadmium Orange (Maimeri) Among them are Chinese Orange and
Qumacridone Burnt Orange.
62 Yellow
Yellow is a versatile primary color and an
indispensable mixing ingredient in the artist's

palette. The yellow family ranges in hue from acid

cool green-yellows to clean crisp lemons, and it

includes pure unbiased primary yellows, rich warm

cadmiums and chromes, and neutral creamy, fleshy
Naples and earthy ochres.

Yellow is perhaps the most schizophrenic

"There are painters zelio
of colors in terms of the associations it

transform the sun into a holds and the uses to which it is put.
yellow spot, but there are Yellow may suggest sunshine and
others who, thanks to cheerfulness, or sickness and cowardice.
While yellow primroses and daffodils herald the spring,
their art and their
yellow and black stripes signal the warning of a wasp's sting
intelligence, transform a
or the danger of heavy machinery. Yellow has highly emotive
yellow spot into the sun." connections. Yellow ribbons tied on trees signify hope and
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) optimism for returning loved ones.

Origins of yellow Yellow Ochre

Yellows are derived from the Yellow ochres,
or earths, have
earth, from arsenic, plants and Naming yellows
continued to be
even cow's urine. The word These are some of the names for
used throughout history and provide
"yellow" comes from the Old yellows that you may see:
strong, economical, opaque color.
English "geolu"; and similar Aureolin Indian Yellow
Yellow Ochre consists of a mixture
names for yellow are found in Azo Yellow Lead-Tin Yellow
of clay, siliceous matter and Barium Yellow Lemon Yellow
Old Saxon and Old High hydrated iron oxide (limonite). It is Brilliant Yellow Massicot
German ("gelo"), and in Old known by many names, including Cadmium Lemon Naples Yellow
Norse ("gulr"). The Latin for Earth Yellow, Mars Yellow and Cadmium Yellow Orpiment
Chrome Yellow Paris Yellow
yellow is helvus and a similar Mineral Yellow (see page 66).
Cobalt Yellow Vanadium Yellow
word Helios is the name of Gamboge Winsor Yellow
theGreek sun god, a name Orpiment Golden Ochre Yellow Ochre
The Egyptians Hansa Yellow Zinc Yellow
that has been appropriated to
identify certain modern brands developed a
brighter, more
of yellow.
acidic yellow
mineral pigment,
Prehistoric yellow
a sulfide of
Yellow was one of the four colors
arsenic, known
used by the cave painters of the
as orpiment.
Stone Age; yellow and red earth, It came from
white chalk, and black carbon have Smyrna and has
been dubbed the "prehistoric been identified

primaries." The iron content in the in Egyptian,

earth gives the yellow and red hues Persian, Syrian and Chinese
Plant yellows
a full, soft quality, evident in the painting. It is mentioned in the
Turmeric and saffron have been used as
writings of Pliny and, later, by colors. Saffron a bright yellow color
cave paintings of Lascaux and is

Cennini. This highly poisonous and obtained from Crocus sativus, but it is
Altamira. Yellow earths and ochres
unpleasant-smelling color was also said to fade badly in daylight
are still used to this day.
used in medieval and Renaissance •"See also
\\h;ii isyellow? manuscript illumination, from Europe CI International 18-19
"Ot the color between green Massicot
and Ireland to Persia and Byzantium. Orange 60-61
and orange in the spectrum, A lead-monoxide earthy yellow
Much later it was made chemically
pigment, massicot was a byproduct
Yellow Ochre 66
colored like buttercup or and known as King's Yellow. Other
of the production of red lead, made Brown and Red Earth 72-75
primros* 01 lemon or sulfur names for it are Arsenic Yellow and
by the Greeks. Color index/Yellows 157-159
or gold..." Chinese Yellow.
Color index/Yellow Ochres 172
|
,»
 Yellow in history 63

The gold-leaf maker Helios

"...hammers gold thin for painters, illuminators The Greek sun god Helios is often represented
and other artists; gold is ground and rubbed as a charioteer driving the sun across the sky.
into writing material; it is also woven and The names Helios and Helio have been
sewn into textiles..." adopted as appropriate brand names for

Standebuch (The Book of Trades), Nuremberg, 1568 certain bright yellow pigments.

Gold
Heraldic convention ignores
yellow as a color, but uses it

to represent gold. Real gold

leaf was reserved for the
most prestigious and sacred
works of art. Fifteenth- and
sixteenth-century writings
refer to the use of powdered
gold as a watercolor for
illuminating manuscripts. The
grinding of gold as a pigment
is a difficult process because Indian Yellow

of the softness of the metal,

Along with Mummy Brown (see page
75), the process of obtaining Indian
On the character of yellow colors according to Cennini
but there mention of
is
Yellow may be considered rather
ground gold being suspended "A color known as giallorino is yellow, and it is a
offensive. It is reputed to have
in honey as a binder.
involved precipitating the urine of manufactured one. It is very solid, and heavy as stone, and hard
cows that had been force-fed with to break up. This color is used in fresco and lasts forever. ..it is
mango leaves. Its manufacture, from a very handsome yellow color; for with this color with other
just one village, was banned in the mixtures... attractive foliage and grass colors are made."
1 920s by the Indian government in an
effort to protect the cows from such "A color known as orpiment is yellow. This color is an
an unhealthy diet. This bright, golden artificial one. It is made by alchemy and is really poisonous.
color is now replicated chemically,
And in color it is a handsome yellow more closely resembling
although it may lack the precise
gold than any other color. It isvery good for painting on
character of the original! Indian
Yellow was most successful for
shields and lances. A mixture of this color with Bagdad indigo
watercolor, and had substantial
gives a green color for grasses and foliage.... Beware of soiling
lightfast properties. It is the bright your mouth with it, lest you suffer personal injury."
yellow used in jewel-like Indian
miniatures.
"A color known as realgar is yellow. This color is really
Gamboge
This yellow pigment from Cambodia
poisonous. We do not use it, except sometimes on panel. There
was first imported into Europe in the
isno keeping company with it. When you want to work it up,
seventeenth century. Derived from adopt those measures which I have taught you for the other
the resin of the Garcinia hanburyi colors. It wants to be ground a great deal with clear water. And
tree, it incorporates its own binder. look out for yourself."
It is moderately lightfast, so is only
suitable for watercolor. Cennino Cennini, The Craftsman's Handbook (Fifteenth Century)
 64 Yellow
Yellow "pinks" Modern yellows
Up until the late seventeenth The advances in chemistry during the eighteenth and
and carls eighteenth centuries nineteenth centuries brought a wide range of new yellows.
the word "pink" was often Particularly important were the yellow pigments derived
used to describe yellow hues. from chromium and cadmium.
Manx of these yellows were Artists today call on core yellows that include many
derived from plants and cadmium colors, as well as colors with traditional and
berries and other natural historical pedigrees. With the exception of natural Yellow
sources, such as seashells. Ochre, nearly all of these latter colors are made of synthetic
A "pink" was produced by ingredients, which ensures their permanence.
dyeing a white substance,
such as chalk, and was, Chrome Yellow
in effect, a chemically The metal chromium was discovered
simplified version of a lake. in 1797 by N. L. Vauquelin, a French
chemist. Its constituents were of Cadmium Yellow
various colors, so he named it In the late 1840s, cadmium yellows
"chrome" (from Greek for "color"). were introduced. Produced from
Vauquelin developed Chrome Yellow cadmium sulfide, the pigment was
by mixing lead acetate or lead expensive. Cadmium colors still offer

nitrate with potassium chromate an important element in the artist's

to produce lead chromate. The palette. As well as providing a range
manufacture of this color began of hues, they have good durability
in the early 1800s and was in full and heat resistance, although humid
flow by 1820. Similar in hue to atmospheres may affect their

orpiment, it soon replaced its lightfast properties. Manufacturers

poisonous predecessor, but it usually provide Cadmium Yellow in

had disadvantages, too. It had a three tones - medium and

light,
Naples Yellow
tendency to discolor on exposure to deep - ranging from pale primrose,
A favorite color among painters,
light and became darker as it aged. to golden, to orange. There are also
Naples Yellow, sometimes known
Chrome Yellow was also known as different tones of Cadmium Lemon.
as Antimony Yellow, was used in
Paris Yellow or Leipzig Yellow. The
European painting as early as the
color has now largely been replaced
fourteenth century. It is believed
Aureolin
by the more reliable cadmiums. A cobalt yellow became available
that its original source was the
in the 1860s when William Winsor
volcanic earth of Mount Vesuvius
Chrome Lemon introduced Aureolin. The color was
near Naples, but, by the seventeenth
By altering the amount of lead developed from a cobalt salt
century, the color was made from
chromate in the pigment, a range of precipitated in acid solution with a
lead antimoniate. Today, Naples
different colors could be made from solution of potassium nitrite. An
Yellow is made with various
Among the "pink" names you chromium, from a pale primrose to a expensive pigment, it has good
pigments. The color is widely
may see to describe colors with deep orange-scarlet color. By about lightfast properties, but it can
available in oil in light, medium and
a decidedly brownish-yellow hue 1830, three further pigments were decompose when subjected to heat
deep tones and in warm pinkish
are Brown Pink (top), Italian Pink developed from chromium. These or a change in acidity. The color is
yellow hues, too. It is also produced
(middle) and Stil de Grain (bottom). were barium chromate, strontium most suitable as a watercolor.
as watercolor and acrylic. Artists
£*<*
chromate and zinc yellow, and all
generally find it lightfast, with
were sold as Lemon Yellow. All Hansa yellows
excellent handling qualities.
three colors were semitransparent, The Hansa yellows were developed
— -*- *xc *"
Tv"^
fc
- - "rtT— *'
by the German chemical company
••- ,
but the most permanent was

m strontium, which was a cool, Hoechst at the beginning of the

light yellow. Again, however, twentieth century. They are derived

even strontium tended to turn from "azo" dyes, after which the
greenish in oils. colors are sometimes named. You
may also see them with trade or

Warm yellows brand names, such as Winsor

(Right, from top to bottom} Yellow. The colors range from cool
Naples Yellow, Naples Yellow Deep, lemon yellows to warm golden
*~ Se e also Naples Yellow Reddish yellows. Significantly for such bright
Yellow Ochre 66 Some manufacturers offer pinkish
colors, they do not darken when
72-75 combination pigments that fall into the
used fully saturated.
yellow name category, but look more pink
,-93
than yellow. Examples of these colors are
Color index/Yellows 157-159
Jaune Bnllant and the Naples Yellow
Color index/Yellow Ochres 172 Reddish hues (see Flesh colors, page 90)
 Modern yellow 65
Indian Yellow,
Gamboge and Golden Yellows
Nearly all of of the older pigment
yellows are now synthesized from
combinations of red and yellow
pigments. Indian Yellow is

formulated from diarylide yellow

pigment PY83 and synthetic iron

oxide PR101. Many of the closer

hues, often named Golden
Yellows in catalogs, share similar
ingredients. The exception is

Gamboge Genuine, which is still

available made from naturally
occurring gum resin NY24.
Lemon Yellow
Lemon Yellow may now be made JOOOOC
from one of the arylamide synthetic
organic pigments or nickel titanate.
The color is a cool, clear acidic

Pigment formulations
yellow that
for mixing powerful

oranges.
is considered useful
greens and
transparent, with a
H Yellow Ochre
Yellow Ochre is an important

H
It is
Most yellows are made from a
natural mineral yellow and has
single pigment formulation and somewhat weak tinting power.
been used since prehistoric times. It
employ chemicals such as cadmium
is still made from natural iron oxide
zinc sulfide, arylamide, nickel
PY43 (see page 66). Many other
titanate, potassium cobaltrinitrate
ochre colors, such as Gold Ochre,
and natural iron oxides. A few
may now be replicated by synthetic
members of the yellow family are
iron oxide ingredients (see Brown
combination pigments, which can
be approximated in mixes. *D©OOQOOOOOOOQOe and Red Earth, pages 72-75).

Cadmium Yellow Deep is a good

example where the yellow element
has been warmed up with orange to
Van Gogh and yellow
give deeper hues. Naples Yellows Vincent van Gogh
have been softened and neutralized (1853-90) often used
with additional white and ochres, yellow in his vibrant
and they are closely related to earth paintings. Setting up his
and oxide colors in hue. studio in Aries, the south
of France, in the Yellow
House, he painted his
surroundings of
cornfields, sunflowers
and yellow rooms.

Unfortunately, many of Vincent's vivid

yellows have not aged well. In the

nineteenth century, many artists adopted
chrome yellows to replace earlier yellow
" . . it would be easy to define pigments that were unreliable or

by association the physical susceptible to fading, such as Gamboge and

original Indian Yellow. But, Chrome Yellow,
effects of color, not only upon
too, brought problems. In many paintings
the eye but the other senses.
the color has turned green and, in some
One might say that bright
cases, nearly black. Even van Gogh's
yellow looks sour, because it
famous sunflowers have darkened, and
recalls the taste of a lemon." thesomewhat sickly yellows that appear
Wassily Kandinsky inmany of his pictures are signs that the
(1866-1944) Chrome Yellow is deteriorating.
66 Yellow Ochre
Ochres
A selection of colors whose
ingredient is PY42, synthetic yellow
iron oxide. Ochre hues can vary from

MM light brownish yellows to darker

reddish yellows.

Yellow Ochre is a dull

yellow earth pigment. It is
one of the oldest natural
minerals and has been in use
since prehistoric times. Like
all earth pigments, it is mined
Since the 1920s manufacturers have also
used synthetic yellow iron oxide PY42,
Other ochres to be found are:
Attish Light Ochre [Link]
r
from surface deposits and is,
therefore, easily accessible
and fairly cheap to obtain.
which replicates the permanent and
qualities of mined Yellow Ochre. However,
can also be more transparent, because of the
lightfast

it
Bronze Yellow
Burnt Yellow Ochre
Deep Ochre
Flesh Ochre
^
Gold/Golden Ochre
absence of clay. Natural Yellow Ochre PY43
The natural yellow iron-oxide Mars Yellow
is found in many places, including India, South
Nickel Azo Yellow
pigment is PY43. Yellow

A
Africa, Italy and the USA. France also has good Orange Ochre
Ochre is usually listed among deposits of high grade ochre. Past names, such Roman Ochre
Yellow Oxide
the yellows in art materials as Oxford Ochre from the Shotover Hills,

manufacturers' literature. Oxford, England, relate to other sources Modern pigment production
at the Maimeri plant in Italy
and its hue can vary from a of the color

reddish brown to an earthy, Palaeolithic cave paintings,

golden yellow. It is said that c. 15,000bc

the higher the iron content As far as we can tell, the

Palaeolithic artists used a limited
the darker the hue becomes.
palette of three colorfast
pigments: yellow, red and black.
All the colors are based on
iron-oxide deposits from the
earth, and carbon, thought to
•"See also be from fire ashes.
story 12-15
•

Brown and Red Earth 72-75

Colors for free 144
r
Color Index/Yellow Ochres 172

Color Index/Siennas 172

 Green Earth 67

Green Earth is a natural

pigment (PG23), ranging in
color from yellow-olive green
to a gray-blue green. It is one
of the earliest known pigments
and is commonly known as
Terre Verte or Terra Verde. Its
Green Earth straight from the tube
origins, unlike other earth
and in tint with Titanium White
pigments, which are iron
(From left to right, top to bottom)
oxides, are commonly from
Green Earth (Old Holland)
marine clays containing iron
Terre Verte (Taiens)
silicate. The mineral contents
Terre Verte (Senneiier)
are mainly celadonite (bluish
Verona Green Earth (Lukas)
gray) or glauconite (dark
brownish olive).

Creta viridis Green Earth colors

Records of Green Earth date back to A variety of Green Earths and hues
Roman times, when it was used as are similar to traditional Terre Verte.

a base for frescoes and called Creta Green Earth colors are available
viridis. It has also been discovered from most manufacturers in nearly
in wall paintings in Pompeii, Asia all the popular media.
Minor and India. In medieval and
(From left to right, top to bottom)
Renaissance painting, Green Earth
Green Earth (Taiens)
was incorporated as an underpainting
Green Earth (Senneiier)
for flesh tones (see pages 112-11 3).

Natural Green Earth is translucent

Green Umber (Lukas Studio)

and has a high oil absorption and is

Olive Green (Taiens)

well suited to water-based media. In Green Earth (Lukas Sorte 1)

Natural and synthetic sources the past the pigment was mixed with Rowney Olive (Rowney)

Green Earth sources are not as various plants, such as parsley, rue Bohemian Green Earth (Lukas)

widespread as iron oxides and the and columbine, to enhance its

Green Earth (Old Holland)

natural deposits of the pigment, greenness. When heated, Green Earth

Olive Green (Winsor & Newton)
mainly from Cyprus and central turns brown and is sometimes known
Greenish Umber (Taiens)

Europe, are almost exhausted. A as Green Umber.

Other trade names you may see are:
famous source of the mineral was *~See also
Belgian Green Holly Green
near Verona in Italy; hence, its name CI International 18-19
Celadon Green Rhenish Earth
Terra Verde di Verona, dating to the Green 68-71 Cyprus Green Saxon Earth
Middle Ages. Current manufacturers Green Bice Tyrol Green
Brown and Red Earth 72-75
Green Stone Venice Green
may replace the natural earth with Renaissance skin tones 112-113 Hessian Verona Green
Phthalo (PG7) or Viridian (PG18) plus
Color index/Greens 171
yellow or brown oxide.
Color index/Ochres 172
68 Green
"Grass green and aspen- Chlorophyll is the source of green
green, Laurel-green and in the earth's vegetation. It traps the
sea-green, Fine-emerald sunlight and retains the red and blue-
green, And many violet parts of the visible spectrum,
another hue;
allowing the green portion to be
As green commands the
variables of green reflected. Green lies between yellow
So love my loves of you." and blue in the color spectrum and is readily mixable

Robert Graves (1895-1985) on the palette from blue and yellow.

Variables of Green

Green in history
Most descriptions of early Pigment green (PG)
green pigments refer to In art materials terms, green
copper and arsenic pigment in its own
exists as a
ingredients, which were on products
right, identified
common until the invention as PG (pigment green). For
of synthetic pigments in the example, you will come
nineteenth century. across PG7 Phthalo Green,
PG8 Naphthol Green and
Copper green and malachite PG18 Viridian as single
The history of malachite runs closely pigments. Conversely, several
parallel to that of azurite (see Blue,
Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1742-86) greens available are made of
page 50). Malachite is a naturally
combinations of pigments
occurring copper green derived from Scheele's Green
and contain yellow, blue and
a basic carbonate of copper. It is In 1775, while experimenting with
arsenic, Swedish chemist white (see page 70).
found in many parts of the world, Carl

usually in association with azurite. Wilhelm Scheele discovered an acid,

Among the obsolete names for this copper arsenite. Scheele did not Naming greens
bright green pigment are Mineral immediately publish details for the Green is the largest color family
Green, Mountain Green and manufacture of this copper green discernible to the human eye. Prior
Hungarian Green. pigment, because he felt that to the standardization of pigment
Cennini writes of the virtues of potential users should be first aware nomenclature many names were
malachite in the fifteenth century: of its poisonous nature. The color used to describe hues of green.
was later named after him, but there Some of the following names are
is some doubt about the extent to many have
"A half natural color is still in current use, while
which Scheele's Green was used by now disappeared:
green; and this is produced
artists. It is not mentioned in literary
artificially .for it is formed
sources of the period, except for the
out of azurite; and it is called
following account in George Field's
malachite... This color is
Chromatography (1869):
good in secco, with a tempera
of yolk of egg, for making "...To make the green, some Almond Green Leaf Green
trees and foliage, and for potash and pulverized 'white Apple Green Leek Green
Arnaudon's Green Lily Green
laying in." arsenic' (that is arsenious Avocado Green Mineral Green
oxide) were dissolved in Bottle Green Mittler's Green
Chrysocolla Brunswick Green Moss Green
water and then heated, and Mountain Green
Casali's Green
In classical and medieval writing
the alkaline solution was Celadon Green Munich Green
there are references to a blue-green
Chartreuse Myrtle Green
added, a little at a time
mineral known as chrysocolla, found Chlorophyll Nitrate Green
in combination with malachite. The because of effervescence, to Chrome Green Pansy Green

name is derived from the Greek a warm solution of copper Cinnabar Paris Green
•"See also sulfate The mixture was
Cobalt Green Plessy's Green
words for "gold" and "glue," .

nal 18-19 Copper Green Prussian Green

because it was used by the ancients allowed to stand so that the Dingler's Green Scheele's Green
for soldering gold. Chrysocolla has green precipitate could settle. Emerald Green Schnitzer's Green
Turq Evergreen Schweinfurt Green
been identified in wall paintings in the liquid was poured off, and
Yell' Hungarian Green Verdigris
China and Central Asia and in
thepigment was then dried Jade Green Vienna Green
Gre<;> ptian tombs dating to 2000bc.
under a gentle heal..." Kelly Green Woodland Green
Color index/Green 169
 3en 69

Verdigris
Verdigris (from the French meaning
"green of Greece") is a blue-green

pigment made by scraping the patina

from copper that has been exposed to
vinegar or wine. It is the most well
known of the early artificially

prepared green copper pigments,

its production originated in wine-
growing areas, and it was made by
alternately stacking copper sheets

and grape husks. A crust would form

on the surface of the copper sheets
and, when scraped off, the scrapings
were pulverized to produce a light

blue powder sold as verdigris.

Verdigris is not seen nowadays as an
artists' pigment, but Vert antique is a
decorative finish used for bronzing
plaster casts and other surfaces to
simulate the natural green patina of
old bronze or copper.

Vegetable greens
Green pigments were extracted from
flower petals in the seventeenth
century and lake colors with names
such as Pansy Green, Lily Green, Iris

and Honeysuckle were created. Sap

Green, a name still in use to describe Chromium Green Cinnabar
a bright leafy color, was made from This is a dull grayish green derived Cinnabar is a shade of green or
ripe buckthorn (Rhamnus) berries and from chromates or chromium, yellow, widely available in makers'
is mentioned frequently from the which was discovered by Nicolas catalogs. It is made of a combination

twelfth century. In the eighteenth Vauquelin, in 1797, in a mineral of modern green and yellow
century, Sap Green became popular known as Siberian red lead, later pigments. In the nineteenth century,
for use in watercolor. It was also known as chrocoite. Many colored a variety of chrome green, also
termed Bladder Green, because it compounds, including Chrome Red called Zinnober Green, or Royal
was often stored in bladders. and Chrome Yellow, were derived Green, was made by mixing Prussian
from chromium (see Chrome Yellow, Chromium oxide green Blue and Chrome Yellow.
Green pigments that owe their color to
page 64). Of chromium oxide greens,
chromium have been used widely since
Vauquelin wrote:
the nineteenth century. Chromium oxide
green was listed by Winsor& Newton in
"On account of the the 1840s, and the pigment is widely
beautiful emerald color it available today. Identified as PG17, the
Sap Green communicates . . .will furnish chromium oxide greens are well known
Today, the vegetable ingredient of Sap for their opacity, or "hiding power," and
means of
painters. ..with the
Green is replaced by modern arylide, their great tinting strength. In mixtures

phthalocyanine or naphthol pigments.

enriching their pictures, and with white, yellow or blue, brilliance can
of improving their art." be substantially increased.
70 Green
Emerald Green Modern greens
Emerald Green generally has a bright, A number of green hues are available in manufacturers*
vast
bluish-green color and was one of catalogs, and one of the main ingredients used is Phthalo
the most brilliant of the inorganic
Green, although some original pigment names are still
colors. Popular among the French
incorporated as a description on the tube. This modern organic
Impressionist and Post-Impressionist
pigment, introduced in 1938, was a product of artificial
painters, it has been identified in
dyestuffs. The pigment is from brominated or chlorinated
many of their works. Original Emerald
Green contains both copper and copper phthalocyanine. Its color is similar to the bright,
arsenic, and it is also known as Paris, traditional Emerald Greens, which contained copper and arsenic.

Munich or Vienna Green, and

Schweinfurt Green. The improved
pigment was brighter, more durable
and had a more intense color than
other copper greens. Winsor &
Newton introduced Emerald Green
in their watercolors

in their first catalog

and
in 1
oil colors
832. Paul
..?^$^*^^
Gauguin, writing in February, 1897,
to George Daniel de Monfreid,
requested 20 tubes of Emerald
Green along with other colors.
Phthalo-based greens
The color was used in the
decorative arts for coloring
Phthalo Green (PG7 and PG36) has
k
*^^#^^J?iy54»ff.v*W \mmm&*ft0fa
excellent lightfast qualities and high
wallpapers, cloth lampshades and
permanence in all media and is
linoleum, for decorating domestic
produced by most manufacturers
furniture and fabrics, and as a
under the name Phthalo Green and
component of paint for toys. It was
several trade name variations.
also used as an exterior and interior
house paint. One of Emerald Green's
Other very widely used greens, !M^$i^^ m?rt,v
all of which rely on Phthalo but have
main applications was as an
a modern yellow pigment added,
insecticide and fungicide, and it was
are the bright mid-greens named
still being marketed in the 1950s,
Permanent, Cadmium, Emerald,
despite its toxicity, because of its
Yellowish, Chrome, Cinnabar, and !&Ml>
bright tone and lightfastness.
the blackish blue-green, Hooker's.
-gtytytf*^V4*^
Winsor & Newton discontinued
Sap Green, a bright leafy color
the original copper-arsenic Emerald
produced since the Middle Ages,
Green in the1960s, replacing it with
originally from unripe buckthorn
Winsor Emerald, a mixture of azo
berries, is now synthesized from
yellow and phthalocyanine green.
Phthalo or Naphthol Green.
Most manufacturers have followed
Even the popular Viridian Green is
.rftp^%^&**^f$$tt$*4
this initiative.
today often made from Phthalo. Olive
Green, originally made from fugitive
Hooker's Green
lakes, uses Phthalo Green pigment as
William Hooker painted pottery and
a base, mixed with a variety of red,
may be the source of this name.
yellow, orange, blue or violet.
Hooker's Green is a mid-green with
a blackish undertone. Originally a
Exceptions Prepared greens (From top to bottom, left to right)
mixture of Gamboge and Prussian
You will see various names in color
Exceptions to the extensive Phthalo Cadmium Green (PG18 or PG7 + PY35/PY37)
Blue and considered an unreliable
usage is the grayish green Chromium charts. Some of them are single
Chromium Oxide Green (PG17)
pigment, it is now based on more pigments and others are
Oxide, consistently made from its Cinnabar (PG7 or PG36 or PG18 + PY1/3/35/42)
modern pigments, such as Phthalo combinations of pigments. The list
oxide of chromium pigment,
Green and Cadmium Yellow. Cobalt Green (PGI 9 sometimes PG26 or PG50)
(right) gives an average guide to
compared to Chrome Green made
Emerald Green (PG7 or PG36 + pyi/3/97/154)
from Prussian Blue and Chrome formulations, which will vary from
Olive Green Hooker's Green (PG7 or PG36 + PY3 or PY42)
Yellow. Cobalt Green, a bluish manufacturer to manufacturer.
a dull brownish yellow-green, Olive Green (PG7 + PY42/PRioi/PBr7)
version of Emerald, is made from a
often derived from Raw Sienna, Permanent Green [PG7 +py 1/3/35/1 28)
cobalt oxide and Green Earth (Terre
offered by several manufacturers.
Verte or Green Umber), a blue-gray Phthalo Green (PG7 or PG36)
A similar color may be mixed by the
green, which usually consists of the Sap Green |PG7 or PG8 or PG36 + PY1/42/73/83)
artist by toning down a bright leaf
natural inorganic pigment (see Green Viridian Green (PG18 or PG7)
green with a little orrjr
Earth, page 67). Yellowish Green (PG7 01 PG36 + PY3/74/154)
 Green 71
Experiment with green Complementary opposites
" VV7/v
The little canvas example below do two colors, put one (Ireen is a secondary color,
shows how the range of ready-made next to the other, sing? Can and the opposite to red.
greens is increased by simply adding one really explain this? No. This complementary color
white to create a tint.
Just as one can never learn combination has contributed
how to paint." to the vibrant energy in the
(From top to bottom, left to right)
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
Cobalt Green Deep (Winsor & Newton)
design of many paintings.

Phthalo Green Yellow Shade (Golden)

Viridian (Lukas)

Emerald Green (Winsor & Newton)

Hooker's Green Hue (Ligmtex)

Bohemian Green Earth (Lukas)

Permanent Green Light (Tn-Art)

Chrome Oxide Green (Golden)

Sap Green (Lukas)

Olive Green (Rowney)

Permanent Green (Winsor & Newton)

Viridian
A transparent variety of chromium
oxide, now known as Viridian, was
created in Paris in 1838. Viridian is

a stable, very dark, deep pure green.

As wash

rrw
a glaze or this pigment
appears as a vivid emerald color
with a slight blue undertone. When
applied thickly it takes on a duller
blackish-green appearance. The
pigment is popular with artists
because of its excellent tinting
strength and stability in all mediums.
It is invaluable not only for use as a
green, but also for cooling reds, pinks Green sketch
and browns. Portrait and life painters Ready-made acrylics were used to

create this green sketch - light leaf

find Viridian a useful color in flesh
green for the hills, pale olive for the
tints. When mixed with Mars or
mid-ground, opaque oxide of chrome "1 tried to express through
Cadmium Yellow, this color produces
for the foreground, and finally a light
a rich scale of brilliant greens. red and green the terrible
green again. The details are Viridian.
passions of humanity."
Van Gogh on his painting The Night Cafe

Mixing greens
Many ready-made greens are very clean and bright and are
difficult to replicate. However, at its simplest, green is a Vincent van Gogh (1853-90)
combination of blue and yellow, and many manufacturers The Night Cafe, 1888
recommend the best blues and yellows to buy for the purest Oil on canvas (detail)
mixtures. Experimentation with different types and proportions 27Mx35in(70x89cm)
of blue and yellow can lead to interesting results. Yale University Art Gallery
72 Brown and Red Earth
Raw and Burnt Sienna, Raw and Burnt Umber, the Red Ochre and iron oxides
"Give me mud red-brown oxide colors, such as Venetian and Indian These natural pigments range
in color from dull yellow (see
and I you
will paint Red, and Yellow Ochre, Red Ochre and Terre Verte page 66) to red and brown.
the skin of Venus."
(Green Earth), are all earth colors. They are some of Ochres and oxides in art have
EUGENl DEI uuoi'x (1798-1863)
a long history.
the oldest pigments known to man. Burnt Sienna is

produced by roasting the raw pigment, named after Red Ochre is a warm red-brown
the Italian city near which it was first found, and earth color and is based on
deposits of hematite (see opposite).
Burnt Umber is made in a similar way. Earth
Traditonally, Spain and the Persian
pigments come from clay and other substances in Gulf were excellent sources of this

the ground. Cennino Cennini described the wonder iron oxide and the large variety of

names used for the color relate to its

of seeing these colors of the earth:
original source locations. Red Ochre
can also be produced from calcined
"And upon reaching a little valley, a very wild steep place, (roasted) Yellow Ochre. The color
scraping the steep with a spade, I beheld seams of many kinds of was used in medieval times for
color: ochre, dark and light sinoper, blue, and white; and this I
fresco and oil-painting grounds,
held the greatest wonder world - that white could exist in
in the
because of its quick drying time
a seam of earth .... And these colors showed up in this earth just and low oil-absorption qualities.
the way a wrinkle shows in the face of a man or woman."
Some other reddish ochre hues are:

English Red Pozzuoli Red

Earth pigments Indian Red Red Oxide
These very ancient rich mineral sources produce yellow, LightRed Sinopia
/--...
Mars Orange Spanish Red
red, brown and green pigments, depending on the natural
Mars Red Terra Rosa
iron-oxide coloring agent in the deposits. They were used Persian Red Turkey Red
Pompeiian Red Venetian Red
in prehistoric cave paintings and are probably the most
permanent colors available, because they are little affected
Brown Ochre
by atmospheric conditions. The minerals are dug from the
Brown Ochre is another reddish
earth, washed and then ground to produce the pigments.
brown, but the name is not used
as much as the other ochres. The
natural iron-oxide pigment is PBr7,
and it is widely used today in the
manufacture of siennas and umbers.
In seventeenth-century England, this
colorwas sometimes described as
Spanish Brown. It was prepared by

heating Red Ochre, the name

relating to its similarity to the

natural Red Ochre from Spain.

However, there are references to

Spanish Brown as a synonym for

Vandyke Brown. Mars Brown (PBr6)

is the modern synthetic version.

••See also
Pigments in history 12-15
CI International 18-19
•• •
Yellow Ochre 66
n Earth 67
1-145 Ancient earth pigments
It r. thought [Link] o/ido', of non woo; doo, light out
iii
Coil 172 175
of tho ground in the form of lumps that were rich Spanish Brown
tew Siennas 172 in clay, and thai the blacks were derived from In the frequent mentions of Brown Ochre
Brown 3d Oxides 173 manganese ores, charcoal and ashes The raw under this name is the charge that it

pigments were ground with various ingredients, was coarse and gritty. The best ochres
English Reds jiennas 174
such as blood, urine, animal fat, saliva and bone traditionally come from France and range
Browi Mad iM75 marrow, to make a paintlike paste from light yellow to deep red.
 Brown and Earth 73

Iron ores
and reddish browns
Iron oxide is a principal
coloring agent derived
from four main types of
iron ore: hematite, limonite,
magnetite and siderite.

Hematite
Most iron oxides come from
hematite and limonite ores.
Hematite a name derived from
is

the Greek hema (meaning "blood").

Hematite means "bloodlike" and
refers to natural red earth. A hard,
compact and pure natural variety of
anhydrous ferric oxide is used in the
production of dark red pigments.

Sinopia
This is name for natural
the old Latin
red earth pigment. More particularly,
it is an obsolete name for the red
iron-oxide pigment derived from
Sinope, the Turkish town on the
Black Sea where it is mined. This
was an important classical source of
red oxide (see also Renaissance skin
tones, page 112). In the fifteenth
century Cennini recorded "a natural
color known as sinoper," which
when mixed with lime white was
"very perfect for doing flesh, or
making flesh colors of figures on a
wall." The color was often used for
Browns are generally considered to be drab colors, but this is clearly untrue
the underdrawing on plaster in
when viewing the variety of brownish hues and earth pigments available. Their
mural painting and the drawing
documented usage from prehistoric times to the present day indicates the
itself was called the "sinopia."
reliability and popularity of these easily obtainable and permanent colors.
74 Brown and Red Earth

"I cannot pretend to feel

impartial about colors.
I rejoice with the
brilliant ones, and
am genuinely sorry for
the poor browns.
Winston S. Churchill
Thoughts and Ad\ ntures (1932)i

Mars colors
Mars colors are artificial iron oxides.
Used as substitutes for natural earth

pigments, they are often more

brilliant and opaque with higher
tinting strengths. Like the natural

oxides, they are highly permanent.

Mars Brown is a mid-chocolate

shade, generally made from

pigments PR101 and black. Mars
Violet contains synthetic red oxide
(PR1 01 ) and is a chocolate purple-
brown, also known as Caput
Mortuum and Violet Oxide (see page
Mars Black is a dense
55). neutral
black (see pages 77-78).
The descriptive "Mars" may have
Synthetic oxides Vandyke Brown
Natural iron-oxide pigments are still This brown ranges from pale
originated from the name given by Sepia
alchemists for iron or to the yellow This organic pigment originates from
in use today and are considered to black in color. Its original
ochre-colored pigment formed the ink-sacs of cuttlefish (Sepia
among the most permanent colors composition was of humus or
through oxidization of iron in air, officinalis), found in the Adriatic
available. Most are not affected by vegetable earth ingredients in the
crocus martis, of which the literal Sea. It is reputed to have been used
atmospheric conditions and most of form of peat or lignite, plus iron.
translation is simply Mars Yellow. by the Romans as an ink, but its
the pigments are nonhazardous. Iron- The color was popular with Flemish
painters such as Rubens, Rembrandt
Other frequently seen colors popularity was marked after 1780
oxide paints resist corrosion and the
bearing the prefix are: Mars Yellow, by its introduction by Prof. Jacob C.
distinctive red-brown hue is and van Dyck, after whom it is
similar to Yellow Ochre; Mars Seydelmann in Dresden. It was used
commonly seen as a base coat named. known as Kassel
It is also
Orange, a cross between Red and mainly as a watercolor or ink.
protection on raw steel. From the Earth, from the place in Germany
Yellow Ochre; and Mars Red, similar Today's colors named Sepia are
eighteenth century, a synthetic where the natural ingredients were
to the red ochres, which can range synthesized, using black, brown or
product, Mars Red (PR101), has been found. In its original formulation,
from scarlet to maroon. red-oxide pigments.
used as a substitute for the natural the pigment is not permanent and

red earth pigments, because it has it fades. Owing to its transparency,

similar properties of durability and artists found it useful for shading

permanence Most red oxides today and wood staining. Vandyke Brown
are made from the synthetic pigment is often substituted by Umber. The
natural pigment bituminous earth
(NBr8) is still available and used.
However, most modern ingredients
for this color consist of synthetic red
•"See also oxide (PR101) or natural iron oxide
1/2-175
(PBr7) plus black. Other names are
l aw Siennas 172 Cassel Earth, Cologne Earth, and
Brown Ochres-Red Oxides 173 sometimes Ruben's Brown, although
English Reds-Burnt Siennas 174 this name is seen in association
Brown Madder-Neutral 175 with Brown Madder, too.
 Brown and Red Earth 75

Brown Madder
A brownish-orange color,

originally derived from

madder (see page 58),

this was also known as

Ruben's Madder. Now
based on Alizarin

Crimson (PR83),
it is a transparent
permanent lake, and
current formulations may
contain red, brown,
yellow and green
pigments.

-1

Mummy Brown
A brown pigment made from
asphaltum used for embalming,
this was originally obtained from

Egyptian tombs. Its recorded usage

as an art color was from the 1 800s
until the 1920s.

Asphaltum
Also called Bitumen (see page 83),

this ancient blackish-brown color,

composed of modified organic

matter, is not a true pigment. It is

Raw Sienna Raw Umber made from asphalt, a natural resin

An orange-brown color, produced from A greenish-brown earth color, Raw often sourced from Trinidad or the

a natural yellow-brown earth oxide. Umber is obtained from oxides Dead Sea, which is dissolved in oil

The natural clays contain iron and containing iron and manganese. The or turpentine. It was popular with

manganese, the finest variety of earth, name is thought to originate from the van Dyck, and, because of its

and were originally mined near Siena Latin umbra (meaning "shadow"), instability, it was used thinly. It

in Tuscany, Italy. The deposits are now because the pigment was often used dries badly, cracks and wrinkles.
depleted and the source of the for shadows and shading other colors. Since the nineteenth century, it has

pigment has been superseded by other It is a highly permanent, transparent been replaced with synthetic coal-
regions in Italy, particularly Sardinia and lightfast pigment. Records tar dyestuffs, and today's asphaltum
and Sicily. Raw Sienna is one of the indicate its use since the 1600s. Most uses combinations of modern
yellow, red, green, violet and black. Pozzuoli Earth
most permanent pigments. Current modern umbers consist of natural
However, a natural black exists, A native red earth pigment from
manufacturers of the color often use oxide (PBr7), but some use a mixture
NBkB (trade name Gilsonite), and is Pozzuoli near Naples, this is the
synthetic yellow (PY42) or red oxides of synthetic oxides (PY42 and PR1 01 ).

available as an paint. traditional brown-red used in the

(PR101). Some producers still employ It is known as Cyprus Umber,
also still oil

frescoes of the Italian Renaissance.

natural oxides, also known as Italian Turkey Brown and Sicilian Brown.
Bistre The color produces a clean, bright
Earth and Terra di Siena.
This a yellowish-brown pigment reddish hue, and it is renowned for
Burnt Umber is

made from boiling the soot produced its unique property of setting as hard
Burnt Sienna Produced by calcining Raw Umber,
through burning beechwood. was as cement. Some makers still offer a
A warm red-brown, produced by this is a darker reddish brown with It

used from the fourteenth to the synthetic red oxide pigment that
calcining (roasting) Raw Sienna, this is similar properties to Raw Umber, but
nineteenth centuries in watercolor bears the name Pozzuoli Earth or
an extremely permanent pigment, more transparent. Current pigments
or in tonal wash drawings. is now
It
Pozzuoli Red, and there are many
clean and transparent. Because of its mainly use natural iron oxide (PBr7),
replaced with Burnt or Raw Umber. similar hues available, too, such as
lack of chalkiness, it is perfect for although combinations of synthetic
Terra Rosa and Venetian Red.
mixtures of dark colors. Like Raw oxides (PY42 and PR1 01) and black
Sienna, modern production uses either are also manufactured. Old names for

synthetic red oxide (PR1 01 ) or the Burnt Umber include Chestnut Brown,
natural iron oxide (PBr7). Euchrome and Jacaranta Brown.
76 Black
"White may be said Technically speaking, Naming blacks
to represent light, neither black nor white
You will come across many
Without which no color descriptive names for types
has any color. However, of black in books on art and
can be seen;
for the purposes of in manufacturers* catalogs
yellow the earth; and color charts. Several of
green, water;
this book, we will
the names are old-fashioned
blue, air; red, fire; describe black and Dominator and may refer to obsolete
and black, - white as colors. Black can easily overpower and brands or original, naturally
deaden colors. occurring pigment sources
black for total
is
Defining black that are now manufactured
darkness. Respect black synthetically. Other names
"Of the color of jet or carbon,
Leonardo da Vinci Black in its own right, are manufacturers'
having no hue due to the
(1452-1519) however, is a useful and descriptive brand names,
absorption of nearly all the
convenient color, ideal for often giving different names
incident light. Without light,
spontaneous brush
fluid, towhat is essentially the
completely dark."
drawing and for attaining a same product. Some of the
Collins English Dictionary
tremendous range of gray tints names you may see are:

Animal Black
Black Lake
Blue Black
Bone Black
Carbon Black
Coke Black
Deep Black
It is often said that Drop Black
black is unnecessary Elephant Black
Flame Black
in an artist's palette,
Grape Black
because it rarely appears at Iron-Oxide Black

its purest in nature - perhaps Ivory Black

Jet Black
black velvet seen on a dull Kernel Black
day is the nearest there is. when mixed with white. It is
Lamp Black
Magnetic Black
So, is black a color that a color worth getting to know Marc Black
could easily be disposed of and has a rightful place in Mars Black
and omitted from the artist's Mineral Black
every studio, but its strength
Mummy Black
palette? It is common and power should never be Oil Black

knowledge that you can underestimated. Respect black Oxide Black

Paris Black
readily mix successful deep, and handle it with caution. Process Black
solid blacks from the primary Black as a tinting color Velvet Black
colors, and from many of the Creates a multitude of gray tints. Vine Black

secondaries, too. You can

also use these mixtures to Black pigment disclosure
darken other colors and These are the references for black
tint
pigments, the coloring ingredient of
whites as required.
black paint. You will see these in

small print on tubes and packaging.

Making black Note that the product name, more
It is easy to mix black in all media often than not, is different from the
particularly from the primaries. name of the pigment that
Black as a darkener
Creates a multitude of shades. constitutes the product.
•"See also
rnational 18-19 Aniline Black, PBk1 (50440)

nenting with blacks 78 Bone Black, PBk9 (77267)

jns Carbon Black, PBk6/PBk7 (77266)
in blacks 80
. and shading 81
Synthetic Iron Oxide, PBkll (77499)

Mixing bib
"Note: some listings show Carbon
Working without black 104
Black as either PBk6 or PBk7
Color index/Black 176
 Choosing black 77
Taken at face value, Vine Black How to make lamp black
Originally made by roasting vine
black is black, and all
stalks and other vegetable matter at "...there is a perfect black
blacks look the same. high temperatures (calcining), Vine
which is made in this manner:
Black was considered a lower-
Once you are familiar take a lamp full of linseed
quality pigment to Lamp Black due
oil. ..and light the lamp. Then
with the different blacks, to its inferior intensity. was also It

put it, so lighted, under a

found to be unreliable for fresco
however, their subtle and painting, where the vegetable clean baking dish. ..and the

individual characters content of the pigment would react smoke which comes out of
badly with the minerals of the the flame will strike the
become evident. Ivory Black plaster. Vine Blacks have a bluish bottom of the dish and
This is Bone Black sold under the undertone and, when mixed with condense. Sweep this color
A variety of blacks is available name Ivory Black. As name
its whites, produce cool-gray tints. Vine that is the soot into some dish
across the media ranges in oil, suggests, Ivory Black was originally Blacks offered today are composites
for it is a very fine color, and
watercolor, gouache, acrylic, obtained by roasting elephant tusks, of black and blue pigments. Grape
make as much of it in this
pastel, etc. When you look in a process that produced a pure and Black and Kernel Black are among
way as you need."
manufacturers' catalogs and at intense pigment. Happily, this the old-fashioned names for this

practice no longer exists, but that type of black pigment.

"Grind this black for half
is
their color charts you will
why Ivory Black is also sometimes an hour or an hour, or as
known as Elephant Black. At its much you please; but
as
simplest, Ivory Black is a pigment know you were to
that if
derived from charred bones. Its grind it for a year it would be
predecessors were known as Bone blacker and better..."
Black and Animal Black and were
Cennino Cennini
often impure and unreliable in paint.
The Craftsman's Handbook
A finer grade of Bone Black was
(Fifteenth Century)
later developed and manufactured
under the name of Ivory Black. It is

an intense black pigment, being

permanent and stable. Ivory Black

has a brown undertone compared

to the bluish Lamp Black. In tints

with white it tends to produce

warmish grays.

Payne's Gray
Among the blacks in artists' color
charts, you will nearly always see
this color listed. Payne's Gray is

not a pure black but a composite

pigment containing more than
one basic ingredient, commonly
Ultramarine Blue (sodium polysulfide
see many of the descriptive
aluminosilicate) and Mars Black
names seen opposite, (synthetic iron oxide), and
particularly in less-expensive sometimes crimson pigments are
student and craft color ranges. included, too. It is considered useful Lamp Black
Among the quality blacks by watercolorists, because it thins
This carbon pigment is made from
burning oils and collecting the
Lamp, Vine and
are Ivory, Mars Black well and is good for glazes. In the

opaque media - and - residual soot. Lamp Black is one of

Mars Black, and Payne's Gray, Mars is originally a trade name that oil acrylic it

mixes well with white to produce a the oldest manufactured pigments.

or very close relatives to them. has been adopted to prefix earth-
It is not a pure black, because it has
color pigments derived from the range of cool, blue-shade grays.
These five are generally the a slightly bluish color that is more
mineral iron oxide; Mars was the Many purists find such a composite
most popular. They are evident when seen in tints. Lamp
alchemical name for iron. Among unnecessary. However, it is popular
supplied by most of the major Black produces good neutral grays,
these colors is Mars Black, which is in most media and is available in
art materials' manufacturers nearly of the manufacturers'
veering slightly to the cool, blue side.
dense and heavy, a pigment that all

and are widely available in Oil Black and Flame Black are old-
behaves well in oils; however, it is catalogs. Payne's Gray is named
most painting media. fashioned names for earlier and
often recommended as being most after William Payne (1760-1830), a
British watercolorist, active in Devon often impure varieties of Lamp Black.
desirable for use in watercolor and
other water-based media. and the Lake District in England.
78 Experimenting with blacks

There are subtle Top tone

differences between the

various blacks when
spread thinly as
undertone. You can
begin to discern greater
differences when the
colors are diluted with
medium. The differences
become even more
apparent when mixed
with white in tints. The
blacks begin to behave
differently again when
mixed with other
colors to produce tints
and shades.

••#•

Color observations
Tests were made using random
blacks taken from the paint-storage
box. The medium used for these
illustrations was oil paint You will
Ivory Black Vine Black Lamp Black Mars Black Payne's Gray
find that the properties of the A composite
A dense black, slightly Traditionaly considered A very dense opaque black Dense, neutral, veering color
various blacks will vary from maker brown in undertone, inferior in intensity to Lamp that produces neutral grays towards cool gray in tints. commonly made of Lamp
to maker and behave differently, produces warm glazes and Blacks Vine Blacks have a in tint. (Sample: Daler- Widely available in acrylic Black PBk6, Ultramarine
tints. Widely available in oil bluish undertone and, when Rowney, Artists' Oil. PBk7). and composed of PBk11. PB29 and powdered slate
depending on whether the vehicle
paint, composed of PBk9 mixed with whites, produce (Sample: Old Holland, PBk19. A cool-shade black,
is oil, water or acrylic (Sample Wmsor & Newton, cool, bluish gray tints Vine Classic Artists' Oil. PBk9) producing cool, blue-grays.
Artists' Oil. PBk9l. Black is often a composite Ingredients of Payne's Gray
•"See also of Ivory Black PBk9, Carbon vary from manufacturer to
Black PBk7 and Ultramarine manufacturer. (See also
•
onal 18-19
PB29 and is commonly Blue Black in some ranges.)
acks80 available in oil paint (Sample: Sclimmcke.

I Sample. Lukas. Series I, Mussim. Resin Oil, PBk7,

Artists' Oil, PBk9). PB29, PRWil

Ready-made &, -,

Working without black 104

Color index/Black 176
 Black in paintings 79
Pure black
The most famous black in
the history of modern art is
Black Suprematisi Square
(1914-15) by the Russian
artist Kasimir Malevich

(1878-1935). This is among

the first absolutely abstract
paintings, and it seems to
refer to nothing but itself.
Histories of twentieth-century
art much importance to
attach
this work. Black Suprematisi
Square is a painting that
works on the imagination
of the viewer, prompting
reflection, and is wide open
to interpretation. It is a
simple black square painted
on a white ground. The irony
is that over the years this all-
black canvas has become
cracked and crazed and this
seemingly blank image
continues to change before
our eyes.

Kasimir Malevich (1878-1935)

Black Suprematist Square,
1914-15
Oil on canvas 31 x 31 in (79 x 79cm)
Tretyakov, Moscow

Chiaroscuro Absence of light and color

There are many examples of American artist Ad
paintings dominated by the Reinhardt (1913-67)
blacks, and in these paintings produced a series of black
the colorless aspects paintings during the 1950s
contribute to the visual theme. and 1960s. At first sight his
This style of painting is canvases look completely
known as chiaroscuro - the black, demonstrating a total
contrast of dark against light. absence of light and color.
Rembrandt (1606-69) and On closer inspection,
Caravaggio (1573-1610) were however, you can see a
masters of chiaroscuro, and geometric composition of the
they used it in their paintings most minimal variations of
effectively to heighten the blackness, which are almost
tension and drama of both the invisible to the spectator and After Ad Reinhardt
subject and composition. certainly unreproducible Abstract Painting No. 5, 1962
here in a printed form. Oil on canvas

Reinhardt's black paintings 60 x60in (152.4x1 52.4cm)

Rembrandt (1606-69)
Tate Modern, London
Self-portrait aged 34 can be seen in many
Oil on canvas 40 x 31 V? in (1 02 x 80cm) collections around the world.
National Gallery, London
80 ations in blacks and Payne's Gray

Comparing makes
Within the same price and quality
range, colors of the same name can
vary in hue, pigment composition
and behavior from maker to maker.
For example, some pigments may be
more finely ground and may be less
likely to granulate than others, some
may be more intense and have
stronger staining power, while
others may be more transparent.
There are general guidelines and
standards relating to the behavior
of and expectation from the various
kinds of blacks. The watercolor chart
(right) shows that similarly named
colors vary depending on the
manufacturer. We have included
Payne's Gray, Blue Black and
Neutral Tint among the blacks here.

(From left to right, top to bottom)

Payne's Gray
Schmincke, PB29/PBk7
Payne's Gray Bluish
Schmincke, PB6/PB15/PBk6
Payne's Gray
Winsor & Newton, PB6/PB1 5/PBk6
Payne's Gray
Lukas, PB15/PBk7/PR17
Payne's Gray
Daler-Rowney, PB29/PBk7
Blue Black
Winsor & Newton, PBk6
Blue Black
Schmincke, PBk6
Ivory Black
Daler-Rowney, PBk9
Ivory Black
Lukas, PBk7
Ivory Black Extra
Old Holland, PBk7
Ivory Black
Schmincke, PBk9
Mars Black
Old Holland, PBkl 1

Ivory Black
Maimeri, PBk9
Ivory Black
Winsor & Newton, PBk9
Lamp Black '

Winsor & Newton, PBk6/7

Lamp Black
Daler-Rowney, PBk7
Carbon Black
Maimeri, PBk7
Scheveningen Intense Black
Old Holland, P8k7/PBk1

I. PBk8

72/PB151/PG7
ml

-
Payne's Gray
Neutral
Nearly always listed with the blacks, it is a composite pigment
PB15/PV19
available in most media. The color varies from maker to maker.
 Black for tintim 81
Experiment with the Coal tar
tremendous range of tints No article on the color black
would be well balanced
and shades to be obtained without mentioning the
by mixing blacks with importance ol coal tar.
Coal tar is a heavy, sticky,
whites and other colors.
black liquid, a byproduct of
many industrial processes,
Tinting
particularly the manufacture
Variation in the gray tints you
of gas. It was considered to
achieve will be dictated by the
be fairly useless until a major
choice of the type of black and
discovery in the middle of the
white, and, of course, the
nineteenth century.
medium (watercolor, acrylic,
1856 industrial chemist
In
gouache, oil). You will notice
William Perkin ( 838-1907) 1

how some blacks make warm

announced the discovery of
brownish grays and others cool
"mauve," the first artificial
bluish grays, and how some
color to be derived from coal
are neutral.
[Link] color took the world
by storm and became the
height of Victorian fashion.
Fifty years later there were
2,000 artificial colors,

known as aniline pigments,

all stemming from Perkin's
original experiments with
Gray scale
coal tar.
A simple gray scale (above right) may
be made using Ivory Black and opaque "Coal -Tar Wizard
white gouache colors. A gray scale is Transmuted
a traditional basic teaching device. Dross To Gold"
Its aim is threefold: to familiarize the Headline, New York Herald,
student with handling materials, color Autumn 1906
mixing and tonal values.
The headline above,
published on Perkin' s arrival
Shading
in New York to receive a
Experiment by mixing blacks
professional medal of honor,
with other colors, but be
testifies to the significance of
careful! Black used as a
his discovery and the lasting
darkening ingredient in color
impact it made on the
mixtures can easily overpower
production of synthetic
and readily obliterate other
organic pigments.
colors.

Tone scale
A tone scale (right) also helps to
familiarize students with color mixing

and handling. Here Lemon Yellow

and Carbon Black acrylic paints have
been used.
Synthetic organic pigments were
originally derived from coal tar.
82 ixing blacks and nearly blacks

Black is regarded by
artists as a fairly

straightforward color to
mix. so this leads to the

question, "Do I really

need to spend good

money on black paint?"

When used in combination

with other colors on your
palette, the answer is

probably no. and many artists

make do without it. One

criticism leveled at the ready-

made pure blacks is that they
tend to dominate the palette London colors
and deaden other colors when Much London painting of the
used in mixtures.
post-World War II years was
tonal and subtle in color,
maybe even somber. Many
paintings from this period
(1945-60) convey the
austerity of the times and an
atmosphere of discoloration
caused by the widespread
burning of coal.
British artist Lucian Freud
(b. 1922),famous for his
nude figure paintings, called
his colors "London colors."
To and light colors
his whites
he added a ground charcoal
to create the slightly grubby
colors of urban London.
Ground charcoal, of course,
is a pigment in its own right,
identified as PBk8, and is

used as an ingredient in paint.

Viridian

Black-mix combinations
You can make successful darks and
replacement colors for black by
mixing combinations of any of the
above colors. The darker hues, such
as Alizarin Crimson and Viridian.
give the blackest results When
uly as undertone, as seen
land column of the chart,
if the mixing colors is

id. If you add a dark earth

i hunt Sienna or
burnt Umber, the mixes can
become even darker.
 Ready- mack 83
Our Lady of Czestochowa
Painted wood panel
48 x32Zin (122.2 x 82.2cm)
Monastery ofJasna Gora,
Czestochowa, Poland Dark hues
Many makers provide colors
There is much debate about the similar to those shown below.
origins of this picture. Legend They are mostly combination
attributes it to the hand of St. Luke pigments made of blacks, blues,
the Evangelist, who painted it, from browns, greens and violets. The
life, on a tabletop used by the Virgin. samples here are applied thickly as
Evidence suggests that it may date top tone, and the inset color shows
from the fifth or sixth century, with how the color behaves when a little
extensive repainting in the fifteenth. Titanium White is added.

Nearly black
Along with Payne's Gray,
manufacturers provide many
serious, dark colors that at
first glance could be mistaken
Unreliable blacks for black. Among these are
There are several examples of deep viridians and phthalos,
black-skinned depictions of violets, grays, neutral tints

the Virgin Mary, and experts and burnt earth colors. When
dispute why the Virgin applied thickly, these dark
colors appear nearly black.
Mary's original Caucasian
Add the appropriate diluent
features in these paintings
(thinner) or medium,
have blackened. Some
however, and the real
believe that the accumulation character of these deep, dark
of centuries of candle smoke colors becomes apparent.
or the effects of fire damage
is the cause. Others think that
the picture's underpainting,
executed in a dark, blackish
brown bitumen pigment
known as asphaltum, has
migrated to the surface over
the years.

Bitumen or Asphaltum
This deep-shade brown, which is

almost black in top tone, produces

warm, earthy neutral tints when
mixed with white, z*
It is still available.,

in oil paint frorrv

a number of

makers.

(From left to right, top to bottom)

Traditional darks Paris (Prussian) Blue Extra
Samples above taken from Blue Deep (From top to bottom)
Old Holland's Classic Oil Color range. Olive Green Dark Phthalo Turquoise
Neutral Tint Dioxazine Violet
Van Dijk Brown Virdian
Sepia Extra Raw Umber
84 Gray
Grays may be produced by mixing black and white

"Forcing yourself to use in varying proportions, or by mixing complementary

restricted means is the colors. Adding red and yellow, or green and blue,
sort of restraint that produces warm, or cool, grays respectively. In oil
liberates invention." painting gray was traditionally obtained by glazing
Pablo Pk «so (1881-1973)
with varnish mixed with a little paint. Grays are also
obtained optically by placing small quantities of
complementary colors side by side.

Grays in history Charcoal Gray

There are many descriptions of In oils this is ground charcoal.

the specific use of gray in the Watercolor is strengthened with

carbon black and natural iron oxide.
Naming gray
history of painting.
Lightfast, but often gritty. (See London
Grays may bear a descriptive
colors, page 82.)
Veneda name that gives an indication
An old fresco, grayish-black color, of their distinguishable hue or
Veneda was made from lime and a
Cool and Warm Grays
Used to describe the particular hue
bias. There are also several
suitable black pigment. The term was
bias. Cool Grays are typically of a Neutral Grays that are
also used to describe a mixture of
green or blue hue, while Warm Grays described as achromatic,
white lead and black for tempera on
are of a red or yellow hue. having no distinguishable
gesso panels or parchment. Veneda
hue. These Neutral Grays
was used in medieval illumination.
Graphite Gray are often identifiedby a
Grisaille
This blue-gray is dense and opaque. numbering system - for
A soft, blackish form of crystalline
example, Neutral Gray
This French word is used to describe 1

carbon, it was first used in the

the technique of painting in several Neutral Gray 2 etc. - which
eighteenth century to make lead
shades of a single color, usually gray, indicates the shade.
pencils. It is named from the Greek
to build up sculptured relief. The
grapho (meaning "to write").
technique is specially suited to
Bluish Gray Mouse Gray
architectural subjects. The term also Brownish Gray Neutral Gray
Payne's Gray
describes underpainting in one color, Charcoal Gray Olive Gray
A blue-gray made from crimson, blue Cold Gray
specifically gray, to produce a Payne's Gray
and black or ultramarine, ochre and Cool Gray
detailed monochromatic painting Pebble Gray
black, the color is lightfast and inert, Davy's Gray
before coloring over with many Purplish Blue Gray
Deep Gray
butsomewhat coarse. It is thought to Reddish Brown Gray
layers of glaze. The technique was Dove Gray
have been named for William Payne Graphite Gray Shade Gray
particularly favored by the Northern
(1760-1830), a British watercolorist. Greenish Gray Shell Gray
Renaissance artists of Flanders and
Light Gray Warm Gray
Germany. Grisaille is also a gray Medium Gray Yellow-Green Gray
Davy's Gray
pigment used in stained-glass work.
Originally based on a special variety
of powdered slate that tended to be
Guazzo
gritty, this is a dull, yellowish gray.
This gray-in-gray tempera painting
The color is now strengthened and is
was employed by the Old Masters as
-
based on a variety of ingredients
preliminary exercises for oil painting.
greens, browns, blacks, yellows and
It is from the Italian guazzo that the
whites - but its lightfastness is still
French word "gouache" is derived.
not always reliable. Davy's Gray is

excellent for toning down mixes.

Grays are easy to mix and.
The name was first suggested by
nsini! reliable pigments, may Mr. Henry Davy in the 1890s.
be more lightfast than some
^See also premixed grays. A primary
color mixed with a secondary
ading 81 will provide a wide range of
grays and the classic "palette
Subr; mud." the remnants of a (.lay's
Traveling color 146 work, provides a good neutral
/'
Color mrjfix 1
L'ia\ that is often reused.
 85
Blended pigments
Makers offer many grays composed
Prepared grays of many pigments. A warm gray
Manufacturers offer several could typically comprise white (PW4),
prepared grays. Many are green (PG36), yellow ochre (PY42),
simply composed of two and brown (PBr33). A cooler gray,
pigments- black (PB) and such as Payne's Gray, often contains
white (PW), for example. three pigments.
Others are very complex
blends of many pigments.

(From top to bottom, left

to right)

Davy's Gray (Winsor & Newton)

Graphite Gray (Tri-Art)
Warm Gray (Talens)
Neutral Gray N3 (Golden)
Warm Gray Light (Old Holland)
Cold Gray (Old Holland)
Warm Gray (Lukas) Warm Gray Cool Gray
Middle Gray (Daler-Rowney)
"One of the most difficult
Neutral Gray N5 (Golden)
problems I have been
Neutral Gray N2 (Golden)
involved with. . .is that of
Davy's Gray (Old Holland)
warm and cold grays.
Neutral Gray N7 (Golden)
Bridget Riley (b. 1931)

Homage to Gray
don'tknow what want," stated
I

Gerhard Richter, a German painter

born in 1932. Richter grew up in
Germany under the ideology of the
Nazis, then in East Germany under
the Communists and has
subsequently expressed his

resistance to any ideology. He was

attracted to the inconspicuous
neutrality of the color gray, and, in

the 1970s he made a series of flat,

gray paintings to express his feelings.

86 White
If black is thought to be unnecessary in an artist's

"And finds, with keen palette, then white is the opposite. It is indispensable
discriminating sight to such media as oils, acrylics and gouache. A unique
Black's not so black; and unmixable color, it provides the strongest
nor white so very white.
expression of light on the palette. In watercolor the
George Canning (1770-1827)
white of the paper performs the function of white
pigment, but the versatility of white as a functional
color is well known, too. Used as a primer, ground
or base coat, it is the essential foundation color on
which many a painting is built.

The earliest white

White lead is one of the
earliest manufactured
pigments on record. It was Chinese White
known in ancient China and This is a specially prepared Zinc White
and the traditional watercolor white.
is common in the earliest
is

It was introduced in 1834 by Winsor &

periods of European art. It
Newton and now
is available from many
White lead stacking
was the only white oil color manufacturers. Purist watercolor painters
The Dutch developed the
modern stack process for available to artists until the shun the use of Chinese White, claiming
making white, hence the the integrity of a watercolor painting
mid-nineteenth century and,
name Dutch White (PW1). relies on the transparency of the medium
Lead white has been made
although new white pigments and the technique
Cremnitz White of reserving white
by the stacking process since have come along, it is still a paper for its unique effect.
This is an old-fashioned, high-quality
Egyptian times. White pigment
popular choice among oil
was made by placing strips white lead paint made with pure lead
painters. It has many fine and, Mixing White
of lead in clay pots with a carbonate. It is more stringy than
separate compartment that some say, unique qualities, Some manufacturers offer this color
Flake White and yellower.
contained vinegar. The pots in their acrylic ranges. It is a good
producing a buttery paint with
were packed tightly together general-purpose white that is
on shelves and interspersed great opacity and covering Titanium White
with animal dung to accelerate
excellent for lightening when used
power. It is an excellent mixer Titanium White is the modern, less
the chemical process, then in glazes and for the general toning
that provides fine tones and hazardous replacement for white lead
sealed in a small outbuilding. down of colors. It is very translucent
pigments, particularly for Flake White.
A fermentation process took tints. It is very durable and and mixes well to produce good
place over about three months, It is a fairly slow dryer as an oil paint
permanent when applied transparent tints.
producing carbonate of lead, and popular as a mixing white. The
or lead white pigment. This properly following good oil-
most powerful of the whites, it is
method of manufacture only painting practice. However, it Iridescent White
dense and opaque, and should be
ceased in the 1960s. composed Titanium White
is poisonous if accidentally used with caution, because it can
This is of a

ingested, and in many cases type pigment that is coated with

overpower more transparent colors.
mica. It has a pearlized appearance
has been superseded by less In some catalogs it is suffixed
when seen undiluted. Iridescent
hazardous whites. Permanent White. It may be
White produces effective shimmer
considered a neutral to warm mixer,
colors when used in admixture. Used
Flake White compared to the cooler Zinc White.
in thin glazes over color, it produces
This is the name you will find in
unique effects of light interference. It
manufacturers' catalogs for white Zinc White
is available in oil and acrylic media.
lead (basic lead carbonate PW4). It In addition to oils, you will find this

is available only as an oil medium, color listed with the water-soluble

Underpainting White
because it does not work in other media too, particularly gouaches and
A general-purpose oil-painting
media, such as acrylics. It is the acrylics. It is a very versatile white,
white, this white may be used for
traditional choice for the oil painter. but is less opaque than the other
preparing grounds and for mixing
Flake White is sometimes offered in whites. It is an excellent mixer,
with other colors. It is quick drying
two consistencies, one being stiffer. particularly for glazing and making
and, when used alone, produces a
It is a comparatively quick-drying, tints. In oil paint it is a slow dryer and
o matte finish. It should be applied to
and durable white. It has two
flexible is said to produce a colder, bluer
ms 36-37 previously sized or primed canvas.
major drawbacks - its toxicity (see effect when compared to Flake White
Tinting 81
above) and its tendency to darken if It is manufactured as a watercolor
Metallic & special-effect colors
in contact with sulfur, which may be under the name Chinese White.
Color index/White 179
found in a polluted atmosphere.
 Whit 87
Naming whites
As with blacks (see page 76),
you will come across many
descriptive names for types
of white in books on art and

in makers' catalogs and color

charts. Several of the names
are old-fashioned and may
refer tooutmoded brands
and recipes. Other names are
manufacturers' descriptive
brand names. These days the
naming of whites is fairly
consistent across the different
brands. However, a white
bearing the same name may
vary in behavior and handling
Resists
from one manufacturer to Resists works on the principle that oil

another. You will almost and water do not mix, and white areas
certainly find that students'- can be created by this process. For
example, a line drawing can be made
quality whites have less
with a candle or any greasy medium on
pigment and covering power
a white ground. Subsequent areas of
than artists '-quality whites. water-based color may be washed over
the initial greasy drawing, which remains
Baryta White as a white line.

You may come across this name in old-

fashioned or technical publications. The

Reserved white
This is the effect of white in watercolor
word is derived from barytes, an obsolete
painting, created by leaving passages
term for barium sulfate, which is a heavy,
such as clouds, reflections and highlights
white inert pigment that is the main
as unpainted white paper. Masking fluid
component of Baryta White.
may be applied to achieve this.
Bismuth White
Used in the early nineteenth century as a
less toxic substitute for white lead, this

color is now superseded by Zinc White.

Blanc Fixe
This is a later development of Baryta
White, but made from artificial barium White magic
sulfate. Blanc fixe is sometimes used White can have a magical influence
as a base during the manufacture of on the darkest and most somber of
pigments. The ternY'blanc fixe" has hues. By adding white, many colors
largely gone out of general use.
are transformed.

Permanent White
Originally used as an alternative name (From top to bottom, left to right) -

for blanc fixe, Permanent White is now Indigo (Lukas)

used to describe the more modern
Violet Dioxazine (Tri-Art)
Titanium White. It is also a name that
is sometimes seen in school, student,
Payne's Gray (Rowney)

designer and craft paint listings. It is Prussian Blue Extra (Old Holland)
commonly used to indicate opacity and Madder Lake Deepest (Lukas)
nonyellowing characteristics.
Van Dyke Brown (Winsor & Newton)
Chinese White Burnt Umber (Winsor & Newton)
An old-established name used to Sepia (Lukas)
describe Zinc White. It has been
Van Dyke Brown (Lukas)
manufactured as a prepared watercolor
white since 1834. The name is still used
Viridian Hue (Liquitex)

today (see opposite). Phthalo Green Blue Shade (Golden)

Green Earth (Sennelier)

i
88 Metallic and special-effect colors
Traditionally, artists Metallic and
iridescent colors
have achieved the
Versatility Antique Bronze Metallic colors fall into a
illusion of metal or Acrylic ranges provide the
group known as iridescent
Most iridescent
widest variety of metallic
highly reflective and colors are very and iridescent colors. Here,
pigments. Some are derived
resistant to fading a plaster maquette has from metal and metal oxides,
light-scatterins surfaces been painted make
and will not oxidize to a
such as the colors named
very convincing bronze. A
in their paintings by or tarnish. They are,
base coat of Ivory Black
Iridescent Stainless Steel and
therefore, highly
skillful techniques using
carries a coat of Liquitex Micaceous Iron Oxide that
suitable for three- Antique Bronze, brushed
on fairly dry to catch the
are manufactured byGolden
a base color with white dimensional work,
in the USA.
raised relief of the surface,
murals and outdoor
hishlishts and colored applications.
leaving the indentations
solid black.
Increasing brilliance
ambient reflections. Iridescent pigments depend on light

for brilliance. Adding glossy gels or

Yellow is traditionally used mediums will allow more light to

to represent gold and copper. surround the pigments and increase

Various grays and blues their iridescent quality. A final top

can be seen for silver, while coat of gloss varnish can also
increase the metallic look of an
steel and pewter are treated
artwork, while matte varnishes tend
similarly. Browns and ochres
to reduce brilliance and reflectivity.
with subtle green glazes are
often used for bronze.
The ancient and highly
skilled craft of gilding is an
important element in painting
heraldry and historical
decoration. This involves
the application of very thin
leaves of real gold to the
surface of the artwork, then
burnishing to a high sheen.
Nowadays, most of Add ordinary yellows or browns
to iridescent gold for antique gold.
the major art materials'
manufacturers offer metallic Mixing
colors to imitate gold, silver, You can mix iridescent acrylics with

bronze or steel. Most of these ordinary acrylics to create a vast

array of pearlescent colors -
products use mica as one of
yellows or browns added to gold
the ingredients. Color is
produce antique golds, blue plus
coated onto the mica, then
iridescent pearl or iridescent white
the pigment-coated mica is
gives a blue pearl color, and so on.
suspended in the appropriate
vehicle, such as oil or acrylic. Base coats
Similarly, many light- Some iridescent colors appear to

scattering and iridescent be transparent and low in pigment.

colors are available that This is because the physical paint

produce pearli/ecl effects. formulation has to carry a high

volume of the ingredient that
These are often known as
creates the iridescent effect (such
interference'" colors and are
as mica flakes) in addition to the
ncd because of the way
pigment color. You can compensate
Kit the) disperse the light
for any weakness by applying a base
hanging visual coat of similar hue to the iridescent
the viewer moves. color you want to use. For example,
Yellow Ochre acts as a good base
NB i( the printing
coat for most gold colors and will
how the full

' paint save several layers of paint

sampu .uracy, refer to
manufacturers' hand-painted color charts.
 Metallic and special -effect colors 89

Red poliment
Poliment is a natural red iron-oxide

pigment (PR1 02) and was the

traditional base coat for gilding.

There are many similar colors

available. In acrylic ranges, for

example, you may come across

colors named Rich Transparent Red
Oxide, Venetian Red or Red Iron
Oxide. Used as a base coat for
metallic gold colors, you can imitate
the rich effect of traditional gold leaf
by leaving a little of the red

undercoat showing through.

Anon The illustration above shows a

Vladimir Madonna, c. 1125 postcard reproduction (4 x 6in,

Pigment on panel 10x1 5cm) of the Vladimir Madonna,

21 x 30in (53 x 75cm) (original size) which dates from the twelfth
century. Gold and red pigment
Pearlizing colors
Many ranges offer pearl combinations dominate the
whites or iridescent background. The later decorative
whites that can be used frame has been given a faux
very effectively to poliment and gilding treatment to
create pearlized colors. enhance the reproduction (see right).
Use them directly in

mixtures with regular

paint or apply as
transparent glazes over
previously painted
layers to create
the effect.
See also
Iridescent white used as Pigments in history 12-15
a mixture and as a glaze Brown and Red Earth 72-75
Color index 178-179
Gold on Red Iron Oxide
90 Flesh colors
Flesh is never seen as a solid, even color - it

consists of a multitude of hues, tints, tones, textures

and reflections. Art materials' manufacturers offer
many ready-made skin colors that they identify as
flesh or portrait colors. These colors usually depict
light skin tones and, historically, were produced for
a European market.

Ready-made colors
Flesh hues are usually made up of a combination of pigments
and are good, convenient starting colors for painting bodies
and portraits, and they are ideal for color sketching. These
ready-made colors provide useful basic flesh tones and hues
that can be used for other purposes than painting flesh.
However, when it comes to capturing the quality of human
skin, either in figure painting or portraiture, you may discover
that mixing and blending colors from a variety of pure colors
is way to convey the real nature of flesh.
the only effective
Naples Yellow Reddish

Straight
from the tube
Colors sold Jaune Brillant

specifically for

painting flesh
provide warm
neutrals and useful
pinks. Many other
colors available,
although suitable
for flesh tones,

are not labeled

as such. Naples
Yellow Reddish,
Jaune Brillant

and Unbleached
Titanium are good
examples of such
useful colors.

VH
Flesh experiments
The colors here came straight from
le tube and are from a variety of
;rne of these colors are Raw Umber Titanium White

i ally for painting flesh.

:-pigment earth and Warm neutrals

even when used You can make warm neutral grays
alone, can be particularly useful for by mixing Raw Umber and Titanium
rendering flesh tones. White. This mixture produces tints

that are suitable for flesh tones.

 "Icbl s 91
A multitude of hues
These are Vincent van
Gogh's own words on his
technique for painting flesh,
in a letter to his brother Theo:

"When I compare my painted

study with those of others, it
is curious to see that theirs

have almost nothing in

common with mine. Theirs
have the same color as the
flesh, so that seen from
nearby they are correct, but if
you stand back a little they
appear painfully flat - all
that pink and delicate yellow,
soft in itself produces a harsh
effect. As I do it from nearby-
it is greenish red, yellowish
gray - but when one stands
back a little it stands out from
the paint; there is atmosphere
around it, and there falls on it
a certain vibrating light.
Vincent van Gogh. Letter

Vincent van Gogh (1 853-90)

Italian Girl, 1887
Oil on canvas
32x23Min(81 x 60cm)
Musee d' Orsay, Paris
 92 Mixing flesh colors

Light flesh tones Toning down For darker colors

For the purpose of the color- Try adding different yellows Experiment with the previous
mixing experiments. Process and ochres, and earth colors, combinations, then replace
Magenta and Process Yellow such as umbers and siennas, Raw Sienna with Raw Umber
have been chosen, but you to create less florid colors and for darker colors.
can experiment by richer, darker shades.
substituting any reds or
yellows you prefer.

Selecting colors for mixing

For the color-mixing experiments
shown here, acrylic paints were
used and the following colors
were chosen.

Basic five-color mixing

Process Magenta
Process Yellow
Raw Sienna
Raw Umber
Titanium White

Mixing combinations
Raw Umber & Titanium White
*"
Raw Umber & Titanium White &
Raw Sienna
• Raw Umber & Titanium White &
Raw Sienna & Process Yellow
• Process Yellow & Process

Magenta & Titanium White &

Mixing combinations Mixing combinations
Process Magenta & Titanium Raw Sienna & Titanium White Raw Umber
White • Process Magenta & Titanium

• Process Yellow & Titanium White White & Raw Sienna

The mixing process and
also • combinations can go on
• Process Yellow & Process Process Yellow & Titanium White
w64 practically ad infinitum. You
Magenta & Titanium White & Raw Sienna
can continue the experiments
'ones 112 • Process Yellow & Process
•h 106 with Burnt Umber and Burnt
Magenta & Titanium White
A seven-color palette 110 Sienna and all kinds of ochres
& Raw Sienna
Color index/Flesh 160 and other earth colors.
 Flesh colors straight from the tube 93

KKADEMIE' Prepared flesh colors

fl 01 color These colors are not
«214 ******
exclusively for portraiture
Hautton .__

I"— and life painting and may be

^ flesh tmt

rem fe chair

tmta peile
_____
^____

„
used generally to extend the
f"
,^__ tono came ^^____^. warm color range on the
Most of the
artist's palette.
prepared flesh colors shown
in the sketchbooks and the
color charts (left) represent
light skin shades. Some are
combinations of red, yellow
and white pigments that can
easily be mixed, while
Combination pigments others are more complex
The manufactured flesh combination pigments.
colors shown here
contain, in various
(From top to bottom, left to right)
degrees, red, yellow and
Flesh Tint, Schmincke Mussini (rO)
blue ingredients. Some Flesh Tint, Schmincke Norma (0)
of the darker hues Flesh Color, Lukas Studio (0)
dispense with the white
Flesh Color 2, Lukas Series 1 (0)
component altogether Flesh Color 4, Lukas Series 1 (0)
and others have added
Flesh Color, Lukas Designers' (G)
violet and orange
Flesh Tint, Rowney Artists' (0)
pigments to enrich
Flesh Tint, Daler-Rowney Designers' (G)
the depth of color.
Flesh Tint, Daler-Rowney Cryla (A)

Flesh Tint, Old Holland Classic (0)

Flesh Tint, Winsor & Newton Artists' (0)

Flesh Tint, Winsor & Newton Griffin Alkyd (aO)

Light Portrait Pink, Ligmtex (A)

Portrait Tone, Tn Art (A)

Flesh Ochre, Lukas Studio (0)

Flesh Ochre, Sennelier Extra Fine (0)

Flesh Ochre, Old Holland Classic (0)

(0)= oil

(rO)= resin oil

(aO) = alkyd oil

(G)= gouache
(A) = acrylic
s ^m •* -; - r
 V >,:<
'

_._-V/^»_. .

uj*k

CEEiffl
DIRECTION;
CHAPTER
 i i

96 Creative directions
Color produces a very Watercolor: Fast color
and mixed
personal reaction and straight
Ray Balkwill
for flesh
Tim Riddihough
106
there are as many creative

directions and methods

for using color as there

are individual artists.

In this section we have had

the privilege of speaking with
a number of artists who use a
variety of techniques and a
range of media. They have
opened their homes and
studios and given their time
generously to bring us an
insight into their approach Putting more color into watercolor Expressive color in a variety of media

and ideas about color.

In discussion these artists
have mostly said that there Subdued A seven-
are no rules, and the ones
who do acknowledge rules
colors
Joan Elliott Bates
102 color palette
Desmond Haughton
say that they are there to be
broken. The notion of rules,
although low on their list of
priorities, clearly relates to
style and aesthetic convention
in art. In relation to color,
however, method and good
practice were rated highly.
The artists all emphasized
the importance of respecting
their materials and of
maintaining a disciplined
approach to color selection
and palette layout, often with
Subtle color and tone Many colors from a simple palette
designated areas for mixing
and blending. This was not
always apparent when
looking at their mixing Working Renaissance
surfaces and painting tables, without black skin tones
which frequently seemed Nick Bowering George Underwood
chaotic and uncontrolled.
However, these do not give
the true picture - the artists
agreed unanimously that
without a sense of discipline
toward color, the results will
be mud and confusion.

Palettes and painting tables

A selection (left, from top to bottom):
Tim Riddihough, Desmond Haughton,
George Rowlett, Daphne Jo Lowrie,
John Reay.
Rich darks without using black ried techniques for glowing portraits
 Creative directions 97
Massive Color Colors Color
color in oils
George Rowlett
114 contained
Daphne Jo Lowrie
1128 from the mail
Judith Chestnutt
|140 on cloth
Various artists
Il48

_L^
Color and the physical paint surface Painted lines and color contrasts Taking color from wastepaper Applied color with textiles and paint

Rich color Broken Colors Smooth

from acrylics
Sue Fitzgerald
118 color
John Reay
h 32 for free
Various artists
Il44 color
Various artists
150

Getting acrylic colors to glow A broken-prismatic color effect Experimenting with found color Smooth-surface color effects

Transparency Painting with Traveling Dry color

and luminosity
Marina Yedigaroff
124 nonart colors
Carr& Dunsterville
136 color
Simon Jennings
146 and line
Various artists
152

A transparent color dimension Practical colors for large-scale work Transporting color on a small scale Line and dry-color materials
98 Watercolor: straight and mixed
Ray Balkwill is an artist who has explored new
"My watercolor ways of painting his maritime subjects, but he
paintings have definitely
returns time and again to what he describes as
become more colorful
in recent years -
"the most wonderful medium of expression yet

probably due to devised" - watercolor paints.

introducing opaque
Watercolor explorations working in. In addition to his
media into them." Living in Exmouth, England, preferred watercolor palette,
Winsor Blue and Cadmium Orange
it is little wonder that the sea he also uses colors such as
and its wealth of maritime Winsor Blue, Viridian, Sepia
subjects are the artist's main and Indigo - particularly in
inspiration. The elemental mixed-media paintings in
forces in nature and the wide which he combines pastel
open spaces of sea, estuary and and wants fiercer colors and
sky have long been an interest. stronger contrast.
Mood and atmosphere play Tone plays an important
a big part in his paintings, and part in painting - especially
he finds that watercolor is the in watercolor: "When painting
perfect medium to convey this. I concentrate on tone first,

However, it is not an easy with color in a supporting

medium, and, for the first role. I find my black and
10 years of painting, the artist white charcoal sketches
worked solely in watercolor, an invaluable source for
trying to master its elusive and reference, when I am working
unpredictable qualities. These, in the studio."
Spontaneity in the studio
he believes, are the secret of
Watercolor's characteristics of
translucency, expressiveness and
the medium's success and why
unpredictability demand much it is so popular with artists.

forward planning by artists who use When he is painting in Ultramarine Blue and Light Red

the medium. Energy is also vital in pure watercolor, he favors a

watercolor painting, and, although limited and restrained palette. For grays and browns
this can come naturally when His usual colors include The artist mixes pairs of intense
working outdoors, can also be colors that oppose each other on the
it
Ultramarine Blue, Cerulean
achieved in the studio by working color wheel. A favorite mixture
Blue, Naples Yellow, Raw
quickly to ensure spontaneity. Ray includes Winsor Blue, or Ultramarine
Sienna, Aureolin, Cadmium
Balkwill believes that the artist Blue, and Cadmium Orange. For
Orange, Permanent Rose,
should take risks and allow lighter grays, middle-value colors,
watercolor to "do its own thing
" Light Red, Burnt Sienna and such as Cerulean Blue and Light Red,
Burnt Umber. He chooses or watery mixtures of more intense
artists' colors for their colors, such as Cerulean and Rose
transparency, lightfastness Madder, create clean, colorful grays.

and purity, but finds the

students' ranges of colors
perfectly acceptable for the
Instead of black
earth colors, such as the
Ray never uses black in his
umbers and siennas.
watercolors, preferring to mix
darks, using Ultramarine Blue and
(Ontrast and tone Burnt Umber, or Burnt Sienna. He
As a professional painter, the sometimes uses Viridian mixed with
artist is continally looking for Sepia when he wants a near black.

•"See also new more recently,

ideas, and.
)smg media/Watercolor 32-33 he has been making paintings
Mediums 36-37 that combine opaque media
Choosing palettes 40-41 with watercolor.
Traveling color 146 Ray's palette usually varies
according to the medium he is Viridian and Sepia
 Watercolor and other media 99
Ray Balkwill
Sheltered Moorings (detail)

Watercolor and mixed media

Mixing media
The artist often adds ink and
gouache to the watercolor and
pastel in his mixed-media paintings:
"I believe that there are only a few
basic rules in painting. It's all about
making your picture and expressing
your own vision."

The painting Sunset on the

Exe is a typical example of
how he has used the contrast
of watercolor with other
media effectively. Here, by
Combining watercolor and other media using color counter-change,
or complementaries, the
The artist feels it is important that every painter searches for Ray Balkwill
warm areas of color against
interesting new ways to extend his or her experience and Sunset on the Exe
cool ones create the intensity
knowledge of technique, so he has also been experimenting Watercolor and mixed media
of tones that balance light
in acylics, oils and pastels. More recently, he has used mixed 17 x18in (43 x 45.5cm)
against dark to their limit.
media - mainly watercolors and pastels combined. This The contrast of the two media
seemed the natural progression from pure watercolor. The working together makes for a
transparency and fluidity of watercolor and the opacity and much more vibrant picture
vibrancy of pastel work extremely well together, and their than the "softer" look of a
interplay produces paintings that are rich in a variety of marks, pure watercolor. In this
painting the watercolors used
color and technique.
are Winsor Blue, Cadmium
With this method, he still uses watercolor paper as the
Orange and Raw Sienna.
support, but he aims to apply the watercolor more directly and
loosely. He does by using stronger colors - with plenty of
this
paint - so that the color is stated without the need for further
washes, as in the more traditional method.
1 00 Watercolor: straight and mixed

Working with pure watercolor

Watercolor works best when it is expressed as simply and
spontaneously as possible. When using pure watercolor, the
artist likes to paint in the traditional way by building up the
picture gradually, applying washes and working from light
to dark. One of the most important elements in a watercolor
painting is the role of the paper itself, and the artist makes
good use of its qualities to retain translucency and "sparkle."

The painting Quayside Ultramarine Blue and Raw

(opposite) was
up using
built Sienna into the background
three or four washes, allowing hills, merging it in places with
each to dry before applying a little Burnt Sienna. This
the next. By using masking "wet-in-wet" technique is

fluid at the start, the artist useful for suggesting distance,

could retain the whiteness particularly if you want to
Palettes of the paper as the lightest keep a painting simple. By Finishing touches
Ray uses artists'-quality watercolors. [Link] use of some highly using coolish colors, the The finishing touches in Quayside
He prefers tubes instead of pans,
transparent colors - the background tends to recede, involved adding a few flicks with a
because is easier to prepare large rigger for the rigging, ropes and
essence of watercolor - also
it
while merging and moving
quantities of strong wash from them. seagulls, using white gouache.
permits the white reflective these colors around helps
In the studio old plates and saucers Further darks were added in the
surface to shine through. keep the background lively
are employed for mixing colors. walls, steps and boat.
When working outside, he uses a
Transparent watercolors to excite the eye without
large plastic palette with plenty of have an attractive airy quality involving too much detail.

deep wells. that is perfect for capturing Burnt Sienna was dragged
the illusion of atmosphere, across the foreground with a
space and light. Of course, "dry brush" to suggest mud.
the opaque colors are also This technique is a useful
transparent when thinly way of adding texture to
diluted, but they impart a contrast with the areas of soft
degree of opacity to other washes. A further wash of the
colors they are mixed with. darker mixes was used in the
White gouache is only buildup of darks for the wall
added if necessary, to put and boat, some of the
letting
in finishing touches, such as initial show through.
colors
rigging and seagulls, as here. Light Red was used for the
After masking fluid was hull of the boat and a mixture
applied with a brush on the of Ultramarine and Permanent
boat and water, the artist Rose for the shadows and
applied a light wash of distant water. Ultramarine and
Cadmium Orange and Naples Light Red. and Ultramarine
Yellow over the whole of the and Burnt Sienna, were added
paper to set a warm mood, for further darks. Finally, the
knowing that there would be masking fluid was removed
cooler washes to follow. and any hard edges were
Naples Yellow is a semi- softened with watercolor.
opaque color that softens A painting is often mined by
Core colors and materials used
other colors, as well as adds adding Ux) much detail in the
Artists'- and students'-quality
Brushes warmth and mistiness. final touches and destroying its
watercolors: Ultramarine Blue,
He uses four brushes, including a When this was dry. a freshness. "Letting go" of a Cerulean Blue, Cadmium Orange,
1 in (25mm) hake, a filbert, a no. 12
mixture of Cerulean Blue and painting is difficult, particularly Permanent Rose, Light Red, Raw
a rigger. He advises
Permanent Rose was washed ifyou are enjoying it. In fact, the Sienna, Naples Yellow, Burnt Sienna
mall brush too addition the
Over the distant hills and two most difficult aspects of and white gouache. In
'). otherwise it
artist used masking fluid and worked
harbor wall. Both of these painting. Ray Balkwill believes,
:iled.
are stalling a painting - being
on 1401b (300gsm) Whatman (Not)
colors have a cool bias. The
!' I'll |'.i|"'i
artist repeated the wash. laced with a sheet of white
but dropped a mixture of paper and finishing one off.
 Wa 101

The artist is a strong advocate of working "en plein air." He does much of his

Ray Balkwill painting in the UK, where the atmosphere tends to soften the colors. This is

Quayside why many of his paintings contain mellow mixtures of blue-gray produced by
Watercolor the weather and climate. The view is taken from a pontoon at Dartmouth,
5 x 7in (12.5 x 17.5cm) Devon, and it was a difficult position to paint from. The inspiration for the

painting was the late afternoon light and the strong contrast it created.
Quayside is a good example of how color can be used to suggest and
accentuate the mood and atmosphere of a place.
 1 02 Subdued colors
Tonalism is a style of painting in which the artist Color and tone
"Whereas some think of Joan Elliott Bates describes her
strives to capture the effect of light and form
painting as close in tone and high in
color as primaries, through color areas known as tonal masses, as key. The terms "tone" and "tonalism,"
I tend towards the when used to describe the visible
distinguished from a linear approach. Joan Elliott
secondaries or tertiaries quality of color in painting, are used
Bates studied at the Slade School of Fine Art in broadly. The hue may be described as
for my chords yellow or reddish tone, for example;
and harmonies." London under Professor William Coldstream,
the value as pale or deep tone; and
and her acutely observed landscapes display an the degree of vividness, known as
saturation, as bright or dull tone.
instinctive awareness of color and tonal values.

The artist recalls that "William

Coldstream was a fine Slade

Professor, not least because
he encouraged all kinds of Naples Yellow Light Red
different talents to emerge and
prosper. Despite the fact that
he had been amember of the
Euston Road School, there
was no pressure on the
students to work in that way."
However, students at the
Slade were familiar with
his work and that of other
members of staff who
followed that tradition.
Any painting is made up of
composition, color and tone. Raw Sienna Cadmium Orange
Sir William Coldstream (1908-87)
Joan Elliott Bates's drawings
Coldstream was a member of the
famous Euston Road School of
are often tonal, too, and she Yellow, Raw Sienna, Light Palette choice and layout

painters, founded in the late also produces linear etchings Red, Indian Red, Burnt Joan Elliott Bates will typically use

1930s, whose figurative work with tonal aquatints. She sees Sienna, French Ultramarine, only five or six colors. She lays her

was subdued in color. Cerulean Blue, Cobalt Blue palette out in a set order, counter-
a landscape, still life or figure
clockwise from the thumbhole. She
in terms of color and tone and and Cadmium Orange. She
always uses White. For her yellows
regards these two elements as follows a set procedure in
she will choose from Naples Yellow,
inextricably linked: "I think laying out her palette.
Cadmium Yellow or Yellow Ochre,
this is instinctive. I once heard Only very occasionally and she always uses Raw Sienna.
a notable teacher saying that does she pick perhaps three From the warm pigments, she
color mixing, composition and colors, probably black, white chooses Light Red, Indian Red or
/
other elements can be taught, and one other, for more Burnt Sienna, and, for coolness from
but not a sense of tonal abstract painting - or she may the blues, she selects from French

values." She much admires try a completely different Ultramarine, Cerulean and Cobalt.
Occasionally, she adds Black and
the work of Piero del la palette to force herself to
Cadmium Orange to her palette.
Francesca, Rembrandt, late rethink, in case her habitual
Turner, van Gogh, Bonnard, palette becoming too much
is

«fc Vuillard, and Gwen John. of a cliche. She learns by doing

this, but reverts with pleasure
White
The soft tonality of the artist's work Personal palette to her own familiar "voice." See also ••
relies on the use of a great deal of The artist believes that a The artist has no particular Choosing media/Oils 30- 31
white. Joan Elliott Bates's choice is limited palette results in a preferred brand of oil paint, Mediums 36-37
Flake White. This is a white that is cohesive, unified painting - and the only additive she Choosing palettes 40 -41
inally used by oil painters and "perhaps analogous to setting uses genuine turpentine,
is 86- -87
White
is probably one of the oldest known a key in music." never linseed oil. Colors are
paint formulations. Being made from
Her favorite colors are mixed instead of taken
lead, Flake White is toxic and should
White. Naples Yellow, straight from the tube.
be handled with can'
Yellow Ochre, ( ladmium
 Working with subdued colors 1 03

Joan Elliott Bates "My paintings are often small but not
East Anglian Estuary always so. I often work directly from
Oil on board nature on a small scale and then
6x 10in(15x 25.3cm) continue with them or develop them
The painting in the studio. Most of my colors are
above is shown nearly in a high key and concerned with light.

actual size. My brushwork much concerned

is very
(detail enlargement, right) with mark-making, which shows the
individual hand of the artist - his or
her calligraphy."
1 04 Working without black
Nick Bowering is an artist who has exploited the potential of
A controlled palette
"1 find if you have black. He has mixed darks effectively from a limited palette, Naples Yellow
thousands of colors to creating a series of boat paintings that convey subtlety of color Cadmium Yellow
choose from, discourages Cadmium Red
it
and specific mood. His work shows what can be achieved Alizarin Crimson
the act of mixing."
from the darker end of the spectrum with a Ultramarine

limited selection of colors.

Monochrome experiments
views
Instinctively, this artist
things monochromatically:
"I have spent a lot of time
exploring the potential of
black-and-white photography,
and I have been involved in
single-color printmaking.
In both lithography and
etching, I have experimented Limited palette Different layers
with black ink." Nick Bowering tends to use a He works in oils on either
Recently, he has become palette limited to about five white-primed board or
interested in glass painting, or six colors, and he typically canvas, but his surface
and he has found black a works with a palette of technique and brushwork
Basic dark particularly important graphic primary colors but varies his vary. He seldom makes a
A basic black from red and blue.
and tonal element in bringing selection. He may use Naples drawing or outline sketch but
an image together when Yellow, Cadmium Yellow, draws directly with the paint.
painting on colored glass. Cadmium Red, Alizarin Some areas are very opaque.
Crimson, Ultramarine and In other parts he may do a
Depth, body and subtlety Prussian Blue, and white, local-color underpainting,
Blacks and darks can have but he often lets the white then work with thinned paint.
so much depth, body and of the primed background By adding layer on layer, he
subtlety of color. If you show through to brighten builds up rich dark glazes and
think of black and white as the mid-tones. washes to create an overall
complete opposites with all mood and surface harmony.
those grays in between, it is Mixing colors
this tonal range that interests He never uses black straight
him, and, to a certain extent, from the tube, because it can
Warm this has influenced his series be "quite deadening and
Adding more red and yellow creates of boat paintings. overpowering." You can
a warmer mixture and moves the He likes light and dark create a wide range of hues,
color toward a Burnt Umber color.
contrasts and "all those including dense, dark colors
halftones." He has painted that appear to read as black,
purely monochromatic but on closer inspection carry
studies and experimented plenty of color.
with dark single-color The beauty of working
paintings that are virtually with a limited palette is that
black, he but has gradually you can steer the painting in
introduced more color into any direction you want it to
the boat pictures. He feels go: "I will mix reds and blues
that it is the use of black that to create a sort of base black.
Linear detail
is the significant unifying II I want a warm black, I add
Sometimes the artist scratches back
clement in these pictures. more yellow. If I want a cool.
into the paint, using the end of the
deep black I add more blue."
brush handle to reveal either linear
Cool underpainted areas of color or the
Adding more blue increases white of the canvas.
darkness and takes the color
toward a deep slate gray
 Working without black 1 05
Nick Bowering
Orange Boat
Essaouira
Oil on canvas
10 x 12in
(25.5 x 30cm)

Nick Bowering
Beached Boats
Oil on board
(below left)

7x 14in
(18 x 35.5cm)
(below right)
9 x 14in
(23 x 35.5cm)

MaMHHMHHMB
_f I
t W '

i^Lig««SS^ac^p-=-r'__. ^^g

^mVVBBSpS

Manipulating blacks •"See also

In these two small mono- Choosing media/Oils 30-31
chrome studies, the dark Mediums 36-37
color has been steered Choosing palettes 40-41
toward cool or warm by Blacks/Darks 76-83
adjusting the proportions Color index/Black 176

of the colors in the mixture.

1 06 Fast color for flesh
Tim Riddihough is an artist who has been through
many phases in his approach to life painting and his
attempts to capture the variety of hues and subtlety
of tones to be seen in human flesh.

"Avoid getting into a Seeing flesh Mixing media

rut with a particular While at art school Tim first His mixed-media paintings
used a naturalistic approach usually consist of gouache,
technique or style. Try
to figure painting, trying to oil pastel, conte and water-
using new materials reproduce as accurately as soluble ink. He might decide
and new methods. possible the colors of the to use ink for outline and
Sometimes start with model in front of him. structure, then oil pastel to

colored outlines, His tutors encouraged highlight the background and

him to be individual and certain areas of the form.
sometimes start with
less natural in style, and he
colored shapes. "
went through a stage of If it has paint
painting colors that were on it, then it is a painting
totally different from the to me."
ones that he was seeing. He
tried painting bodies red to Gouache is his main painting
contrast with the green of a medium and the basic colors
sofa, or green, because they he would choose for a light-
were in a blue room, but he skinned person would be
found that this approach did He moved on to a more Yellow Ochre and White,
not work for him. representational approach, and Alizarin Crimson or
and started to take note, Cadmium Red. These are his
"If I am painting
a dark body probably subconsciously he basics for flesh mixtures, but
or a pinkish one, these are the thinks, of what the color of then he might add a color that
colors that appear in my flesh is, trying to convey ismore purplish, such as
painting, but I will add all these colors as they appear Rose Madder, but this
sorts of other colors, too." to him. He does not stick depends on the particular
rigidly to attempting to figure and the background.
reproduce the actual colors,
but tries to create an
impression of the image.
Tim Riddihough
Red man, standing
Supports and grounds
Gouache and ink on paper
He sometimes works directly
12x9in(30x23cm)
on plain white grounds and
[i tins little abstracted
sometimes lays a tint first.
study, a random color Both approaches produce a
was laid first and then specific kind of feel: "I may
"attacked" with ink lines. try a big splash of Yellow
Ochre with a bit of something
else to make
warmish a
ground and then work into
it with other materials. I am
very messy when 1 paint and
I splash it on."
He uses thick, rough
watercolor paper of no
specific make as long as it

is heavy enough to remain

reasonably Hat when a lot
of moisture is put on it.
 107
Working with
color and
a reed pen
The artist often works
with black or brown ink
for his colored figure

studies. He uses a reed

pen cut from Phragmites

collected locally and
cuts the nib with a
penknife. He likes

working with this tool,

because it gives an
uncertain result. The ink
sometimes runs out in

mid-line or gets scratchy

and then blobs, and he is

never sure what is going

to happen. It is this

element of uncertainty

that he finds creative.

The unpredictable line

brings more vitality to

the end result.

Tim Riddihough
Check headband
Reed pen and ink,

and mixed media on

tinted paper
3
19 Xx13^in(50x35cm)
1 08 Fast color for flesh

Working at speed •"Opposite page

Tim Riddihough tries approach
to vary his
and not have a set routine, because he finds Tim Riddihough
Fast studies
this restricts the end result. Sometimes he
Oil, acrylic and mixed media
starts with an ink outline and, because he
Size range:
uses water-soluble ink, the subsequent paint
12x9in(30x23cm)-
dissolves it and the ink starts to run. 3
19 /x13^in(50x35cm)
Sometimes he reverses this approach and
starts with a flat painted shape, then works Just about all the paintings on the
on it with ink or pastel, or sometimes he will start with pastel. opposite page were done at top
"Ifind I can work all day on
He does not just draw outlines and fill them in, because this speed with the minimum of
a painting, spending hours conscious thought. The bigger
can become very stilted and flat, like painting by numbers, but
and even days on it, and pictures take about half an hour,
he always tries to paint the figure and the background together
sometimes the results are not the smaller ones to 5 minutes
so that there is unity and harmony across the painting. 1 1

very encouraging. The at the most.

Exactly how his paintings work is a mystery to him: "I am
paintings that work best for
useless at talking about painting, because have not got a clue
I
me are the ones I have Green-outlined figure
how it works. My most successful paintings seem to occur (top left)
worked on as quickly as
despite my best efforts, but in the past there has been a lot of The artist used hard conte pastel on
possible with as little
work and practice put in." a damp gouache-painted surface.
conscious thought as
Painting and color are now instinctive to the artist, but his Conte color flows smoothly on a
possible. I am like a bull at a
method does not always work. He admits that he has a sort damp ground and dissolves and
gate and just jump in. I
White
of shotgun approach and makes as many paintings as he can, blends. oil pastel applied
would not recommend this first, with a dark color over the top,
as quickly as he can: "I will often put a painting up on the
approach for everyone. Some creates a resist that indicates
wall for a week or two and contemplate it, but my rate of
artists spend days, even light coming through a screen
production is so great the display keeps changing. Then the
years, on one painting." behind the model.
paintings go in a cupboard, and come out after a month or two.
Some of them I will like, some of them I will not. It's a big Red man,
problem. I sometimes go back to paintings, but very rarely. If crossed legs, leaning back
they do not succeed the first time, I abandon them." (bottom left)

Here is an example of using a

random color for flesh, one of those

experiments intended to break with

convention and loosen up the
artist's thinking.

Straight paint
(top and bottom tight)

These are pure paintings only using

acrylic color to define the shapes
and forms of the figure.

«~See also
Choosing media 30-35
Flesh colors 90-93
A seven-color palette 110
Renaissance skin tones 112
Dry color and line 152-153
1 1 A seven-color palette
Desmond Haughton's painting is about exploiting a
"My palette is limited, few colors within a simple design. He always uses a
but not my color range. seven-color palette consisting of Titanium White,
The more colors you try
Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Red, Viridian Green,
to use, the more
French Ultramarine, Alizarin Crimson and Burnt
confusing a painting can
become, luiless you are a Sienna to bring a full-color range to his work.
very experienced
The artist moves between sandwiched between the dark
colorist.
student and artists' colors of the trousers and the face.
with no particular brand While making the painting,
preference, choosing his was thinking about
the artist
palette from what he refers complementaries and
to as the complementary opposites and basic ways of
primaries - colors that are bringing out the cools and
directly opposite one another purples of the skin tones
and those that he considers to to create an interesting
be purest in hue. atmosphere to the portrait.
For example, he chooses Clarity of design and
Viridian Green for being the composition is also important
purest of greens, without to the artist. One of the reasons
drifting toward yellow on the he was drawn to the vest was
one hand or blue on the other. its shape, as well as its color.
Similarly, he chooses French Desmond describes his
Ultramarine as the purest approach to composing the
blue, one that does not veer portrait as being one of simple
toward green or red. He design and simple colors, as if

never uses black, but looking at a poster or a print -

creates all his deep, dark just well-balanced blocks of
and shadow areas from color. He has tried to achieve
mixtures of his core palette a monumental composition by
of seven colors. carefully placing his figure to
Desmond makes very clear fill the frame of the canvas
decisions about his colors and with the arms just fitting in,

design before committing a pushing himself close to the

painting to canvas, and his picture frame.
colors are always mixed The artist does not draw
before laying them down. the composition first or
In the self-portrait shown employ underpainting
opposite, the yellow vest techniques. He works
makes a striking element. The immediately, drawing with
Core seven-color palette
was drawn to the high
artist the paint and creating blocks
From top to bottom: French

Ultramarine, Cadmium Red, Alizarin

contrast between the colors of color that are at first

Crimson, Viridian Green, Lemon yellow and black, and the abstract patterns and shapes.
Yellow, Burnt Sienna. Tints are dramatic effect created by His technique is immediate "For a warm gray, I mix white,
made with the seventh color, which visual opposites. He used and direct, applying undiluted Burnt Sienna and French
is Titanium White. Lemon Yellow with Titanium paint to the picture surface, Ultramarine. Buying gray paint
White and Burnt Sienna to using only turpentine to thin is a waste of money, as any two

produce the yellow of the it. He does not build up the complementaries and white
vest, which is central to the color with washes and gla/es. make gray. I never use black in

composition. In turn, the trying to get the painting right my palette, hut I always work
^S e e also yellow on a white shirt,
sits the first time. He favors round on a black or brown primed
Colors of the spectrum 24
which and brightens
lifts brushes, using a big brush to canvas. One of the biggest
Choosing media/Oils 30-31
the yellow color even more. block areas in and a small one mistakes is to use black as a
Choosing palettes 38-39
The brightly clothed torso is to draw details out. mixing color on the palette."
Renaissance skin tones 112
 111

"In my paintings there are

no lines as such.
Lines are defined where
one area of color stops
and another starts."

Desmond Haughton
Self-portrait
with Yellow Vest, 1994
Oil on canvas
34 x20in (86.5 x 51cm)

The choice of color and style of

costume influences the design and

mood of a portrait painting and
conveys a tremendous amount
about the sitter. Desmond Haughton
is an artist who has painted several
self-portraits from a simple seven-
color palette. Lemon Yellow, used
with Titanium White and Burnt
Sienna for tints and shades, creates
the yellow vest around which the
composition revolves.

"If you are not honest to

the colors you see and the
shapes you see, a painting
can start to go wrong. It is
all about logic, a logical
sense of seeing. Ask yourself
what color is this, what
"
shape is that?
112 Renaissance skin tones
The Italian Renaissance Cennino Cennini's advice on painting flesh on panel
"Take a little and a little white lead... and lay two
terre verte
that flourished from
coats all over the face, over the hands, over the feet, and over
the fourteenth to the the nudes. ... On a wall make your pinks with cinabrese, bear

sixteenth centuries in mind on a panel they should be made with vermilion. And
is
when you are putting on the first pinks, do not have straight
still recognized for vermilion - have a little white lead in it. And also put a little
its supreme artistic white lead into the verdaccio with which you shade at first -

achievement and make three values of flesh color, each lighter than the other,
laying each flesh color in its place on the areas of the face. .

technique. These are Terre Verte do not work up so close to the verdaccio shadows as to cover
some of the colors for A common and inexpensive pigment them entirely; but work them out with the darkest flesh color,
used in admixture with white lead fusing and softening them like a puff of smoke. Bear in
painting flesh that you
. . .

for underpainting flesh. Known in

mind that a panel needs to be laid in more times than a wall;
may come across when English as "Green Earth."
but not so much as not to need to have the green, which lies
looking at paintings by under the flesh colors, always show through a little. When you
have got your flesh colors down so that the face is just about
masters of the
right, make a flesh color a little bit lighter and pick out the
Renaissance. forms... until you finally come to touch in with pure white lead
any little relief more pronounced than the rest, such as there
would be on the eyebrow or the tip of the nose, etc."
The Craftsman's Handbook (Fifteenth Century)

Sinopia
A name for a red iron-oxide pigment
originating from the city of Sinope in

Asia Minor. Similar colors are known

today by such names as Red Iron

Oxide, Venetian Red and Red Ochre.

Verdaccio
A composite color used in Florence,
made of Burnt Sienna, ochre, Lamp
Cinabrese
Black, chalk, green-brown and Raw
Umber, and used for outlining and
An ancient red pigment derived from
mercuric-sulfide ore, also known as
shading. In Siena a similar mixture
Cinnabar. Used in admixtures with
was known as "Bazzeo."
white lead to create warm flesh
tones. Later superseded in

popularity by the invention of

the far superior Vermilion.

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) Lay two coats of terre verte

Madonna, Child and St. John In this partly finished work, the technique of using the mixture
with Angels, c. 1506
of Terre Verte (literally, "green earth") and white lead for
Oil on wood panel (detail)
underpainting flesh, as discussed by Ccnnini, above, can
41/ x30/m (105.4 x 76.8cm)
be clearly seen. The effect of using a complementary or
National Gallery, London
contrasting ground color in cool green enhances the warmth
o\ the subsequent red-shade skin tones.
 George Underwood
A traditional approach
'See also In these small detail studies, the artist has been influenced by Renaissance
Portrait Fragments, 1997
teen Earth 67
Oil on canvas coloring techniques. Green is an unusual choice for underpainting skin
lesh colors 90-93
4 x4in (10.2 x 10.2cm) (actual size) colors, but here, as in fifteenth-century paintings, it is used effectively to
Collection of Simon Jennings enhance the warmth and solidity of the skin tones.
114 Massive color in oils
Entering George Rowlett's intimate London studio
(he has a studio on the east Kent coast, too) is like
"This is painting, not
sculpture. If I could do getting right inside one of his paintings. The whole
it with thin paint, then I atmosphere is permeated by oil paint. The physical
would - but I can't." presence of it is everywhere - on the walls, the
floor, the working surfaces and the equipment, but.
most importantly, on the paintings themselves.

V \ It is

for
a privileged experience
anyone with an interest in
says, is drawn from
of the Impressionists.
the work
He
Method of working
George works on primed
s"
painting to find themselves describes his own technique board, usually white, but
projected into this surprisingly asdrawing with color, sometimes gray or a neutral
well-organized world, manipulating mass and bulk, pink color. He starts painting
dripping with colors. and he has deliberately in themiddle of the picture,
The artist is well known for stopped using brushes. toward the top. and then
his thickly painted views of The artist feels compelled works outward.
London's river and for his to work by believing, literally His main colors are mixed
seascapes and landscapes and physically, in what he on a piece of board used as a
of the east Kent coast. A calls "the deed'" and acting palette. Again, he likens his
question people frequently instinctively as if "running way of working to running as
ask him is: "How long does with the painting, following hard as you can - mixing first.

it take for the colors to dry?" the dramatic weather and picking up pure colors, and
The artist's answer is that a light changes." By taking the working wet-in-wet. It is not
painting will skin over in one "losses" and the "gains" in an accidental process, but
to two weeks, and the reds high concentration that such chance and error play a part
are the slowest colors to dry: an approach produces, he says when you are trying to push
"I usually sell my paintings that he becomes different, and things to the extreme.
when they are touch-dry: totally absorbed, as he tries to The paint is applied with
they will bruise if you knock connect with nature. spatulas, the kind used for
them at first. Then they take An act of self-censorship scraping wallpaper, about 4in
about four to six years to dry then takes place which he
in (10cm) wide for the broadest
through, and become as hard scrapes back, removes, and marks. He works in as broad
as concrete." rebuilds the paint, although areas as possible, laying in
Another recurring question he also accepts that every lights first, moving toward
is: "Do the paintings crack?" mistake is a small part of the darks in the painting.

George has seen a painting whole painting. Most of his Different sizes of spatulas -
that he made 35 years ago landscapes are started and lin (2.5cm), 2in (5cm). 4in
and it is absolutely sound. finished in situ. Others are (10cm) - are used to pick
Core palette One of the reasons for the completed in the studio. up the individual colors.
George Rowlett's palette consists of longevity of his pictures is The thickness of the paint
- Ultramarine Blue,
only four colors on well-
that they are painted produces a powerful drawing,
Brunswick Green, Chrome Yellow primed framed hardboard and the artist uses the edges
(bulk-branded Lead-Free Lemon) instead of canvas. Also, he of the spatula blades for
and Cadmium Red Medium uses a simple palette of marks and details.
(bulk-branded Bright Red) - plus
colors, and this means that George finds that he is
Titanium White
there are fewer chemical applying increasingly larger
reactions taking place amounts of paint and has
between the pigments: "I try discovered that he can do
to be absolutely honest and more with fewer marks and
straight about color." bigger drags of the spatula.
The artist has always He has also tried using pieces
applied his paint thickly, and of hardboard as spatulas, and
«^See also his first inspiration was van plasterer's trowels, but he
Chor, ils 30-31 Gogh. His sense of color, he isn't comfortable with them.
 Massive or in oils 115

A "long" paint
The artist uses a vast amount of
paint at a ratio of about four cans of
white to any other color, so he buys
the most economical, high-quality oil
George Rowlett
paint that is available.
SunlitWalmer Beach, Deal Pier,
His favorite is manufactured by
Bathers and Crab Boat, 1997-98
Stokes in Sheffield in the north of
Oil on board
England. He buys it in bulk and it is
30 x48in (76x1 22cm)
shipped directly to him in 1 gal (51)
Collection of University of St Andrews
cans. Many professional artists use
this paint, and George likes its

quality and feel.

He has tried other brands, but the

Dripping with colors
colors are different and the textures
An easel, paint-mixing table,
do not feel the same. It is important
spatulas, still-life objects and a
for his technique to have the
painting in progress in the artist's
elasticity provided by this paint. He
studio are all encrusted with color.
is familiar with the pull and stretch
of it. It is what is termed a "long"
paint, with the feel of an old-
fashioned formula. Modern paints
are "short" paints, and the artist
finds them over-ground and too fine.

George Rowlett
Sudden Storm over Thames,
Rotherhithe Pier, 1996
(above and detail overleaf)
Oil on board
24 x 40in (61 x 101.5cm)
Private collection
 s?is

-J.

'

—* '

- j
>••
.
•
.
-

.
- —
' •

•v. '
>• v
'
. .; •
 , Site* MS

b<*

eg
vi

*=Sa' > rW i
M%s
-vM
\^-

!W- lw-

aW
& *«"<

v.. p%£

tfl
5s

» '. .

U Y^
>;

IV

^
118 Rich color from acrylics
Sue Fitzgerald's vibrant, multilayered acrylic
paintings reflect her passion for southern France
and the Far East. She explores the richness of local
culture and is inspired by an enveloping wealth of
color and texture, from exotic fruits to rich carpets
and fabrics to music.

Mediums and methods

Mediums are sometimes
useful if building up thick
layers, but, with themore
buttery tube colors, you can
actually place a thick wedge
of paint on the canvas, one
that holds its shape, without
using mediums. If you use gel
mediums or texture pastes,
you have to make sure you
use the correct acrylic- •f
compatible ones to avoid any
Color inspiration Acrylic paints cracking. A little medium in

many the paint will build up more

Sue collects interesting china
textiles on her travels. She
and Like artists, she has
and can give the surface
it
& -,;
is noticed the considerable
particularly attracted by the sheen improvement in the quality dramatic ridges and textures.
found on silks. Eastern fabrics are
and range of artists' acrylic When the paint is dry, Sue
often threaded through with gold, might rub a cloth over it and
colors since their general
and many cloths have mirrors and
introduction in the 1960s. actually polish some parts to
further patterns sewn into them.
Good artists'-quality acrylics give a shine, accentuating the
Sometimes she finds fabrics that
now compare favorably with texture and reflection of color
are sewn from sections of old Indian
oil paints. off the surface.
bridal gowns, with a variety of

patterns and textures, gold and She chooses colors, such Equally, if the painting

silver thread all combined in one as Alizarin Crimson, that are is not working, she rubs the
piece of material. similar to the traditional oil- picture over with a cloth, not
These treasures provide paint alizarins. Some of the to obliterate it but just to give
inspiration for her paintings: "I never
cheaper "hue" colors have it some "knocking around":
really know what I'm going to paint "Ithrow paint at it, sometimes
white or other additives in
next, except may see an interesting
I

them and seem to lack the in blots, just shaking a loaded

object or a piece of textile." A find,
intensity and clarity of oils. brush at it to disturb it. You
such as a yellow Moroccan teapot,
Sue is not averse to student can get too precious with a
can suggest a picture that will

feature yellow on a bright blue colors, but thinks that "when painting." Sometimes she may ,^> :

background: "I've got a mind-store you spend time creating work for three days and then
of subjects I'm going to paint something a bit special, it's
destroy what she has done,

worth making the effort to because she doesn't want to

use good-quality paints." continue working at an
She uses many different unsatisfactory painting.

colors and brands, not •

jfeffi ffiBjfiMWH
particularly favoring one j

make over another, but, in

general, she likes artists'-
quality paints that "have a
h$k
K T 1/ T
nice buttery consistency.'"
She also uses more liquid iw
111 /'> Ti
th
a
AM^HH
HTDt '"
'
jflSnH
acrylic that comes in jars. B9>
E& 1 i 1 iHi
'
119

T&r^?'
"77zg reason zo/n/ /
%#_ describe my paintings as
mixed media is because
^Itfe they are not just acrylic.
In addition to a spot of
watercolor, they have
some gold or silver leaf.

Ite,
Mixing media
Sue could never achieve the richness
and depth she was after, so started
using acrylic with watercolor. Now
she mostly uses straight acrylic,

which she applies very thickly.

Sometimes it is mixed with a gel

medium and texture or modeling
paste. She works on canvas, with a
palette knife, laying paint on quickly
and building up the textures. When
the light catches the painting, it

reflects off different planes of

texture, adding an extra color

dimension to the work. Brushes are
used for broad areas and detail.

Occasionally, she uses watercolor

with acrylic to create a fluid-wash
effect and then, finally, when
everything is dry, she works in a
gold or silver metallic color; this is

a powder suspended in oil.

# *'

Sue Fitzgerald
Cardinal Grapes and Silken Shawl
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
15x18in(38x46cm)
(detail, left)
 121

"Do not be afraid of using color

in an unconventional way. Just
because yon think of leaves as
green, break the preconceptions.
If you think the leaves would look
good blue, then paint them blue.
Quite often when people look at
foliage they don 7 realize that
leaves are really blue or red or
purple anyway."

Mixing colors
Sue Fitzgerald uses mostly pure colors,
but they become blended and overlaid to a
certain extent on the canvas as she paints.
Sometimes a dinner-plate palette is used
but, by and large, the color effects and
mixing, and the color differences, are all

made and blended wet-in-wet on the

painting instead of on the palette. For
instance, she might decide to add a
little green over the top of another color,
although the one underneath is still wet.
Then she works them together. She has
always used color in this way, even when
working in oils or watercolors.

Sue Fitzgerald

Two Dragons
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
36 x 48in (91 x 122cm)
122 Rich color from acrylics

Colors and contrasts

Sue Fitzgerald likes contrast in painting, contrast between
thin and thick line, large and small shapes, rough and smooth
texture, dark and light, and bright and dull. She delights in the
juxtaposition of precise pattern against big blocks of color.
Her advice is not to be frightened of color, but to
experiment. Sometimes she might place a bright pink near a
dark brown, for [Link] artists like dealing with muted
colors, butmuted colors need not look dull. You can use Burnt
Sienna or Indian Red and still get them to glow. Getting colors
to glow depends on their context, what you put them against
and how they contrast. For example, placing Burnt Sienna next
to purple works well. You might think that these are strong
W/&Z
^^5giHSIH dark colors without much contrast, but you do not have to use
bright reds or bright yellows to create a glow. "People think
"Whenever I go into an art Improvised palettes
of me as using really bright colors all the time, but I don't
shop I think, 'Oh! This is The artist uses old dinner plates as
necessarily. I use an awful lot of dark purple and Burnt Umber
an interesting color, and I palettes to put her colors on. She
'

and Raw Umber, too." has employed a proper palette now

buy it. Often it's just because
and again and tried to use in an
of the color, or I may be
it

(From left to right) orderly fashion, but finds china

thinking of a piece of cloth or Alizarin Crimson plates more acceptable. Colors are
china I want to include in a Permanent Rose not laid out in any particular order,
picture. For example, I've got Cadmium Red but squeezed out, with two or three
some saffron silks, and I was Cadmium Orange on one plate and some on another.
thinking to myself that I Dioxazine Purple

needed a really 'saffronlike' Indanthrene Blue Organizing colors

came across a Ultramarine Blue
color; then I Sue appreciates that a tidy
Burnt Umber
slightly transparent yellow, studio would make her
Cerulean Blue
one that would work well. painting life easier: "I know
Burnt Sienna
I don 't set out to buy a
Cadmium Yellow
if was more organized,
I

standard set of colors, but Mars Black things would move along at a
just pick them up as I go. It's quicker pace and everything
a haphazard method, but this would be very precise, but
is the way I build up my that's not part of my nature.
repertoire of colors." I have tried putting colors
in order, the blues here, the
earth colors there and so on
and it stays like that for about
Core colors
half an hour."
There are certain core
colors that Sue
always keeps in her studio,
ones that she likes to return

to in her paintings time

and again.

Essential colors Siennas and purples

'

Alizarin Crimson is a particularly A color, such as Burnt Sienna, can

important color for Sue. She also be used with purples to create vivid
}/Acrylic 33
'

relies on Olive Green as a soft color effects. Never think of such colors as
'.' for glazing and layering, although umbers and siennas as dull colors,
'net colors 88
'.
this color does not tend to be because they can be as bright and
immediately evident in her paintings. brilliant as, say, Cadmium Reds.
 Mich color from acrylics 123
Planning the composition Developing the painting
She never makes measured or She might leave spaces for
preparatory drawings, or even the objects, or just roughly
initial color sketches before paint in basic shapes on the
starting a painting: "I set up canvas, then works over
a still life, but only vaguely; them, or she might put some
it's not ruled or measured. white shapes in. Acrylic is a
If I want to do that blue cloth versatile medium that allows
with that plant on it and those for many approaches. The
pots, I'll up but not in
set it underneath texture tends to
a very precise way, because unify the painting. She works
I might decide to change it over the top, going into
around or begin to move details, such as flowers and
away from it. I never draw, surface decorations, studying
I just go straight in with them and working them into
brush or knife." the rough surface textures.
Sometimes she works into
wet paint with the tip of
Starting points
the handle of the brush,
It does not really matter
scratching into the paint.
which colors are put on first.
If two of the initial colors
work well, they might be
left as part of the painting.
Brush care
Next, texture is introduced
Sue always washes her brushes
onto the surface. To start,
scrupulously and makes sure after a
Sue perhaps chooses one day's painting that all the brushes
section to do some thick are dry. Acrylic can ruin a brush even
painting with a palette knife. in a couple of hours.

This gives her an idea of

how she might continue the Keeping brushes
painting, but she leaves it to and colors clean
Working on canvas dry before doing so. Sue is very conscientious
She works on prestretched about making sure that her
and primed canvas. "The type brushes are always cleaned,
of surface weave doesn't dried off properly and

really matter, because the standing up after use.

surface gets obliterated by She is also fussy about

paint and texture anyway." changing the water frequently
When she starts a new when painting: "I have a big
canvas, she puts some color pot of water, no little jam
jars. I always try and keep
on to break it up and get rid
the water as clean as possible.
of the white. She may cover
I change the water a lot,
it all in Yellow Ochre, or just

use up whatever is left on the because, if you've used one

palette. Sometimes more than

color and then you start to

one color is brushed on. Gold and silver use another color, you are
Sue uses gold or silver leaf most of sure to get elements of the
the time in the final stages of a previous one spoiling the
painting, not with every picture, but subsequent colors."
particularly for still lifes. "I use it in

powdered form mixed with oil. I

Unifying texture suppose it is becoming my hallmark.

The overall textured surface brings a I put it on with an old brush, or I

unifying element to the variety of might flick it on, or I might rub it on,

colors and shapes in the painting. or whatever - all very accidental, a

happy accident, but sometimes you
get an unhappy one."
1 24 Transparency and luminosity
Marina Yedigaroff is a painter who is fascinated by
"I am trying to surface and beyond. She paints on paper, canvas,
achieve a luminosity and board, fabric, walls, doors, furniture, boxes and even
transparency of light wooden bowls. Moving from surface to surface, her
and color. I call it
techniques and her attitudes toward color are
see-throughness."
constantly evolving. Her gallery paintings are
executed in a variety of sizes and media.

^_^:Mi

:'
'If"
V- - -
-
^^^^^^=^
I .

—
_ -r— rl

Decorated house Inspiration and media Visual themes

Marina Yedigaroff's concerns The artist paints figures, birds, animals and flowers, creating Flowers, figures, birds and animals
. an artist is with what lies beyond intense decorative compositions that she describes as being in appear in the artist's work. Among
urface. Behind the painted a "mood-affective colorist style." She is inspired by stained her favorite subjects are tulips with
curtains of her house lies glass and the idea of light shining through objects from the their variety of petal shapes and
and imagery. inspirational colors.
r
back to the front - something that nature does all the time. The
paint is applied extremely wet, so that the work has fluidity
and transparency. "See-throughness" is an obsession, and she
is constantly seeking to achieve a luminosity in her painting.
Transparency and luminosity in goua ink 1 25
Working in gouache and ink
The artist uses a technique that
is her own. She paints a picture

in thenormal way. using gouache, and. when it is all clone, she-

draws all over it with a technical pen. The process is not as
simple as it sounds, because the idea is to create another
dimension of see-throughness. This involves drawing a
transparent veil over the painting. She starts from the bottom
of the picture and progresses upward, working in parallel,
Gouache, ink and technical pens horizontal lines in colored inks.

The degree of transparency and color of the ink changes as

she proceeds: "I work over the whole surface of the painting
Marina Yedigaroff
row after row, changing the ink color and transparency as I
Chrysanthemums
go; all terribly time consuming. It is as if I am putting a
it is
Gouache and ink on paper
20 x 30in (51 x 91.5cm)
fine gauze curtain between the viewer and the image." She
leaves parts untouched, too, so the pure color of the gouache
can still be seen underneath. In the painting Chrysanthemums,
for example, areas of pure color are left and a frame within a
frame is created by leaving the border untouched.
1 26 3ouache and ink IS

Working in oils
In some cases Marina
Yedigaroff works from
"/ mix and mix my colors, life and in others from her
adding Alizarin Crimson, imagination. The tulips in
Bengal Rose, anything. I use Red Tulips, for example,
small brushes and strong worked in oils, are painted

paper, but I am very from life. She often chooses

organized. I have to be to to paint tulips, but many of
maintain clean, pure colors." the flowers she depicts are
from her head. Birds are
another favorite subject.
Some people are surprised
to find that these paintings
are oils and believe them to
be watercolors because of the
transparency of the effect,
The artist never knows what (30CMl25gsm) watercolor
but oil paint is the artist's
isgoing to happen as her paper with a smooth or Not
main medium when working
technique creates further surface and works in a variety
on board. Again, she paints
dimensions of diffusion: "It of sizes. She is not particular
extremely wet to maintain
just does something to the about the make of gouache or
luminosity and transparency,
painting; you look through it ink she uses, simply judging
mostly on MDF, first
and at it at thesame time. It by personal preference. preparing the board with
kicks the colors in and out." The artist usually works white acrylic primer.
flat on a table. Colors are not
She starts with the image,
"Everything do has this
I set out in any particular order,
sometimes drawing it out
wish to get behind and and instead of a conventional first, but not always. With
beyond the surface and look palette, she uses an old china
Red Tulips, the flowers were
through to something else, yet dinner plate. Favorite colors
painted on the board and
not see it absolutely." to which she likes to return
looked "rather ordinary" on
time and again are Olive a white background, so she
The point is not in the lines Green, Burnt Sienna, Payne's started working into the
on the painting, but about the Gray and white. She makes background, using a brush
effect they have on the colors numerous mixtures of her in one hand and a hair dryer
underneath. The color of the colors, adding any colors that
in the other. Her painting
ink changes from blue to attract her and are at hand. evolves subconsciously
black to brown. Although However, she is careful to without a plan in mind, using
the lines are evident in the work methodically in order very thin, diluted paint.
finished work, the artist to preserve clean mixtures.
A painting such as this is
sometimes wishes they were Ink and gouache works worked flat, sitting at a table,
not. as it is the altering effect are framed behind glass to
but for larger paintings an
that interests her instead of protect them, but she is
easel is used. Oil painting is
the physical appearance of the passionately averse to
much faster than painting in
lines. She acknowledges that nonreflective glass, because gouache and ink. The artist's
there may be some influence itseems to drain all the color oil technique is very precise,
from textiles, describing away from a painting. because she is still aiming for
her work as "a kind of
transparency and movement.
roidery with a pen,"
Color is not flooded on, but
these are not textile
she needs to work very fast
they are paintings. and the hair dryer helps to
e pictures come into
move the paint, blowing it
;ory of mixed-media around the surface. Although
;i strong surface
working in oils, the paint
"lit the wet tends to dry fairly quickly
layer I rtisl always because it is so thin.
uses a I, OOlb
 Transparency and luminosity in oils 1 27
Mineral spirits is used to
dilute the colors: "I have to
keep my brushes clean to
maintain clear, pure colors
and have to frequently
change the mineral spirits."
The artist believes that oils
settle. A finished painting is

put straight up on a wall, and,

after a few days, it looks as if

the surface has changed. If

she thinks it looks awful, she
just paints over it.

"/ am very driven and always

planning what I am going to
paint next."

Marina Yedigaroff
Red Tulips
Oil on board
20 x 30in (51 x 91.5cm)

Choice of media
Oil paint, gouache and ink are the

main mediums used. Occasionally,

the artist paints with acrylics,
particularly for exterior mural work,

but she dislikes this medium for

conventional painting, finding it

artificial and piastic-looking. The

transparent effect that she achieves
with oils, using diluted mixtures of
colors, is more usually associated
with watercolor paintings.

•"See also
Choosing media/Oils 30-31
Choosing media/Gouache 34
Liquid colors 151
Dry color and line 152
1 28 Color contained
Daphne Jo Lowrie is an artist who moves freely
"My work is about between oils and watercolors. In her recent works,
simplification. I am
she has used oils for painting still-life and landscape
trying to get to the
subjects and has concentrated on simplicity of color,
essence of the subject by
eliminating unnecessary form and composition to convey the basic essence
detail, which may of her subjects.
confuse the eye and
detract from the colors Choosing color Working with oils Mixing color
Although the artist does not Daphne Jo loves working in The artist works with two
and shapes of the
necessarily choose expensive oils. Oil paint is malleable palettes, keeping her main
painting."
pigments, she insists on and dries slowly, and she colors on one palette and
having good-quality colors particularly likes the way using another palette for
in her primary color itcan be moved around, mixing. It is all very
selection. She always has an allowing the artist to stroke it organized, although it

artists'-quality red, yellow on smoothly or leave brush sometimes does not look so.
and blue available, and there marks and textures: "It is She may take half an hour
are two core colors that are sheer joy every time I dip my to mix a color, and it is an
essential to her palette and brush into this lovely buttery important process for her:
color mixing range. These material. I enjoy its versatility "I sit quietly and think about
colors are white - usually a and its sensuality." my graduation of mixes that
Titanium White is selected - From an emotional, rather will create the harmony in the

and Yellow Ochre. than practical, point of view, painting." She mixes a lot of
Colors are chosen the artist finds that oils have a color first in order not to stop
from the primary colors, quality that takes her mood. It work midflow.
in

depending on the subject or is a positive medium, so she Picking up individual

mood, but the artist often can take a gentle approach, colors to create a mixture is

chooses her primary hues at yet within seconds become equated to a marriage, with
random. Those she tends to dramatic and forceful. the colors regarded as a
use are Cadmium, Alizarin Getting it on clothing and family. A little of all those
and Venetian Red, Cobalt, having to clean brushes colors are taken from her
Ultramarine and Cerulean afterward is a problem, but basic palette through to her
Blue, and a medium and a oils offersomething that mixtures. These are modified
light Cadmium Yellow, a other painting media cannot. all the time, but because they
Lemon Yellow and a rich are all from a common source
yellow, such as an and related, this creates
Aureolin. For a blue- harmony in the painting.

mauve effect, for

example, she works
with Alizarin Red and
Ultramarine Blue.
Specific color
themes are often
developed. A coastal
series of paintings,
for instance, uses
Cadmium and
Venetian Red,
Cerulean and Cobalt
Blue, and a Cadmium
"At the end of the day, with
Yellow for warmth.
the paints that are left over, I
Her foundation
can create a lovely gray. And
colors of white and
I know that this gray is made
Yellow Ochre are
ap from all the relatives."
Lemon Yellow and Aureolin
always included.
 129

The still-life paintings

The artist has been exploring a
pictorial theme that is strong
and graphic with blocks of color
contained within defined
shapes. In these paintings the
negative or background and
in-between shapes are as
important to her as the positive
shapes of the objects. Her
starting points are simple still-

life arrangements set up on a

table in front of a window.
These become a basic color,
shape and compositional
reference, and from this the
artist can quickly start
interpreting and improvising.

Daphne Jo Lowrie
Siblings, 2001
Oil on canvas
3
21^x 17 /in (55 x45cm)

•'See also
Choosing media/Oils 30-31
Choosing palettes 40-41
Black 76-79
1 30 Color contained

Daphne Jo Lowrie Exploring a theme

Still Life with Orange Flower In these paintings the artist started
Oil on canvas by tinting the canvas with a thin
21Mx17Kin(55x45cm) mix of Burnt Sienna, then very
aggressively painted in the outlines
of the objects. She made a dark-line
brush drawing of the entire setup.
Black is not normally used as a
mixing color, but here she used
pure black with a little Alizarin
Crimson to take off the intensity.

When you look closely, however,

you can see that the outline is not all

black. Traces of other colors have

been picked up, so the line wanes
and softens. Sometimes there is

a little red, making the outline

brownish. Sometimes a little Raw
Umber is added and this, too, makes
the outline a little gentler. This brush
drawing is used as a basis to give
the picture its structure.

Varying intensity
The intensity of the color and
texture within a painting is

changed by applying color

either thickly or very thinly
in way one would use
the
The artist originally thought of these
watercolors. The artist works
still lifes as being very conventional
with paint straight from the
paintings of objects standing in
tube, without mediums
space. Her plan was to fill the
except for turpentine or
shapes in and overpaint them,
mineral spirits. Working over but she started painting up to the
or around "dribbly," thinly line, biting into it and occasionally
painted passages with thick, obliterating it altogether, although
"juicy"* paint, she makes always leaving it as part of the
almost three-dimensional composition. On standing back and

marks: "I do not tend to looking at the outlines in relation to

the colors, she decided that she

build up surfaces and layers
liked the line and that it worked in
and transparent glazes.
the painting. The outlines are very
Ilike working directly and
successful in defining both color and
(liately. Processes and
shape, particularly in the way the
worry inc." color bounces off the dark lines. The
pictures evolved accidentally from
Daphne Jo Lowrie here, and she went on to paint a
Still Life with Bottles series of images.
Oil on canvas
(55x45cm)
 Coloi 131
Vivid solid-ground colors
Daphne Jo Lowrie likes
painting on paper and started Sometimes the artist paints a whole cam as in a really Strong,
the studies for the outlined assertive ground color, and then everything that goes on top of
still lifes on paper before that color involves a You have to work hard to get
hard fight.
moving on to canvas. The your colors and in that process you can come up
to register
artist wanted the pictures to with some extraordinary and interesting hues. You are setting
be simple and unframed, so yourself a challenge by starting with dominant and powerful
the color is carried around the ground colors.
edge of the canvas, too, and
she started thinking about the
whole painting as an object in
itself. When you look into
:

Solid-color grounds
these paintings, there is a lot
drying, waiting for the
of pattern and abstraction in first marks.
the forms. Working in oils
allows you to create lovely
movements in the color,
which adds to the design.
Interpreting color Getting excited about the
The colors from the still-life paint and the color overtakes
iMm ^^ssasss^
setup are interpreted to the concerns with the observation
The artist may decide to paint some boats on one of these
painting in an emotional of the image. The forms and
strong grounds, not boats with all their rigging and equipment,
rather than an objective, shapes become the vehicles
but the organic shapes and geometry of boats. These strong
observational way. For that allow the artist to play
ground colors are painted as a challenge for when she does the
example, in Still Life with around with color and the
final paintings, and they enable her to create color mixes and
Orange Flower, there is a texture of the surface.
combinations that "sock you in the eye." Strong and powerful
clear white bottle and a blue
effects often cannot be achieved on a purely white ground.
pot with an orange flower. "/ sometimes pick up colors
It is the orange flower that
unintentionally There are
.

attracted the artist in the first

often happy accidents that
place, and she wanted this to
take place, mishaps that can
take her into the painting. So transform a painting from the
she played with colors until
mundane to the sublime."
she found a combination that
worked with the orange
flower, mixing a blue for the
vase that complements the
orange of the flower. This
approach makes a starting
point and sets the code for the
rest of the painting.

"As soon as I getmy first

colors down, I am already
sensing how to move the
painting forward in color Venetian Red ground
and tone. I sometimes go This painting in progress is painted

wrong with a painting and on a solid Venetian Red ground,

have to scrape it back to zero,

and there is also some local

underpainting in solid Burnt Sienna.

but I realize quite quickly
The dark red and sienna peep
whether a painting is going
through the subsequent colors; these
to work or not."
little areas that are left attract the
eye and create an excitement on the
surface of the picture.

^L
1 32 Broken color
John Reay is an artist who works on large oil

"I work mosth/ with oil paintings. Many of his works are populated with
paint straight from the hundreds of figures. Using a palette-knife technique,
tube, applying it with often worked over an oilbar underpainting, he creates
a knife. I like the
what he calls "a broken prismatic effect" to produce
simplicity of it. I do little
luminous and vibrant surfaces of color and light.
preliminary work other
than a basic simple line
and brush drawing." Working methods Composing the painting
The artist works on primed With these very crowded
board, either hardboard, subjects, the artist has an idea
plywood or MDF. He likes of the dynamics of the whole
working on board, because its painting, but he does not draw
tough surface allows him "to each individual figure. If he
attack it when using a knife." started drawing all the figures
Experience has shown him one by one, he could become
how to prime the board with confused, so it is essential to
the exact painting surface have an overall pattern and
he wants: "I use a coarse scheme in place.
lambswool roller to give the Sometimes he makes a few
surface a bit of tooth and, rough preparatory sketches
depending on the speed and with a ballpoint pen to work Oilbar for underpainting

density of primer application, out the dynamics of the The artist often uses oilbar as a

I can lay down whatever composition, but he puts in the

basic drawing tool to make an
underpainting and to draft in the
surface texture I need." figures as he goes, reinventing
forms and the composition. He makes
He then tints the prepared them as he paints. He has an
a large drawing with oilbar that looks
board with a thin wash of overall picture in his mind, but
very crude at this stage, then he uses
neutral-colored acrylic or he does not draw it all out in
a round brush to blend the drawing
Working with oilbar oils. He tends to keep to a detail: "I put in a very basic with turpentine, so that it looks more
Oilbar, also known as oil-painting consistent lilac-gray tint color brush-line drawing, but I do like a painting. The oilbar work
stick, is used like a drawing tool. The when
when painting directly. This not stick to it I get going. becomes very thin and transparent,
basic drawing work can then be
neutral ground color does not The idea of the drawing is just and then he works over it with the
thinned and blended to make painting knife.
influence the outcome of the to indicate the basic size and
transparent lines and washes.
final picture greatly, and there position of the figures." He considers the oilbar technique

as another way of drawing, as an

is little chance of it darkening If you look closely, you
"I find this preliminary oilbar intermediary stage to lay out the
and influencing the subsequent will see that the application
work can bring a glow to composition and lay in color.
colors in later years. If he is of color, the knifework and
the color. The underlying Sometimes he reverses the color;
underpainting with oilbars, he brush marks create the figures. for example, he may have an
transparency brings a
oftenworks onto a white- The color is not filled in underpainting of green and then
luminousness to the
primed surface. between drawn outlines. work over it with red. Oilbar enables
subsequent layers ofpure
He uses good-quality oil The artist knows roughly him to build up layers quickly and to
opaque color that I lay on
paint, with no thinners or what type of space the figures create color contrasts of one color
with a knife."
mediums, except for paintings and groups need to occupy. over another, so he can create the
broken prismatic effect of the surface
where he has employed oilbar With so many figures
of his paintings.
(oil-painting sticks) to make appearing in a painting, correct
the basic underpainting. perspective is important and
*~See also
the diminishing sizes must
'ilor mixing 23
idia/Oils 30-31 look right. He does not want

<q media/Oilbars 31 some figures too small or

rand line 152-153 others too big, so he keeps an
eye on where these people all

are in space. The painting is

improvised within a fairly tight

A lilac-gray lint color
provides a useful neutral ground. mental plan as he works.
 133

John Reay John Reay pursues techniques established by the

Lowestoft Beach Fauvists and Impressionists, who expressed light

Oil on board not through tonal means but through color contrasts
36 x 48m (91.5 x 122cm) and juxtaposition.
1 34 Broken prismatic effect

Light Colors and paints A prismatic palette layout

For about five years. John The artist usually works with He lays out his colors in a
Reay worked exclusively more or less the same color rough sequence. Because he
outside, painting from nature. range. The reds are Alizarin does not stick too carefully to
\s a result his approach to Crimson, Cadmium Red and a set order, some of the colors
light in a studio painting is Vermilion. The yellows he can become mixed up.
now automatic and intuitive. chooses areCadmium Yellow, Basically, he follows a visual
In a complicated figure scene, Cadmium Yellow Light. layout, from reds, grading
he finds that light is a unifying Lemon Yellow. Yellow Ochre through purples to warm blues,
factor in a picture. It pulls and, sometimes. Raw Sienna. then through to cooler blues
everything together and brings For blues he selects and on to yellows and greens.
a logic to the color: "It is not Cerulean Blue, Ultramarine Following this prismatic
entirely this, of course. There Blue and sometimes a Cobalt approach is useful, particularly
are other factors to take into Blue. He also likes Viridian, a because he works at a fast rate
account, but light is so premixed green. He does not when he starts painting. It
important for me. In all my use black, preferring to mix makes sense for the colors on
paintings, whether single or Alizarin Crimson and Viridian the palette to have some kind
massed-figure compositions, to create a lovely dark that is of order and relationship, with
lightand the way it strikes the full of color. the reds next to the oranges
forms is an important part of and the crimson closer to the
the painting." ultramarine, for instance.
His palettes are disposable
"1 seldom mix color on the pieces of board. He uses the
palette. If I want a midtone, same boards time and again,
for example,I pick up the but they eventually reach the
component colors and mix point where they are unusable,
them while spreading them on and he simply throws them
the canvas." away. Because the color
A mix of Alizarin Crimson and Viridian
creates a soft, rich dark.
mixing takes place on the
surface of the painting, there

He nearly always chooses is a good chance of colors

Titanium White as it is a contaminating one another
strong opaque white. He finds on the palette. With the colors

Flake White can often be a arranged prismatically, there is

little too heavy and textured less chance of contamination.

when used straight from the
tube. Titanium White has a
much smoother consistency
for knifework.
The color that he tends to
use probably more than any
other is Yellow Ochre. He
Core colors
describes it as "'a lovely, earthy
Alizarin Crimson
color and a medium range one,
Cadmium Red
too. a warm glowing color."
Vermilion
He finds it brings a bronze Cadmium Yellow
quality to llesh and an Cadmium Yellow Light
underlying earthy, yet human. Lemon Yellow
1
often pick up two or three
warmth to figure painting. Yellow Ochre Dark
"ii one go
the knife in Yellow Ochre
'lend them wet-into-wet Raw Sienna
face." Cerulean Blue "Sometimes you find
Ultramarine Blue accidental color mixes on the
Cobalt Blue more
palette are interesting
Viridian
than those that are happening
in the work."
Yellow Ochre is a warm, resonant color.
 135
Knife and brushwork Mow long does it take?
Most of the color mixing takes John never times how long a
place on the surface of the painting takes. It can be weeks
painting. The artist frequently "In this technique or months, sometimes years:
blends his knifework with a ofpainting, accident "The initial laying in is usually
brush, particularly in parts of and chance can play done quite quickly, but. when
the painting where the forms a large part." the picture has a lot going on.
are small, and also where I am redrawing it all the time,
using pure knifework would building up the colors and
overshadow the form and working to get a greater
make it look clumsy. John Reay richness and balance."
The outline of a form is Lowestoft Beach He tries to complete the
reestablished with a brush and same-size detail) knife-worked passages in
the inside attacked with a one session, but it is not
knife, creating a kind of visual always possible. It is not
dialogue of brushed and knifed so satisfactory to go over a
marks: "You cannot paint with painting again when it is dry.
a knife in a tight, limited way; There is a different feeling
it has got to be used in blocks and a different blend of paints
and patches of color." when working over a dry,
He finds that, with a knife, encrusted surface.
it is a process of defining, Sometimes he needs to go
losing and redefining the over a painting or parts of it

form throughout the whole again to make it work, but the

composition, going over it best ones are often those done
again and again with the knife. with minimum overworking.
There is always a greater
obvious freshness in the
application of the color.

In this technique of painting, interesting effects can occur by

"I find with a painting knife, chance. It is very much part of painting with a knife that the artist

I can get amazing mixes, can accidentally pick up a fleck of color, but the color does not
because the individual colors blend in the same way as it does with brushwork. The colors
never quite blend, particularly showing through from underneath are important, making an
interaction between the different layers of color. Sometimes, if an
if you pick up two colors on
different parts area of the painting has gone "dead," the artist will deliberately
of the knife
blade. They become blended change the color. If someone is wearing a blue shirt, for instance,
in the mark that results. he may find that changing it to a red or green one brings some
sparkle back into the painting.
1 36 Painting with nonart colors
Jessie Carr and Lucy Dunsterville are two artists who
'We tend to get through a
paint huge backdrops or "cloths." Their work is seen

lot of white; it's probably mainly in film, television and stage productions and
the greatest volume of is often used to decorate and provide atmosphere for
any of the eolors we use. special events. They are, in a sense, commercial
When working on this
artists working to order or commission, but they also
scale we use a lot of
create their own works, for sale or hire, which they
tints - we don't need our
post on their website. They choose household colors
colors to be too bright.
as a matter of course, and use them successfully.

Bulk-volume colors
There are many kinds of
colors - mainly with an
acrylic base - that are
available specifically for
large-scale, scenic and mural
painting. However, through
experience, these artists have
found that ordinary household
flat latex paint suits their
working methods best.

House and industrial paints

While household paints are
inexpensive in comparison
with artists' paint, the artist

needs to bear in mind that

these paints are designed for
a specific purpose. They are
made for decorating rooms
and houses where the colors
will be changed, on average,
every two to five years. Thus,
these products are aimed
at a market where extreme
longevity is not the prime

concern, so they are generally

Sound technique composed of ingredients

Paint specialists generally recommend that artists do not use that can eventually fail.

industrial, household and decorating paints in their paintings, and From an artist's point of

The main one is that the view, the binders and fillers
there are good reasons for this advice.
pigments and binders used these paints, compared to artists' they contain, particularly
in

colors, are less stable over time. Decorating paints, however, in latex paints, can often

arc perfectly good products in themselves. They offer a huge make colors look Hat and

hundreds, chalky and, therefore,

variety of colors and finishes, and they are available in
lacking in intensity
perhaps thousands, of different hues, lints and shades.
For painters who use nonart colors, the longevity of their
when used for
painting a
work is an important consideration that requires them to follow
picture.
sound technique. By staying with one medium - that is, not
mixing alkyd, or oil-based, and latex or water-based, paints
.

and working on appropriate supports, artists can avoid future

problems. Works that are 20 years old can look as good as new
alter being vacuumed, then sprayed with water to tighten them.
 unoosing nonart coioi 1 37
Core colors ( Ihoosing a palette
Decorating paints are given names that aim to create a mood Their palette consists of
and emotional response in the buyer. The same hue may be read) mixed paint bought
given one name one year and a different name the next. directl) from the supplier.
Sometimes a color is discontinued altogether, which can lead and, with a chosen set list of
to difficulties with consistency. The core colors used by Jessie colors, the) can achieve a

Carr and Lucy Dunsterville all have commercial names, but multitude of effects without
they have fairly well-matched equivalents in artists' paint-color having to resort to complex
ranges, too. If you have a good eye and know your colors, you color mixing in the studio.

can easily find hues that resemble artists' colors. Obviously, they mix and
blend individual colors to
achieve specific detail and
the subtlety of effect they are
after in certain passages of a
painting, but, on the whole,
they find their set palette of
around 1 2 colors covers most
of their requirements. The
standard colors they use are:
black, white, three blues,
three browns, two reds, a
pink, two greens and a
yellow (see left).

Preferred finish
Just as artists working on
conventional "easel" paintings
discover their preferred brand of
color, so these two artists have
discovered theirs and always use
Trade Name Generic Name the paint brand Dulux. They only
1 . Regatta Cerulean Blue use the flat-matte finish, except
2. Aria Cobalt Blue for black, where they prefer the

3. Apothecary Ultramarine Blue satin-gloss variety for its

4. Poppy Cadmium Red Light stronger pigmentation.

5. Fancy Dress Naphthol Red Light

6. Monarch Quinacridone Red "We find this brand best for
7. Gold Cup Cadmium Yellow consistency and flow; the
8. Bracken Yellow Ochre colors mix well and dry
9. Saddle Burnt Sienna evenly. Some other brands
[Link] Burnt Umber can dry with a bit of a
11. Hollybush Chrome Oxide Green plastickyfilm."
12. Goblin Perm. Green Light
1 38 5tudio technique using nonart colors

Mixing and painting

The medium the artists use for
thinning their colors is water,
and a lot of it. At times their
painting method almost
becomes a staining technique,
because they brush and scrub
unprimed
the color into the
and absorbent support,
flooding pure color into large Color on a large scale
areas with big housepainter's The scale of the work is
brushes, alternately picking amazing when compared to
up the shadow and detail with a conventional painting. An
smaller brushes. They blend average work would be 20ft
colors directly on the raw- (6m) long and 1 3ft (4m) high.
calico cloth and create The maximum scale the artists
special colors by mixing prefer to work to is dictated
their paints on the floor. by the height of their studio -
their current paintingframe is
limited to a (4m) height -
1 3ft
but they have worked on huge
pieces up to 20ft (37m) long,
1

and these have to be tackled

in sections. If the height
exceeds 1 3ft (4m), they have
to allow the calico to extend
down the wall onto the floor,
and they often paint sections
working upside down. It tends
to work out that Lucy, being
the taller, works on the top
sections, while Jessie tackles
the lower ones.

Painting surface
The support used to paint on is

Studio techniques artists'-quality calico. This is a fairly

ihes are used for lightweight cotton material, and they

md the floor is work on it unprimed.
used as at. ,;ilette.
 139
Planning a painting
On approval, after discussing
details with the client, the
artists transfer a preparatory
sketch onto the calico
support, using a measuring
system, then draw the whole
composition in with charcoal,
modifying it as they go.
When painting the final
canvas, they keep color
references at hand, working
from their own reference
photographs or magazine and
book references, depending
on the commission.
In this case an Indian
city was central to the
commission, and they had to
work from photographic
references for the scorched
city and the dry, sandy earth
colors of the landscape. The
succulent green foreground
foliage was taken from
references made at the Royal
Botanic Gardens, Kew, in Teamwork Preparatory sketch
England, and the final The artists work as a team - two If it is a commission the artists are working on, it will

success of the painting is left people as one. They tend to paint start off as a fairly detailed small sketch painting that

to their skill and imagination. their own sections, with different will be done to the exact proportions of the final

spurts of energy. A painting required size. They may show some alternative color
measuring 1 3 x 20ft (4 x 6m) takes variation sketches, too, and the presentation sketches
two or three days to complete. are accompanied by a color swatch.

?L

Color swatches
When painting the final canvas the
artists make color swatches,
planning the hues, tints and shades
they will require. They keep the
selection of colors as simple as
possible, having found through
experience that if too many colors
are mixed together the overall effect
is deadened and the
the painting.
life taken out of
mj fci. frjy
-
1 40 Colors from the mail
Judith Chestnutt describes herself as a papermaker,
Shredding and pulping
and the raw material of her work is junk mail that The selected paper is torn
she makes into paper pulp. Judith utilizes the and shredded color by color,
"I admire the
and, from this selection of
recycling ethic and work mountain of printed advertising material that
raw material, the artist
with that in mind." accumulates in her home - the unsolicited coupons, manufactures her paper pulp.
and commonplace It is a simple enough
leaflets flyers that are in every
process, but achieving a
household. She rarely needs to buy any
workable pulp that will
manufacturers' colors for her creative pursuits, blend and stick together in
because her medium is delivered for free through the final artwork requires
experience and a good eye
her letter box every day.
for the right raw materials.

Selecting the raw materials

Judith Chestnutt has The papers should not be too
developed a sharp eye for shiny. Gloss art and machine-
the type of junk mail she is glazed papers and those with
looking for. Some printed heavily varnished inks do
papers perform better than not recycle into pulp easily.
others in the recycling These papers do not absorb
process and produce a more water readily and this makes
successful finished work. the process of conversion to
When thinking of a new paper pulp more difficult than
paper-pulp picture, she sorts it needs to be.

her papers for reuse, using This does not entirely

tried and tested criteria. exclude the reuse of shiny
The artist avoids paper that paper for recycling; it can be
has previously been recycled, used, but it has to be soaked
and she can usually tell for an extremely long time.
through experience which Or it can be boiled, because
papers these are. This usually this helps accelerate the
precludes the use of water-absorption process that Shredding
Judith Chestnutt Having selected the papers for
newsprint, which is often, is essential in making a good
Color sample recycling, the next process is
but not always, on recycled pulp, but boiling results in
Paper pulp shredding. Hand shredding is best,

6 x4in (15.2 x 10.2cm)

paper. The problems with color loss and, in turn, leads
and the artist simply tears up the
such papers are that the fibers to a pulp that is of more paper into small pieces. Sometimes
are too short: "Ifyou think subdued color. she uses a shredder, the type you
about it, the paper has been Selection of the raw can buy in an office-supply store
shredded once before in the materials for the paper-pulp for destroying documents. Using a
original recycling process; I medium is a continuous shredder is less labor intensive and
get hold of and shred it
it process, and the artist sorts saves time when working on a large

again and the fibers have piece, but on the whole the artist
the junk paper systematically
has found hand shredding to be a
become even shorter. The by color into her storage
more satisfactory method. Torn-
paper pulp does not blend system - reds in one drawer,
"1 use whatever paper I can edged paper breaks down more
easily and join together in the blues in another, yellows in
[Link] envelopes with blue easily than paper with cut edges,
patterns printed inside make finished work." another, and so forth. and the fibers tend to remain intact
nice skies." for the pulp-making process.

Recycling envelopes
Bank and junk-mail envelope
interiors provide a wealth of blues
for recycling to paper pulp.
 Colors from paper pulp 1 41

% ;

- •>/

a*
,- It.^ %
V" *•,"•.•#' .•.'.- ••
-'.a /; '.31 <**
' ,

? i.
"TV
V'.rfc *<%

•« V i-WL
•^
» * ... J-.:

The artist is committed to conservation, and the materials seen in her

Judith Chestnutt paper-pulp images of shorelines celebrate this passion. In recycling

Shoreline, 2001 seemingly useless paper into individual artworks, she combines her practical
Paper pulp
and creative skills to create pictures that she describes as paperworks. Her
I2x12in(30x30cm)
fresh, unpolluted shoreline studies make a positive stand against

wastefulness and overt consumption.

.
1 42 Colors from paper pulp

Working with colored-paper pulp

Currently. Judithis working on shoreline sea and sky

compositions, and, from her collection of papers, she selects

various blues, and both cool and warm yellows, for shredding
and pulping. Fortunately, she says, blue and yellow are
predominant junk-mail colors, so she has a lot of color choice
for her subject matter.
Before she starts a pulp picture, the artist thinks a lot about
itand what she wants to do. She makes preparatory paintings
and drawings and has a design for the composition in mind.
All her themes - sea, sky and horizon - are inspired by nature.
She often works on a back piece, a prepared piece of paper, Remnants of the original
to act as a support for the paper-pulp composition. This is "I like seeing some of the original

particularly helpful if it is a larger work, but the pictures in the material and being able to see what
shoreline series are fairly small, about 12 x 12in (30 x 30cm), it is made of - a bit of type here, the

so for these the artist works directly with the paper pulp. lining pattern of an envelope there."

/**> **.:*
"It is very important to use
lotsof water. My ingredients
are very pure and simple. I
w
M
do not use any glues, binders
or chemicals, and my final 0^
colored pulp is stored in ~ ' %?*&*'
recycled plastic containers. * ^

Soaking and pulping k V

The shredded paper
in
is

buckets with lots of water. After

then soaked
i : *
^v
about three or four days, the wet
paper is ready for pulping and is
The artist works flat on a table, first Then she puts another absorbent Junk-mail colors
transferred in small amounts to an laying down an absorbent surface, paper towel over the whole work, "In the sky and sea, there are all

ordinary kitchen blender. Again, this in this case tough, absorbent squeezes out the surplus moisture sorts of colors. I can mix the pulps
disposable paper towels. The work and lays it on one side to dry: "I just like paint - use them just
iswhere the artist's experience 1

with the colored pulp is started by press really hard to take the water like paint."
comes into play, and she has
learned through trial and error the
using a fork to pick it up, the way and compact the pulp, and then

exact amount of shredded paper and one would use a paintbrush: "I work leave it to dry overnight." The

the exact amount of pulping time - with the colored pulps, picking them finished work is, by its very nature,

about five seconds - that is needed up, laying them down on the highly textured, a handmade piece
to make the perfect paper pulp. absorbent cloth, laying and blending created with no grain or direction.

It is important that the pulp is

the pulp just as if I was using paint, Once the completed picture is

the right consistency for working

until I feel the work is finished." dry, another process is employed to

with on the final picture. If the

modify the surface and accentuate

shredded paper is pulped (that is,

various parts of the composition. The

blended) for more than five seconds, artist often irons parts of the work to

the short fibers will disintegrate

bring in another textural dimension.

and the work will not hold together.

She uses a hot, ordinary domestic
iron to flatten certain areas of the
es not pulp after five seconds,
paper has not been soaked for surface and uses the hot tip to

lough.
indent small local areas to add to
the texture and relief.

fibers have
Using the blender
and lock If the shredded paper is blended for
II Mill
more than five seconds, the paper
fibers will break up and the work
holds will not bind together properly.
 143
Waste-paper collages

In addition to pulping junk

mail, old newspapers and
magazines are an endless free
source of colors and materials
for collage work. You will be
surprised at the large areas of
pure color to be found that
are uninterrupted
images. To
by
avoid what
text or
is
f&l
known as "show through" -
when print or type
this is
matter shows through from the
back - paste the collages onto
gray or black backgrounds.
Judith Chestnutt
Color samples
Paper pulp
8 x6in (20.3x1 5.2cm)

"It is a very simple process,

using very simple equipment.
Anyone can do anywhere.
J N it

i
\ ~

Print editions
If you have a home computer setup,
you can make convincing lithograph-
like prints by scanning junk-paper
collages and printing them onto
heavy-quality papers or special
printer-compatible canvas. Make
short, signed and numbered editions,
*"* using archive-quality inks in the
printer for longevity.

Collage samples
Magazine cuttings
and envelope interiors

5 x 6in (12.7 x 15.2cm) (above)

5 x 7in (12.7 x 17.7cm) (above right)

-' 5 x7in (10.2 x 17.7cm) (right)

1 44 Colors for free
Many artists experiment with found materials and
primitive societies still use naturally occurring colors
in their work. In developed societies, too, it is easy
and fun to find colors from animal, vegetable and
mineral sources around the house and yard.

Mustard powder in matte acrylic medium

Fat, saliva, ash and charcoal

Blood Early known examples of pigment
Myths exist of deranged artists who used for images date back at least

painted with blood. It is said that El 35,000 years. Analysis of the famous

Greco (Domenikos Theotocopoulos) cave paintings of southwest Europe,

(1541-1614) used his own blood, some 15,000 years old, reveals the

because he was often seen with use of animal fat, saliva, ash and

bandaged hands, thought to be a charcoal. Pigments derived from

result of drawing his own blood. It is

the earth - colors that are now
more probable the bandaging was to categorized as oxides, ochres and Mustard powder in red wine

protect skin damage caused by siennas - are also commonly found.

turpentine. It is known that blood is

Red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon)
useless for painting, because it

becomes dark brown within a few

days and eventually turns black.

Mustard powder
English mustard in powder form
makes a good transparent ochre.
Custom tinting
You can create warm tints, using
wine, tea, coffee and cola.

Cochineal mask
This graphite drawing is tinted with

cochineal food color. Foodstuffs and

food colorings provide good sources
of tinting materials.

El Greco (1541-1614)

tural complementaries
'i leaves of Rhus tnchocarpa

: arth 72- 75
-143

Cochineal and vanilla essence

 145
Vegetable colors
Color can be obtained from
vegetable matter. Grass, petals
and berries can be rubbed into the

surface of the paper to impart some

of their original pigment. Many
colors tend to go brown or quickly

fade. However, the samples here

are at least one year old.

Coal ash

Grass

Coal ash plus Titanium White

Blackberry and Titanium White

Rose hip Simon Jennings

Dust to Dust
Teak wood dust
and acrylic medium on canvas
1 1Mx8in (29.3 x 20.5cm)

Terra-cotta in matte acrylic medium

Mineral colors
Colors can easily be obtained by
drilling into bricks and stones with a Red-hot poker (Kniphofia)

masonry drill bit. The resulting spoil,

or dust, can then be bound in an
acrylic medium and used like paint.
1 46 Traveling color

Beach color
The beach in this location was
composed of gray volcanic pebbles,

creating a mottled carpet of

shadows and textures.

There is a great tradition

of painting outdoors and
observing litiht and color
directly from nature.
When traveling it may be
impractical to carry full-
scale painting equipment,

but successful results

can be achieved with a
limited selection of colors

and materials.

Primary Blue Neutral Gray, value 5 Parchment Naples Yellow (Hue)

An inexpensive and An excellent neutral gray, Avery neutral lightish An opaque lightish yellow;
versatile middle blue. It is used here for the beach green, almost white; very excellent for mixing. Subtle
the most dominant color in and distant hills. It was useful when traveling and not too dominant;
the picture above, but any mainly applied thinned light. It proved versatile here, it suggests the
mid-blue would suffice. with water, sometimes here-applied thickly for transparency and reflective
Primary Blue is fairly close with a little white added. the sea, in washes for the qualities of the sea. It was
in hue to Cerulean Blue. sky, and in admixture to also used in its pure state
lighten the other colors. for the distant shore.

ng ahead
a sunny
r example,
es come to mind
and ,
ur palette

accord
media ano

_£M J
OZVHOHH'J gmovHC
re JmvA
:

ZI-30W
u-t-imrism AS"WH li
jnovdo ancvdo
 147

Traveling light
A color sketching trip to the
Mediterranean coast of the
south of France necessitated
traveling light. The artist,

anticipating the opportunity to

paint the sea and sky, took a
small wooden box containing
five tubes of acrylic paint -
the four colors shown
opposite, and white. In
addition to a few brushes, the
Sketchbook page join (Sketchbook is 50 percent actual size travel-painting kit included a
small watercolor box to

From Castel Plage Color inspiration provide a wider range of

Acrylic and watercolor Abandoned rope fragments from colors. A red came in handy
in sketchbook nets and boats are among for the sails of the dinghies
8'/ x 21 in (21 x53cm) the colors and textures and the roofs of distant
to be found on most buildings, and a touch of green
The beach scene above takes up a beaches. depicted the foliage in the hills
double-page spread of a sketchbook,
and the shoreline palms.
and it shown here at about half
is

size. Acrylics were the predominant

materials used, but watercolor,
applied fairly thickly, provided the
small red and green color accents
that are shown in the actual-size
details on the left.

•"See also
Choosing media/Acrylics 33
Dry color and line 152-
1 48 Color on cloth
A strong relationship
exists in the making of
"I am a painter artwork between the use Helen Banzhaf
not a dyer. (left and far left)
of color in painting and
Rl MBRANDT'S Kl sim\si ro Mil CRITK ls\l Vessels
IH M III M'l'l II II Ills l OLORS KM) l MK Kl 1
in textiles. Cotton and Machine embroideries
linen canvas has always Cotton thread on calico

provided a traditional
base for the artist's

creations. Fabric dyes,

too, share many color
sources and similarities
with paints used in fine
art painting.

In addition to straightforward
painting, the techniques of
dyeing, embroidery and
applique can be used
effectively in making colorful
art. In most manufacturers*
catalogs today, you will find
textile and fabric paints, and
general art materials
Helen Dougall
suppliers even provide plain
(below)
white cotton T-shirts for
Set Aside
Wall hanging,
painting on. You will also

Wax-resisted dyes on silk

find a wide range of silk and
3/x25/m(47x64cm) encaustic paints suitable for
fabric applications.
 149
Chris Perry is an artist whose background is in film animation,

where he learned about colors and color mixing. These skills

have infuenced his work as an illustrator, painter, paper
sculptor and textile artist. For inspiration for his work, he
develops drawings and paintings from his sketchbook. Many
of his images include people and animals, which he uses to
communicate an environmental message.

Chris Perry
Homage to Paul (left)

Australian birds (far left)

Acrylic fabric paints on cotton

T-shirt designs
The artist washes the T-shirt to

remove the starch used in the

manufacturing process. He then
inserts plastic-covered cardboard the

|fjj&£ same size as the shirt to act as a

stiffener and barrier for the paint. A
black marker sketch on white paper
'"*"'
, J»«*""'"" ' h p„( C/Cf}""
may be inserted under the shirt for a
drawing guide. Otherwise, paint is

applied directly onto the shirt.

Acrylic-based screen and fabric

"The advantage of painting on •-SS-
printing colors are used. The artist
T-shirts is that one can wear
mainly treats the paint like
and communicate one's art watercolor, mixing it with water
and message to the rest of the using sable brushes, but, if he wants
world. It feels like a mix of the color to be flat and opaque, he
watercolor and canvas uses bristle brushes.

painting; it is cheap and fun. Sometimes black defining lines

I have a love of nature and are required, so he leaves the areas

I work for a range of of color to dry overnight and paints

environment charities; on the black the next day. When dry,

after two days, he irons the reverse

occasions I produce limited
of the fabric to fix the design.
editions of approximately
Acrylic fabric paints are extremely
100 hand-painted shirts." bright and washfast. Chris limits his

colors to Lemon Yellow, Brilliant

Yellow, Vermilion, Crimson, Cobalt,

Ultramarine, black and white, and he
finds these are enough to produce a
wide range of mixes. The artist is an
ardent fan of primary colors, and he
particularly likes to use a watered-
tfincent down Cobalt, which is excellent for

fa P;r-y
90 sea and sky.
There are many textile paints on
Chris Perry the market, as well as a special
Vincent van Gogh Homage to Vincent {above and left) textile medium that, when added to
Acrylic fabric paints on cotton ordinary acrylic paint, renders it more
flexible and increases washfastness.
1 50 Smooth color
Painting techniques are often associated with Cel painting
Prior to the advent of computers,
qualities of surface texture, involving impasto, mark nearly all animated cartoon films

making, glazes, washes and conscious brushwork. were produced by the "paint and
trace" method. This is where the
There are. however, many artists who practice a design is traced in black outline onto

flatter, more controlled approach to color. These transparent celuloid, hence the
abbreviation "cel." Each cel was then
methods of applying paint smoothly are sometimes passed to the painting department,

born of necessity, and this is particularly so when and the colors were filled in by hand.
This process required a high degree of
color images have to be considered for reproduction painting skill, because the artists had

by photography or direct digital scanning. to keep the paint extremely flat and
flood it into the image, making sure
the liquid paint did not overrun the
In traditional, animated-film eel-painting techniques, before traced outline. Painters had to work
the use of computers, a special type of liquid acrylic paint quickly, because cartoon films were
with strong pigments and good covering power, known as Cel composed of hundreds of thousands
Yin\ or Cartoon Paint, was the
l preferred medium. Thinner, of individual eels, which were then

more viscous colors of this type are still often favored by photographed onto movie film.

artists who are pursuing a flatter, graphic or more fluid Flatness and density
Although a little battered after nearly
technique, and they are also used by painters of large-scale
35 years in storage, this original eel
murals, as well as designers and illustrators whose work has
from the film Yellow Submarine
to be photographed or scanned for reproduction.
(1 968) shows the flatness and
density of color achieved by painting
in opaque colors on the reverse of

transparent materials, such as glass

and clear plastic. The detail above
shows the not-so-smooth and more
painterly effect on the reverse, or
working side, of the cel.

To make certain of complete flatness

and evenness of color for photo-

graphy, the outline designs were

traced on the front of the cel and th
color was painted onto the back
Painting opaque colors on the
reverse of transparent mater-
ials is an invaluable tech-
nique that ensures an
absolutely smooth
surface effect.
 quid colors 1 51

Enamel paint
In the paintings of the building
fascias, the flatness of the

surface has been achieved by

using hobby enamel paints. The
fluid consistency and easy brush
application make enamel an
ideal medium for painting
details and flat areas alike.
Often associated with
decorative applications, enamel
paints can also be mixed and
blended for painterly effects

and take about 24 hours to dry.

Simon Jennings
Building Fascias
Enamel on board
24 x 24in (61 x61cm)

Liquid opaque colors

Opaque colors similar
in consistency to those
favored by traditional
animation artists are

available today and

can be found in many
manufacturers' catalogs in
jar and bottle form. These
paints are suitable for
application to a wide range
of surfaces and are made
in acrylic, water-based or
solvent-based enamel paint
varieties. Most have strong
pigments, good covering
power and adhesion, are
readily intermixable and
are waterproof. Colors of
this type are usually listed
in the craft sections of
catalogs, where similar,
but more specialized,
colors for painting onto
glass, ceramics and textiles
are often shown, too.

'': '.'.

*~See also
I

Communicating with color 43

Painting with
nonart colors 136-139
1 id
Color on cloth 148-149
1 52 Dry color and line

There is a huge variety

dry media available
that is easy to use
and transportable,
suitable for use alone
or in mixed-media V
Charcoal sticks and pencil
applications. These
Graphite pencil drawing
materials cross the
divide between drawing
and painting.

'\\

Blending and mixing with colored pencils

Charcoal using linear and wash effects

Charcoal
The classic and time-honored artist's
These two pages show some
drawing medium, charcoal comes in
of the dry media that can be Graphite and charcoal
traditional sticks and pencil form in a
A selection of graphite and charcoal
used for both color and line: variety of thicknesses and grades. A
in pencil form. Graphite, like
colored pencils (regular and wide range of tones may be produced
charcoal, is available in sticks, too.
u atcr-soluble). pastels, oil by blending and rubbing to create
Use a white paper stump or torchon
pastels, oilbars (sometimes shades and soft grays. Charcoal is
for blending and gradating tones.
known as oil-painting sticks), also soluble for use as washes.

graphite and charcoal. Colored pencils

There are many other These come in various thicknesses.

pencil and sticklike, dry-color Some brands are soft and free

products available, such as flowing. Others are thinner and of a

harder consistency. There are many
wax crayons and conte sticks.
water-soluble types available,
that arc highk suitable for
suitable for mixing and blending and
Creative color expression.
for creating watercolorlike effects.
Much of this media is soluble
inwater or solvent and can be
used to create fluid painterly
effects. Many media that use
liquids, such as pen and inks
iber-tips for color-linear
ques, are available, too.
il availability varies
maker to the next,

ie pigments
painl colors.
Mixing media
Mi iifacturers
Oil pastel and graphite pencil are used
offtt products
here. Turpentine is used to blend the
in the
pastel, and pencil worked over the top.
 txpenmenting with color and 1

Water-soluble colored pencil selection

Oil pastels
These, too, can be used for linear
and fluid techniques, enabling you to
produce oil-like surface effects.

Water-soluble colored pencil

You can move freely between linear
and fluid techniques, creating wet Oil pastels are versatile and transportable,
and dry effects in the same piece. highly suitable for outdoor color work.

Pastels
mr \-ur¥~7 Oilbar Soft pastels, or chalk pastels, are
-O Z-
2.2-
Also known as oil-painting sticks, the artist's traditional choice when
oilbars behave like oil paint. You can selecting a dry medium. Pastels
A mix and blend them with solvent and come in hundreds of colors, whose

\\ I •.*».

C*n** t>'M*c /JeeoM V*

wI
SUfa*.

arfUtciy*
use them to create surface texture
and impasto effects.
pigments match those of paints, and
most of the major manufacturers
offer quality pastels in a wide color
range. They can be used to produce
large areas of color or finer lines.
The technique of working in pastels
is known as pastel "painting."

«~See also
Choosing media/
Pastels & colored pencils 35

Sketchbook experiments
Experiment with mixing and blending water-soluble colored pencils.
 »'<
«»
i4
' M
1
j>
<« ,/
y
V :»i
*
1
k
V
 56 1 Color index

of the Color index is to provide a of different pigments or, more importantly for an artist when
considering color, you will see colors with the same pigment
\ isual reference source of the popular artists' colors,
content that vary considerably in color.
the ones you are most likely to see in the most
common painting media - oils, watercolor, acrylics Colors have been reviewed by hue. By "hue," we mean
color or variation of color (see Glossary of terms). As far as
and gouache - in the various manufacturers' color possible within the Color index, colors have been grouped -
charts. This index is to help you get to know your for example, into Neutrals, Reds, Yellows, Blues, Greens,
Browns, Earths and Ochres, etc. This provides a direct visual
colors and to demonstrate that, although artists'
comparison and enables you to see the differences between,
colors may be given the same name and contain the say, a Cobalt Blue, a Phthalo Blue and an Ultramarine.
same basic ingredients, they can vary dramatically
reviewed for variety. In Chapter Two,
in appearance.
"Color by color," we looked at the main color groups and
learned something of the history, background, character and
handling of various hues, and, in many cases, how professional
artists have mixed and used color in their work. However, it
was not possible to show as many colors as we would have
liked. The Color index acts as an invaluable backup reference.

Color behavior. The Color index has used flat colors for
sampling and most of the colors have been shown in what is
known as top or mass tone. In short this means they have been
applied thickly as if seen straight from the tube or sitting as
solid blocks in the watercolor pan. The true character of many
pigments, particularly at the darker end of the scale, only
becomes apparent when diluted or mixed with a medium. In
some cases color samples have been shown applied thickly as
top tone and with a touch of white to create a tint to reveal
something of the true character of the color.

Color accuracy. The only accurate color charts are hand

In the making and selecting of colors for the Color index, the colored, and most manufacturers supply these on request.

art editorshave reviewed and sampled more than ,500 colors 1

Unfortunately, this book is restricted to the four-color printing

from of the world's leading manufacturers. Of the ,500

1 1 1
process. While this is a sophisticated and accurate technological

colors reviewed, over 400 have been selected for the index and process, bear in mind that the colors you see here are not actual

the following criteria have been applied in the selection. pigments but are made up from printing inks (see pages 20-2 1 ).

so there will be variations between the colors shown and the

ave been reviewed by name. In certain actual manufacturers' pigment colors.
circumstances you will see the same name repeated in the
index - for example. Cadmium Red Deep. The purpose of this
is to show how the same-named color from two, or sometimes
•-Note
more, different manufacturers may vary in hue.
The following manufacturers have
kindly supplied colors for use in the
Colors have been reviewed by medium. The Color index Color index and throughout this book:
also provides the opportunity for the reader to see variations Winsor & Newton, Daler-Rowney,
in same name but in different media - for
colors of the Golden, Tri-Art, Royal Talens,

ample, how Cadmium Red Deep will look in oil color, Sennelier, Schmincke, Liquitex,

lache or acrylic. Maimeri, Lukas, Old Holland.

Seepages 180-1'81 for details.
ave been reviewed by pigment. All major
disclose the pigment content of their colors. It

mon to see this information printedon the tube or

pad Mils, the pigment declaration can usually
be I" e maker's color chart or catalog. In the Color
index yi olors of the same name that are composed

I
 COLOR INDEX
Naples to Primrose Yellows ' 1 57
Naples Yellow 2
PW4/PW6/PY1/PR9/PY42
Rowney Artists' Oi
Naples Yellow 3
PW4/PW6/PY1/PR9/PY42
Rowney Artists' Oi
Naples Yellow Light
PW4/PY35
TalensVan Gogh Oil

Naples Yellow
PBr24/PW6
Winsor & Newton Finity Acrylic

Naples Yellow Light

PW5/PY1/PY42/PR101
Lukas Studio Oil

Naples Yellow Light

PW4/PY42/PY37
Maimeri Classico Oil

Naples Yellow Deep

PW6/PBr24/PY53
Talens Rembrandt Acrylic
Naples Yellow Deep
PW4/PY42/PY37/PO20
Maimeri Artisti Oil

Naples Yellow Extra

PW4/PW6/PY42
Old Holland Classic Oil
Naples Yellow (Hue
PW6/PY42/PR101
Tri-Art Acrylic

Naples Yellow Deep

PBr24
Winsor & Newton Finity Acrylic

Naples Yellow Deep Extra

PBr24
Old Holland Classic Oil

Cadmium Lemon Yellow

PY37
Maimeri Artisti Oil

Scheveningen Yellow Lemon

PY3
Old Holland Classic Oil
Lemon Yellow Hue
PY53
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Lemon Yellow
PY4/PY3/PW6
Sennelier Etude Art Student Oil

Primary Yellow
PY74/PW6
Tri-Art Acrylic

Primary Yellow
PY97
Maimeri Puro Oil

Primary Yellow
PY3
Lukas Studio Oil

Process Yellow
PY74/PY3
Daler-Rowney System 3 Acrylic

Titanate Yellow
PY53
Golden Acrylic
Nickel Titanate Yellow
PY53
Maimeri Artistr Oil

C.P. Cadmium Yellow Primrose

PY35
Golden Acrylic
Rowney Primrose
PY184/PW4
Rowney Artists' Oil
1 58 Yellows Azo to Brilliant
COLOR INDEX

Azo Yellow Medium

PY74
Winsor & Newton Finity Acrylic

Yellow Medium Azo

PY74 LF
Liquitex Acrylic

Azo Yellow Medium

PY74
Talens Van Gogh Acrylic
Azo Yellow Deep
PY74/P043
Talens Van Gogh Acrylic

Bismuth Yellow Medium

PY184
Tn-Art Acrylic
Bismuth Yellow Deep
PY184
Tri-Art Acrylic

Hansa Yellow Light

PY3
Golden Acrylic
Hansa Yellow Medium
PY73
Golden Acrylic

Cadmium Yellow Deep

P020/PY35
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Cadmium Yellow Deep

PY37
Old Holland Classic Oil

Cadmium Yellow Deep

PO20/PY35
Rowney Artists' Oil

Cadmium Yellow Deep

PO20/PY35
Talens Van Gogh Oil

Cadmium Yellow
PY35
Rowney Artists' Oil

C.P. Cadmium Yellow Medium

PY35
Tri-Art Acrylic

Cadmium Yellow Medium

PY37
Maimeri Artisti Oil

C.P. Cadmium Yellow Medium

PY35
Golden Acrylic

Cadmium Yellow Pale

PY35
Daler-Rowney Cryla Acrylic
Cadmium Yellow Light
PW4/PY1
Lukas Studio Oil

Cadmium Yellow Light

PY35
Golden Acrylic
Cadmium Yellow Light
PY35
Talens Van Gogh Oil

Brilliant Yellow
PY83/PY97/PW6
Maimeri Brera Acrylic
Yellow
Brilliant
PY83/PW6/PW4
Sennelier Artists' Oil

Yellow Deep
Brilliant
PW4/PY83/P043
Maimeri Classico Oil

Yellow Light
Brilliant
PW4/PW5/PY1
Lukas Studio Oil

I
 COLOR INDEX
Chromes to Ochres Yellows 1 59
Chrome Yellow (Hue)
PY1
Rowney Artists' Oil
Chrome Yellow Light
o
cz
PY34 Ki
Maimeri Artisti Oil ^5
Chrome Yellow Hue E
PY74/P062 o
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Zinc Yellow o
PW5/PY3/PY42
Lukas Studio Oil

Aureolin
PY40
Rowney Artists' Oil

Aureolin
PY40
Maimeri Artisti Oil o
CD
Aureolin
PY40
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Transparent Yellow
PY17
Maimeri Artisti Oil

Indian Yellow
PY100/PBk11/PR9
Rowney Artists' Oil

Indian Yellow
PY139/PR101
Winsor & Newton Artists' OH
Indian Yellow
PY74/PR8.
Lukas Studio Oil

Indian Yellow
PY110
Talens Van Gogh Oil

Indian Yellow Green Lake Extra d

PY153/PY129
Old Holland Classic Oil cz
Indian Yellow Brown Lake Extra
PY153/PY42
Old Holland Classic Oil

Indian Yellow Orange Lake Extra

PY153/PR260
Old Holland Classic Oil

Indian Yellow
PY1:1/P013
Rowney Designers' Gouache

Italian Pink CD
O)
PY100/PR83:1/PBk9 O
-O
Rowney Artists' Oil

Rowney Golden Yellow E

PY53/PR101
CO
CD
Rowney Artists' Oil
cz
Gamboge (Hue) CD
PY17/PY83 ;o
Maimeri Artisti Oil o
Gamboge Lake Extra
CD
PY153/PY3
Old Holland Classic Oil

Transparent Gold Ochre

PR101/PY43
Rowney Artists' Oil
Yellow Ochre Light
PY43/PW6/PY42
Maimeri Classico Oil

Yellow Ochre
PY42
Talens Van Gogh Oil co
Yellow Ochre Light

Oo
PY43
Old Holland Classic Oil
1 60 Flesh Tints & Reddish Yellows COLOR INDEX

Flesh Color
PW5/PY35/P020
Lukas Studio Oil

Flesh Color 2
PW5/PR108/PO20
Lukas Sorte 1 Oil

Flesh Color 4
PW5/PR108/PO20
Lukas Sorte 1 Oil

Flesh Tint
PW4/PY42/PR101
Schmincke Mussini Oil

Flesh Tint
PW6/PW4/PY42/PR101
Schmincke Norma Oil
Flesh Tint
PW4/PR101/PY42
Rowney Artists' Oil

Flesh Tint
PY42/PR101/PW6
Daler-Rowney Cryla Acrylic
Flesh Tint
PW4/PY42/PV19
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Flesh Tint
PW4/PW6/PY119/PR214
Old Holland Classic Oil
Light Portrait Pink
PR188/P036/PW6
Liquitex Acrylic
Flesh Ochre
PR102/PY43/PW4
Sennelier Artists' Oil

Flesh Ochre
in Titanium White tint

Flesh Ochre
PY42/PR188/PR102
Old Holland Classic Oil

Flesh Ochre
in Titanium White tint

Naples Yellow Reddish

PW5/PY3/PY42/P034
Lukas Studio Oil

Naples Yellow Reddish

in Titanium White tint

Naples Yellow Red

PW4/PY35/PR108
Talens Van Gogh Oil
Naples Yellow Reddish Extra
PW4/PW6/PY53/PO43/PR260
Old Holland Classic Oil

Naples Yellow Reddish

PW4/PW6/P043
Mairnen Classico Oil

Naples Yellow Reddish

PW4/PY37/PR108
Maimeri Artisti Oil

Yellow Reddish
Brilliant
PW4/PW6/PY53/P069/P043
Old Holland Classic Oil

Yellow Light
Brilliant
PW4/PW6/PY83/P069
Old Holland Classic Oil

Jaune Brillant
PY1 38/PY42/PR1 88/PW6
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Sandstone
R101/PY11/PW6
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
 COLOR INDEX
Light Reds & Oranges I 1 61
Helio Genuine Yellow Deep
P062/P034/PY1
Lukas Sorte 1 Oi

Tangerine
PR4
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
Benzimidazolone Orange
P062
Winsor & Newton Finity Acrylic

Azo Orange
PY74/P034
Talens Van Gogh Acrylic

Cadmium Orange
PO20
Schmincke Horadam Gouache
C.P. Cadmium Orange
PO20
Golden Acrylic
Cadmium Orange
P020
Old Holland Classic Oi
Naphthol Orange
PY65/PR112
Tri-Art Acrylic

Helio Genuine Orange

P062/P013
Lukas Sorte 1 Oil

Pyrrole Orange
P073
Tri-Art Acrylic

Chrome Orange
PW5/P036
Lukas Studio Oil

Chrome Orange Deep (Hue)

P034/PY74/PY42
Daler-Rowney Georgian Oil

Coral Orange
P067
Old Holland Classic Oi
Translucent Orange
P071
Schmincke Mussini Oil

Winsor Orange
P073
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil
Cadmium Red Orange
P020
Maimen Artisti Oil

Red Orange
PR4/P013/PW6/PY42
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
Vermilion Red Light
P034
Lukas Studio Oil

Vermilion
P034/PR57:1
Talens Van Gogh Oil

Vermilion Red
PR4/PR9
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache

Naphthol Red Light

PR112/P034
Talens Van Gogh Acrylic
Scarlet Lake
PR255
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oi

Scarlet Lake Extra

PR168/PR209
Old Holland Classic Oil

Pyrrole Red Light

PR255
Golden Acrylic
16" Reds: Mediunr
COLOR INDEX

Cadmium Red Lightest

PR 108
Lukas Sorte 1 Oil

Cadmium Red Light

PR 108
Winsor & Newton Finity Acrylic

C. P. Cadmium Red Light

PR 108
Tri-Art Acrylic

Cadmium Red Light

PR108
Old Holland Classic Oil

Quinacridone Red Light

PR207
Golden Acrylic
Helio Genuine Red
PR9/P035
Lukas Sorte 1 Oil

Old Holland Bright Red

PR 168
Old Holland Classic Oil

Bright Red
PR254
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Winsor Red
PR255/PR254
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Quinacridone Red
PR209
Winsor & Newton Finity Acrylic

Lukas Red
PR9
Lukas Sorte 1 Oil

Pyrrole Red Medium

PR254
Tri-Art Acrylic

Cadmium Red
PR 108
Daler-Rowney Cryla Artists' Acrylic

Cadmium Red Medium

PR108
Liquitex Acrylic

Cadmium Red Medium

PR 108
Maimeri Artisti Oil

Cadmium Red Middle

PR108/PW21
Schmincke Mussini Oil

Scheveningen Red Medium

PR 188
Old Holland Classic Oil

Permanent Red
PR112
TalensVan Gogh Oil

Naphthol Red Medium

PR5
Golden Acrylic
Perylene Red
PR149
Winsor & Newton Finity Acrylic

Cadmium Red Deep

PR188/PR112
Lukas Berlin Water-Mixable Oil

Cadmium Red Deep

PR 108
Maimeri Artisti Oil

C.P. Cadmium Red Dark

PR 108
Golden Acrylic
Cadmium Red Deep
PR108/PW21
:ii hiniiiili' Mir, miii Oil

I
 COLOR INDFX
Dark to Denp Reds I 163
Old Holland Red Gold Lake
PY153/PV19R
Old Holland Classic Oil

Chinese Vermilion
PR108/PR242
Sennelier Artists' Oil

Scarlet Lake
PR9/PR5
Rowney Artists' Oil

Scarlet Alizarin CO
Q.
PR4/PR83:1 <D
Rowney Artists' Oil
CD

Geranium Lake
J*.
PR8/PY74 1_
CT3
Lukas Studio Oil

Ruby Red
PV19/PR48:2
Sennelier Gouache Extra-Fine
Cadmium Red Purple
PR 108
Sennelier Artists' Oil

Cadmium Red Purple

PR 108
Old Holland Classic Oil

Alizarin Carmine
PV19/PR206
Maimeri ClassicoOil
Permanent Alizarin Crimson
PR117
Talens Van Gogh Acrylic cc
Alizarin Madder Lake
PR83:1
Schmmcke Mussini Oil
Alizarin Crimson
PR83
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Antique Rose Madder

PR122/PY83
Maimeri Artisti Oil

Madder Lake Red

PR112/PR176 CD
Lukascryl Artists' Acrylic -o
Madder Lake Deep 03
PR101/PR176/PBk11
Lukas Berlin Water-Mixable Oil

Madder Lake Deepest

PR83/PR176
Lukas Sorte 1 Oil

Carmine
PV19/PR83:1
Rowney Artists' Oil
Carmine Deep
CD
PR12/PV19
Talens Van Gogh Acrylic
Carmine Lake Extra
cc
PV19B/PV19R/PR83/PR88
Old Holland Classic Oil
O
Permanent Carmine
Quinacridone/Pyrrol
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Maroon
PR12/BV10:BR2/PV1
Daler-Rowney Designer's Gouache _CD
Permanent Maroon Q-
PV19/PR101/PB15:3
Tri-Art Acrylic a.
Caeser Purple
PV19 o
Schmincke Mussini Oil

Purple Lake
PR83:1/PR88
Rowney Artists' Oi

I
I Reds: Pinks & Roses to Magentas

Pink
PR4/PV2
Lukas Designer Gouache
Deep Pink
BV10:BR2/PR3
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
Rose Pink
BV10BR2/PR3/PW6
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
Brilliant Pink
PW4/PW6/PR188
Old Holland Classic Oil

Rose Oore (Madder Lake Antique Extra)

PR175/PR168/PR83
Old Holland Classic Oil

Quinacridone Rose
PV19
Maimeri Artisti Oil

Permanent Rose
PV19/PR122
Daler-Rowney Cryla Artists' Acrylic

Scheveningen Rose Deep

PV19R
Old Holland Classic Oil

Permanent Rose
PR122/PV19
Talens Van Gogh Oil

Permanent Rose
PR122
Lukascryl Artists' Acrylic
Brilliant Rose Light
PR4/PV2
Lukas Designer Gouache
Brilliant Rose
PR112/PR176/PV2
Lukas Designer Gouache

Light Magenta
PR112/PW6/PR207
Golden Acrylic
Magenta Light
PR122/PW6
Tri-Art Acrylic

Medium Magenta
PR122/PW6
Liquitex Acrylic

Primary Red
PR 122
Maimeri Classico Oil

Primary Magenta
PV19
Golden Acrylic
Process Magenta
PV19/PR122
Daler-Rowney System 3 Acrylic
Process Magenta
BV10BR2/PR3/PR9
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
ACRA© Magenta
PR122
Liquitex Acrylic

Deep Magenta
PR122/PV19DL/PW6
Liquitex Acrylic
Magenta
BV10BR2/PR3/PR9
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
Magenta
PV23/PR122
Winsor& Newton Artists' Oil

Magenta Lake
PV19/PR81
Maimeri Artisti Oil
 COLOR INDEX
Red to Blue Violets I 165
Quinacridone Violet
PV19
Tri-Art Acrylic

Verzino Violet
PV19
Maimen Puro Oil

Indanthrene Violet
PR88/PR122
Maimen Artisti Oil CC
Deep Violet
PR122/PV19DL
Liquitex Acrylic

Brilliant Lilac
PV2/PV23
Lukas Designer Gouache
Cobalt Violet Pale
PV14
Maimeri Puro Oil

Cobalt Violet
PV14 -O
Rowney Artists' Oil

Cobalt Violet Dark

o
PV14
Old Holland Classic Oil

Purple
PV2
Lukas Designer Gouache
Purple Lake
PV3/BV10:BR2/PVl
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
Brilliant Purple
PV15/PV19/PV23
Tri-Art Acrylic

Purple Lake
PV23/PBr25 i_
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil
Q_
Manganese Violet Reddish
PV16 O
Old Holland Classic Oil

Manganese Violet
PV16
Sennelier Artists' Oil

Prism Violet
PV23/PW6/PR122
Liquitex Acrylic

Permanent Violet Dark

PB60/PR122
Golden Acrylic

Light Violet
PV23/PW6
Golden Acrylic
Old Holland Bright Violet
PV15/PV19R/PV23:1R
Old Holland Classic Oil

Dioxazine Violet
PV23
Tri-Art Acrylic

Violet
PV23
Schmincke Horadam Gouache

Permanent Blue Violet

PV23/PR122
TalensVan Gogh Oil

Permanent Mauve
PV16
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Mauve (Blue Shade)

PV19/PV23/PB15
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Ultramarine Violet
PV15
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil
1 6G I Blues Blue Violet to Ultramarine
COLOR INI

Old Holland Blue Violet

15:1/PV23:1R
Old Holland Classic Oil

Faience Blue
PB60
Maimeri Puro Oil

Indanthrene Blue
PB60
Daler-Rowney Cryla Artists' Acrylic

Old Holland Blue Deep

PB29/PB60/PBk7
Old Holland Classic Oil

Indigo
PG7/PBk7/PB29
Rowney Artists' Oil

Paris Blue
PB27
Lukas Studio Oil

Prussian Blue
PB27
Rowney Artists' Oil

Prussian Blue
PB27
Liquitex Acrylic

Prussian Blue (Hue)

PB15:1/PV23
Tri-Art Acrylic

Prussian Blue Phthalo

PB15:4/PBk11
TalensVan Gogh Acrylic

Old Holland Blue

PB15
Old Holland Classic Oil

Winsor Blue (Red Shade)

PB15
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Phthalo Blue (Red Shade)

PB151
Tri-Art Acrylic

Phthalo Blue (Red Shade)

PB151
Winsor& Newton Finity Acrylic

Scheveningen Blue
PB15
Old Holland Classic Oil

Phthalo Blue
PB15
TalensVan Gogh Acrylic

Phthalo Blue (Green Shade)

PB15
Daler-Rowney Cryla Artists' Acrylic

Rowney Blue
"'B29/PB15
aler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
elio Genuine Blue
15 3
Lukascryl Artists' Acrylic
Helio Blue
B15.3
Schmincke Horadam Gouache

Ultramarine Deep
B29
Maimeri Puro Oil

Ultramarine Deep
B29
I, ilun:; [Link] (III

Ultramarine Deep
29
Schmincke Horadam Gouache
French Ultramarine
B29
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil
 COLOR INDEX
Mid Blues] 167
Ultramarine
PB29/PB15
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
Ultramarine Blue
PB29
Golden Acrylic
Ultramarine Middle
PW5/PB29
Lukas Designer Gouache
Ultramarine Light
PB29
Lukas Designer Gouache

Permanent Blue
PB29
Rowney Artists' Oil
Ultramarine Blue (Green Shade)
PB29
Liquitex Acrylic

Cobalt Blue Deep

PB29/PB16
Lukas Studio Oil

Cobalt Blue Deep

PB74
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Cobalt Blue Deep

PB28
Maimeri Artisti Oil

Cobalt Blue
PB28
Talens Van Gogh Oil

Cobalt Blue
PB28
Rowney Artists' Oil

Cobalt Blue
PB28
Golden Acrylic

Cobalt Blue Hue

PB29/PW6
Liquitex Acrylic

Cobalt Blue Light

PB28
Schmincke Mussini Oil

Cobalt Blue Light

PB28
Maimeri Artisti Oil

Cobalt Blue Light

PB28
Schmincke Horadam Gouache

Delft Blue
PB29/PB15/PW6
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
Brilliant Blue
PB29
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
Cerulean Blue
PB36:1
Tri-Art Acrylic

Cerulean Blue
PB35
Talens Van Gogh Oil

Cerulean Blue
PB35
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Cerulean Blue
PW4/PB15/PB16.
Lukas Studio Oil

Cerulean Blue Deep

-
PB36
Old Holland Classic Oil
Cerulean Blue Deep
PB36
Golden Acrylic
1 61 1 Blues Manganese to Turq uoise
COLOR INDEX

Manganese Blue
PB33
Old Holland Classic Oil

Azure Blue
PB15:4/PG7
Sennelier Artists' Oil

Scheveningen Blue Light

PB15/PW4/PW6
Old Holland Classic Oil

Powder Blue
PB29/PW6
Daler-Bowney Designers' Gouache

Kings Blue Deep

PB29/PW4/PW6
Old Holland Classic Oil

Light Ultramarine Blue

PB29/PW6
Golden Acrylic
Royal Blue Light
PB29/PW5
Lukas Sorte 1 Oil

Sky Blue
PB29/PB151/PW4
Lukas Berlin Water-Mixable Oil

Sky Blue
PW4/PB15
Talens Van Gogh Oil

Sky Blue
PB15:3/PW4
Maimeri Classico Acqua Oil

Primary Blue
PB15:1/PBk7
Lukas Designer Gouache
Primary Blue
PB153
Lukas Berlin Water-Mixable Oil

Primary Cyan
PB15:3/PW6
Tri-Art Acrylic

Process Cyan
FB2:1
Daler-Bowney Designers' Gouache
Primary Blue-Cyan
PB15:3/PB16
Maimeri Classico Oil

Brilliant Blue
PG15/PG7/PW6
Talens Van Gogh Acrylic

Caribbean Blue
PB16
Old Holland Classic Oil

Turquoise Deep
PB153/PG7
Liquitex Acrylic
Phthalo Turquoise
PB15 3/PG7
Tri-Art Acrylic

Phthalo Turquoise Light

PW6/PG7/PB15.3
Tri-Art Acrylic

Turquoise
PB15/PG7
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
Turquoise Blue
PW4/PB15/PG7
Talens Van Gogh Oil
Permanent Light Blue
PB15 3/PG7/PW6
Maimeri Brera Acrylic
Turquoise Blue
PW4/PG7/PB16
Maimeri Classico Oil
 COLOR INDEX
Turquoise to Deep Green Blue-Greens I 1 69
Cobalt Blue Turquoise
PB36
Old Holland Classic Oil

Cobalt Turquoise (Hue)

PB15/PW4/PG7
Daler-Rowney Cryla Artists' Acrylic

Cobalt Turquoise
PB36
Golden Acrylic
Brilliant Green Blue
PB16
Lukas Designer Gouache

Cobalt Turquoise
PB36
Liquitex Acrylic

Cobalt Blue Turquoise Light

PG50
Old Holland Classic Oi
Ultramarine Green
PG29/PG7
Maimeri Artisti Oil

Cobalt Teal
PG50
Tri-Art Acrylic

Bright Aqua Green

PG7/PB15/PW6
Liquitex Acrylic

Light Turquoise (Phthalo)

PB15:4/PW6/PG7
Golden Acrylic
Winsor Green
PG7
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Emerald Green
PW5/PG7
Lukas Studio Oi

Emerald Green
PG7/PY74/PW4
Winsor & Newton Winton Oil

Emerald Green
PY3/PB15/PW4
Maimeri Artisti Oil

Rowney Emerald
PW4/PG7/PY3/PY53
Rowney Artists' Oil

Barite Green
PG7/PY3/PW6
Sennelier Artists' Oil

Viridian
PG7
Sennelier Etude Art Student Oil

Monestial Turquoise (Phthalo)

PB15
Rowney Artists' Oil

Viridian
PG18
Rowney Artists' Oil

Viridian
PG7/PY43
Talens Van Gogh Oil

Cobalt Green Light

PG50
Maimeri PuroOil
Cobalt Green
PG26/PG50
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Cobalt Green
PG50
Liquitex Acrylic

Cobalt Green Deep

PG26
Old Holland Classic Oil
 1 70 1 Greens illiant to Cinnabar

Brilliant Green
PG7/PY3
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
Helio Green Yellowish
PG36
Schmincke Horadam Gouache
Winsor Green (Yellow Shade)
PG36
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Phthalo Green
PG7
TalensVan Gogh Oil

Permanent Green Light

PG7/PY74
TalensVan Gogh Acrylic

Permanent Green
CD PW4/PW6/PY151/PB15
Old Holland Classic Oil

Permanent Green Medium

PG7/PY74
CD TalensVan Gogh Acrylic
Q_
Permanent Green Deep
PY138/PG7/PW6
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Cadmium Green Pale

PY35/PG18
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Cadmium Green
PG18/PY37
Maimeri Artisti Oil

Cadmium Green
PY35/PG18
O Winsor & Newton
Cadmium Green Deep
Artists' Oil

PY37/PG18
Old Holland Classic Oil

Saffron Green
PG7/PY3
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
Vivid Lime Green

0> PY97/PG7/PW6
Liquitex Acrylic
Bright Green
PG7/PY3
Daler-Rowney Cryla Artists' Acrylic

LightGreen (Yellow Shade)

PG7/PY3/PW6
Golden Acrylic

Light Green
PG7/PY3
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
Yellow Green
PG7/PY3/PW6/PY42
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
Yellowish Green
PG7/PY74/PW4
TalensVan Gogh Oil
Yellowish Green
PG7/PY74
Talens Rembrandt Acrylic

Cinnabar Green Lightest

PY1/PG7
Lukas Designer Gouache
Cinnabar Green Light Extra
PY35/PG18/PB29
Old Holland Classic Oil

Cinnabar Green Light

PY1/PB15
Mai Artisti Oil
ri

Cinnabar Green Deep

PY1/PB16
Lukas Designer Gouache
 COLOR INDEX
Oxides to Olives & Umbers Greens I 171
Opaque Oxide of Chromium
PG17
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
Chrome Oxide Green
PG17
Maimeri Puro Oil

Chromium Oxide Green

PG17
Liquitex Acrylic

Chrome Green Deep Hue

PB15/PG7/PY42
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Sap Green Light

PY42/PG7
Tri-Art Acrylic

Sap Green
PB60/PY150
Schmincke Mussini Oi

Hooker's Green No. 2

PY3/PR101/PG7
Rowney Artists' Oil
Hooker's Green Lake Deep Extra
PR101/PG7/PBk7
Old Holland Classic Oil

Stil De Grain Yellow

PY1/PG10
Maimeri Artisti Oil

Green Gold
PY150/PG36/PY3
Golden Acrylic
Old Holland Golden Green
PY129
Old Holland Classic Oil

Old Holland Green Deep

PY129/PG36
Old Holland Classic Oil

Green Earth
PG23
Old Holland Classic Oil

Bohemian Green Earth

PY42/PG17
Lukas Designer Gouache
Terre Verte
PY43/PBr7/PB15,
Talens Van Gogh Oil

Bohemian Green Earth

PY42/PR1 01 /PBkl 1 /PG7
Lukas Studio Oil

Rowney Olive
PY153/PG7
Rowney Artists' Oil

Olive Green
PG7/PY17
Talens Van Gogh Oil

Olive Green
PG7/PY3/P013
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
Olive Green
PB60/PO49
Winsor & Newton Finity Acrylic

Olive Green Dark

PY129/PB60/PG7/PBr7
Old Holland Classic Oi
Greenish Umber
PY42/PBk1
Talens Rembrandt Oil

Green Umber
PY42/P8k11/PG17
Lukascryl Artists' Acrylic
Green Umber
PY42/PR1 01 /PBk1 1 /PG7
Lukas Studio Oil
72 1 Earths Yellow Ochres to Raw Siennas I COLOR INDEX

Yellow Ochre
PY43
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Yellow Ochre
PY43
Winsor & Newton Finity Acrylic

Yellow Ochre
PY43/PW4/PY42
Maimeri ClassicoOil
Yellow Ochre
PY42
Talens Van Gogh Acrylic

Yellow Ochre Light

PY42
Lukas Studio Oil

Attish Light Ochre

PY42
Schmincke Mussini Oil

Yellow Ochre Pale

PY43/PW4
Maimeri Artisti Oil

Yellow Ochre Light

PBr24
Talens Van Gogh Acrylic

Gold Ochre
PY43
Old Holland Classic Oil

Gold Ochre
PY42/PR101/PBk11
Lukas Studio Oil

Gold Ochre
PY42
Winsor & Newton Finity Acrylic

Golden Ochre
PY53/PFI101
Daler-Rowney Cryla Acrylic

Mars Yellow
PY42
Rowney Artists' Oil

Gold Ochre
PY42
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Mars Yellow
PBr6
Golden Acrylic
Mars Yellow
PY42
Old Holland Classic Oil

Bronze Yellow
PY42/PBr7
Liquitex Acrylic

Bronze Yellow
PY42/PBr7
Daler-Rowney Cryla Acrylic
Yellow Oxide
PY42
Liquitex Acrylic

Yellow Oxide
PY42
Golden Acrylic

Raw Sienna
PY43
Talens Van Gogh Oil

Raw Sienna
PY42
Lukas Studio Oil

Raw Sienna
PY42/PR101 Trans/PBk9
Daler-Rowney Cryla Acrylic
Raw Sienna
PY42
Rowney Egg Tempera

L
 II OR INDEX
Brown Ochres to Red Oxides Earths I 173
Red Ochre
PR 102 CD
Old Holland Classic Oil .c:
Red Ochre
PR101
O
Maimeri Puro Oil
•D
Brown Ochre Light CC
PBr7
Old Holland Classic Oil

Brown Ochre O
—
PR101/PBk11 CO
Talens Rembrandt Oil

Deep Ochre
PR102 —
CD

Old Holland Classic Oil

Terra Rosa O
PR101
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil
03
Mars Orange
PY42
Id
Maimeri Artisti Oil en
Pouzzoles Red
PR101/PY154
Sennelier Artists' Oil

Quinacridone Gold
P049
Winsor Newton Finity Acrylic
Quinacridone Gold
P048/P049
^5
Golden Acrylic
ACRA© Gold
P048/PY83
Liquitex Acrylic

Chinese Orange
PR83/PY13
3
CQ
Sennelier Artists' Oil

Quinacridone Burnt Orange

CD
Winsor & Newton
PO206
Finity Acrylic
a
Transparent Oxide Orange
OX
PY42/PR101
Talens Rembrandt Acrylic
o
CD
Transparent Oxide Red CC
PR101 Id
Talens Rembrandt Acrylic
c:
Translucent Red Oxide CC

Schmincke Mussini
PR101
Oil
o
Transparent Brown
PBr25
Tri-Art Acrylic
CO
Italian Brown Pink Lake
PR101/PY83
Old Holland Classic Oil Q_
Transparent Mars Brown £Z
PR101
Maimeri Puro Oil
O
Transparent Oxide Red Lake CQ
PR101
Old Holland Classic Oil

Light Red Oxide

PR101
Talens Van Gogh Oil

Red Oxide CC
PR101 UJ
Liquitex Acrylic
Red Oxide
PR101
Golden Acrylic
Red Earth
PR5/PR8/PR101
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache

I
74 1 Earths English Reds to Burnt Siennas
)R INDEX

English Red Light

PY42/PR101
Lukas Designer Gouache
English Red
PR 102
Maimeri Artisti Oil

English Red
PR101
Old Holland Classic Oil

English Red Deep

PY42/PR101
Lukascryl Artists' Acrylic

Indian Red
PY101/PY43
Maimeri Artisti Oil

Indian Red
PR101
Rowney Egg Tempera
Indian Red
PR101
Talens Rembrandt Acrylic
Indian Red
PR101
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Venetian Red
PR101
Rowney Egg Tempera
Venetian Red
PR101/PY42
Maimeri Artisti Oil

Mars Red
PR101
Rowney Artists' Oil
Caput Mortuum Light
PR101
Lukas Studio Oil

Violet Oxide
PR101
Golden Acrylic
Mars Violet
PR101
Maimeri PuroOil
Mars Violet
PR101
Rowney Artists' Oil

Mars Brown
PR 101
Old Holland Classic Oil

Burnt Sienna
PR101/PR206
Daler-Rowney Cryla Artists' Acrylic

Burnt Sienna
PR101
Winsor & Newton Finity Acrylic

Burnt Sienna
PBr7
Maimeri ClassicoOil
Burnt Sienna
PBr7
Lukas Berlin Water-Mixable Oil

Burnt Sienna
PY42/PR101
Lukas Designer Gouache
Burnt Sienna
PBr7/PR101/PBk11
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
Burnt Sienna
PR101
ukascryl Artists' Acrylic
Burnt Sienna
PBr7
I iquitex Acrylic
 Brown Madder to Neuti Earth* I 175
Brown Madder (Alizarin)
PBr7/PR83 1

Rowney Artists' Oil

Burnt Umber
PR101/PBM1
TalensVan Gogh Acrylic
Burnt Umber
PY42/PRl01/PBk7
Lukascryl Artists' Acrylic
Burnt Umber Light
PBr7
Golden Acrylic

Red Umber
PBr7
Old Holland Classic Oil

Burnt Umber
PBr7
Liquitex Acrylic
Burnt Umber
PBk11/PBr6
Maimeri Brera Acrylic
Burnt Umber
PBr7
Maimeri Puro Oil

Vandyke Brown (Hue)

PY42/PBr7
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
Vandyke Brown
PBk1 1/PR101
TalensVan Gogh Acrylic

Vandyke Brown
PY42/PR101/PBk11
Lukascryl Artists' Acrylic
Vandyke Brown
NBr8/PBr7
WinsorS Newton Artists' Oil

Cassel Earth
PR176/PY74/PBk7
Lukas Studio Oil

Cassel Earth
PBr7/PBk7
Maimeri Artisti Oil

Bitumen
Bk6
Maimeri Artisti Oil

Sepia
PR101/PG7
Tri-Art Acrylic

Sepia Warm Extra

PBk7/PR102/PBr7
Old Holland Classic Oil

Sepia
PY42/PR101/PBk11
Talens Rembrandt Oil

Raw Umber
PY42/PBr7
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
Raw Umber
PY42/PR101/PBk11
Lukascryl Artists' Acrylic

Raw Umber
PY42/PBk1
TalensVan Gogh Acrylic

Raw Umber
PBr7/P.G17
Maimeri Artisti Oil

Raw Umber
PBr7
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Neutral Tint
PB15/PV19B/PBr7
Old Holland Classic Oil

I
 COLOR INDEX
1 76 1 Blacks Vine to Davy's Gray

Note
Vine Black
PBk7
? Lukas Sorte 1 Oil

Vine Black in Titanium White tint

Mars Black
>-PBk11
•
Maimeri Puro Oil

Mars Black in Titanium White tint

Ivory Black
j,PBk9
alens Van Gogh Oil

vory Black inTitanium White tint

Lamp Black
CO PBk7
K Rowney Artists' Oil

Lamp Black in Titanium White tint

Payne's Gray
PBk1 1/PB15/PV19
Talens Van Gogh Oil

Payne's Gray in Titanium White tint

Payne's Gray
PB29/PBk7
Golden Acrylic
Payne's Gray in Titanium White tint

CO

Blue Black
CO PB29
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Blue Black in Titanium White tint

Graphite Gray
PBklO
Tri-Art Acrylic

Graphite Gray in Titanium White tint

Atrament Black
PBk31
Schmincke Mussini Oil

Atrament Black
in Titanium White tint

Davy's Gray
PG23/PW4/PBk9/PBr7
Old Holland Classic Oil
Davy's Gray
in Titanium White tint

Davy's Gray
PBk19/PY42/PBk7
Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Davy's Gray
in Titanium White tint

Davy's Gray
PBk19/PY42/
Winsor & Newton Finity Acrylic

Davy's Gray
in Titanium White tint
 COLOR INDEX
Titan to Cool Grays I 177
Titan Buff
PW6
Golden Acrylic
Unbleached Titanium
PBr7/PY42/PW6
Liquitex Acrylic

Buff Titanium
PY42/PW6
Winsor & Newton Finity Acrylic

Old Holland Warm Gray Light

PW4/PW6/PBk7/PBr7
Old Holland Classic Oi

Warm Gray 1

PBr7/PBk9/PW6
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
Warm Gray 2
PBr7/PBk9/PW6
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
Warm Gray 3
PBr7/PBk9/PW6
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
Gray 1 (Warm Gray)
PW5/PBk7/PY42
Lukas Sorte 1 Oil

Scheveningen Warm Gray

PW4/PW6/PBk9/PBr7
Old Holland Classic Oil

Scheveningen Warm Gray in

Titanium White tint

Warm Gray
PW4/PR101/PBr9
Talens Rembrandt Oil

Warm Gray in Titanium White tint

Middle Gray
PW6/PBk9/PBr7
Daler-Rowney Cryla Acrylic
N5 Neutral Gray
PW6/PBk9/PBr7
Golden Acrylic
N4 Neutral Gray
PW6/PBk9/PBr7
Golden Acrylic
Neutral Gray 1

PBk7/PW6
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache

N8 Neutral Gray
PW6/PBk9/PBr7
Golden Acrylics
N6 Neutral Gray
PW6/PBk9/PBr7
Golden Acrylics
Gray 2 (Cold Gray)
PW5/PBk9/PY42
Lukas Sorte 1 Oil

Old Holland Cold Gray

PW4/PW6/PBk7/PB29
Old Holland Classic Oil

Cold Gray 3
PW6/PG7/PBk7
Lukas Gouache
Gray
PW6/PBk9
Lukas Gouach
Cool Gray
PB29/PBk9/PWI
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
Cool Gray 3
PG7/PBk9/PW6
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache
1 73 1 Metallic & special-effect colors COLOR INDEX

Rich Gold
Mica-coated titanium dioxide/Iron oxide

Liquitex Acrylic
Iridescent Gold Deep
(Mixed pigment/vehicle content)
Tri-Art Acrylic

Renaissance Gold
Titanium dioxide-coated mica/Iron oxide

Winsor & Newton Finity Acrylic

Pale Gold
(Mixed pigment/vehicle content)
Daler-Rowney Designers' Gouache

Iridescent Rich Bronze

Mica-coated titanium dioxide/Iron oxide

Liquitex Acrylic

Iridescent Bronze (Fine)

Iron oxide-coated mica particles
Golden Acrylic
Antique Bronze
Mica-coated titanium dioxide /Iron oxide/P8k9

Liquitex Acrylic

Bronze (Imitation)
(Mixed pigment/vehicle content)
Daler-Rowney Cryla Acrylic

Copper
(Mixed pigment/vehicle content)
Daler-Rowney Designer's Gouache
Copper (Imitation)
(Mixed pigment/vehicle content)
Daler-Rowney Cryla Acrylic

Iridescent Copper (Coarse)

(Mixed pigment/vehicle content)
Golden Acrylic
Iridescent Copper
(Mixed pigment/vehicle content)
Tri-Art Acrylic

Iridescent Bright Silver

Mica-coated titanium dioxide/Iron oxide/Stainless steel

Liquitex Acrylic

Silver
(Mixed pigment/vehicle content)
Daler-Rowney Designer's Gouache
Dark Silver
Titanium dioxide—coated mica/Iron oxide

Winsor & Newton Finity Acrylic

Iridescent Stainless Steel (Coarse)

(Mixed pigment/vehicle content)
Golden Acrylic

Interference Violet (Fine)

(Mixed pigment/vehicle content)
Golden Acrylic
Interference Red (Coarse)
(Mixed pigment/vehicle content)
Golden Acrylic
Interference Blue (Coarse)
(Mixed pigment/vehicle content)
Golden Acrylic
Interference Green (Fine)
(Mixed pigment/vehicle content)
Golden Acrylic

Spectral Fuchsia
(Mixed pigment/vehicle content)
Tri-Art Acrylic

Spectral Brilliant Red

(Mixed pigment/vehicle content)
In An Acrylic

Spectral Brilliant Blue

(Mixed pigment/vehicle content)
Tri-Art Acrylic

Spectral Brilliant Green

(Mixed pigment/vehicle content)
In An Ai

I
 COLOR INDEX
Whites 179

SAMPLE WHITES
(From left to right, top to bottom!

Cremnitz White
PW1
Old Holland Classic Oil

Flake White
PW1/PW4
Old Holland Classic Oil
Zinc White
PW6
Wmsor & Newton Artists' Oil

Titanium White
•"Note
PW6/PW4
Whites given the same
Rowney Artists' Oil

Mixed White name can vary considerably

PW6/PW4 in opacity, consistency,
TalensVan Gogh Oil
mixing and handling
Underpainting White
properties. There are
PW6/PW4
Wmsor & Newton Artists' Oil commonly two types
Mixing White of white seen in
PW6 manufacturers' color
Rowney Artists' Oil
charts. These are Zinc
Opaque White
PW4 White and Titanium White
Lukas Studio Oil in oils and acrylics. In
Warm White watercolors you will come
PW6
across Chinese White, and,
Tri-Art Acrylic

Iridescent White in many artists'-quality

Mica-coaled titanium dioxide oil-color ranges, you will
Liquitex Acrylic
see the traditional Cremnitz
Iridescent Pearl
White and Flake White..
Mica-coated titanium dioxide

Tri-Art Acrylic Many products are labeled

Iridescent Pearl (Coarse) as "mixing" whites and
Mica-coated titanium dioxide
"underpainting" whites,
Golden Acrylic
and in acrylic ranges pearl
and iridescent whites are
available, too. See pages
86-87 for details

NOTE: Metallic and

special-effect colors
All metallic and special-effect
samples (opposite) are
shown against black for tonal
variation, it is impossible to
show the true light-scattering

effects of these samples.

Refer to manufacturers'
hand-painted color charts and
see more details on
pages 88-89.
1 80 Guide to main suppliers
Winsor & Newton Lukas Liquitex
11 Constitution Avenue Lukas was founded in 1862 by Dr. Franz The first water-borne acrylic, the type of
P.O. Box 1396 Schoenfeld in Dusseldorf and the company acrylic color we use today, was developed
Piscataway, NJ 08855 has enjoyed prominence as a manufacturer and launched in 1955. Combining the
Telephone: (732) 562-0770 and supplier of colors and materials since words liquid and texture, the product was
[Link] the nineteenth century. Van Gogh named Liquitex. Liquitex as an artists'

requested colors from Schoenfelds in his material was developed by Henry Levinson
Royal Talens letters to his brother Theo. Saint Lukas is in the USA in a family-owned business
Talens, founded in 1899, is a prestigious the patron protector of painters and the named Permanent Pigments, a firm
producer of artists' materials and is a brand name Lukas came into being in with a pedigree dating back to the
name that is known throughout the world. 1900, becoming the trademark of all early 1930s, and one with an impressive
Royal Talens is based in The Netherlands products from the manufacturer Dr. Fr. record in the development of permanence
and produces color materials under the Schoenfeld. Lukas now enjoy an and lightfastness in pigments. Liquitex
brand names Rembrandt, Van Gogh international reputation as suppliers has become known worldwide as the
and Amsterdam. of quality art materials. original heavy-bodied, solvent-free

artists' medium.
Royal Talens USA Lukas USA
Canson Inc. Jerry's Artarama Liquitex

21 Industrial Drive 5325 Departure Drive 1 1 Constitution Avenue

South Hadley, MA 01075 Raleigh, NC 27616 P.O. Box 1396
Telephone: (413) 533-6554 Telephone: (919) 790-6676 Piscataway, NJ 08855
[Link] [Link] Telephone: (800) 445-4278
[Link]
Golden Schmincke
There are hundreds of art
Golden have gained a worldwide In 1881 the chemists Herman Schmincke Sennelier
materials manufacturers,
reputation for their heavy-body acrylic and Josef Horadam imported raw The company of Sennelier have been
ranging from small specialists colors and mediums. In the 1980s Golden materials, particularly ultramarine, to producing artists' materials in France since
who produce traditional heavy-body acrylics were available only produce hiqh-quality artists' colors. A 1887. Gustave Sennelier was a chemist

pigments using time-honored in jars and sold directly to professional reputation was established, particularly who developed a distinctive and
Manhattan artists. As they gained in for resin-oil formulations, which before meticulous process for manufacturing
methods to well-known brands
popularity. Golden started to manufacture the invention of the tube had been difficult colors, and soon his palette became
that are household names heavy-body acrylic colors in tubes for a to store and transport. The resin-oil a benchmark of quality and reliability

recognized throughout the wider and ever-growing market. They now formulations are based on old master among artists. Sennelier products are

world. Many European and produce a range of 94 different colors, recipes obtained from Prof. Cesare Mussini now admired worldwide for combining
shades and tints. of Florence, and the Mussini name, along nineteenth-century traditions with
North American manufacturers
with Horadam, has become synonymous twenty-first-century innovations.
have assisted with images,
Golden Artist Colors, Inc. with quality art materials from Schmincke.
materials and information 188 Bell Road Sennelier USA
in the making of this book, New Berlin, NY 13411 Schmincke USA Savoir Faire

and the following have been Telephone: (800) 959-6543 Artist Mercantile Inc. 40 Leveroni Court
[Link] 192 Thomas Lane Novato, CA 94949
particularly generous in
Stowe, VT 05672 Telephone: (41 5) 884-8090
supplying samples. Maimeri Telephone: (802) 253-6338 [Link]
Painter Gianni Maimeri was an artist who [Link] [Link]
Daler-Rowney ground his own colors. His methods were
Daler-Rowney's reputation as a so satisfactory that in 1923 he and his Old Holland Tri-Art
manufacturer of art materials dates back brother, a chemist, founded the company The Old Holland Oil Color Association was Tri-Art is a modern Canadian-based
more than 200 years. Turner and Constable Maimeri to produce fine art colors in a established in 1664 and is still continuing company established in 1984. They have
are said to have used Daler-Rowney colors competitive domestic market. Eighty years a tradition of nearly 300 years in the oldest been manufacturing new-generation
and. to this day, the company offers a later, Maimeri is still a family company artists' paint factory in the world. Old acrylic paints in Canada and North
comprehensive range of high-quality art and has developed into a major player in Holland paints are still manufactured America since the mid-1990s and are now
materials throughout Britain, continental the world of artists' colors and materials. according to seventeenth-century exporting to 10 countries. In addition to
Europe and beyond. methods, using natural oils and pigments liquid acrylics and inks, Tri-Art produce
Maimeri USA ground on stone rollers to create strong 92 colors in artist-quality, high-viscosity
Daler-Rowney 4321 North United Parkway pure colors that are a little more expensive acrylic colors. They use 100 percent
2 Corporate Drive Schiller Park than other brands. Old Holland enjoys acrylic paint to produce many colors
[Link] 08512 Chicago, IL 601 76 an international reputation and their with drastically improved properties
Telephone: (609) 655-5252 Telephone: (847) 678-6845 classic oil and watercolors are exported that mimic the rich, transparent hues
[Link]-rowney com [Link]/index_enasp to over 56 countries. of older lake pigments.

Winsor & Newton Old Holland USA Tn-Art

r
n Winsor and Henry Newton Armadillo Arts & Crafts Woolfitt's Art Enterprises Inc.

t) was founded in London in Building 2, Unit 1 , Homestead Road 11 53 Queen Street West
er the years, the names Belle Mead, NJ 08502 Toronto, Ontario M6J 1J4
n have become Telephone: (908) 874-331 Canada
nous with many ranges [Link] Telephone: (416) 536-7878
ofreli.; me art materials [Link] [Link]
 Guide to main suppliers 1 81

:
_„;< ^IWliBliiilkiWiliilillllliiiliiiliiiiilillllillilliillllliiilllllWfi I

| i

f 1

, !

fj§

'

-
1 82 Glossary of terms
E paint ASTM Blue wool scale Chiaroscuro
iat contains acrylic resin Acronym for the American Society for An international standard that (Italian for "light/dark")

ained by the polymerization of Testing and Materials. Provides an measures the lightfastness of dye The use of light and shade in a
jcrylic acid. Acrylic color can be independent and international paint colors by dyeing samples of blue painting where strong tonal contrasts
mixed with water, but dries to a hard, qualities standard recognized by wool. The highest rating of 8 is are a feature, particularly applied to
plasticky film. major manufacturers. regarded as permanent. Originally oil painting.
used in the textiles industry, the blue
Additive mixing Azo wool scale is now also used as a Chroma
The mixing of colored light. When the Descriptive word pertaining to measure in commercial paint and A term used to designate the purity

three primary additive colors of red, synthetic organic pigments, short print environments. of a color. A color with high chroma
green and blue are mixed together, for "diazotized amines." contains little or no gray. (See also
they produce white light. Board Saturation.)
Backrun Prepared artists' board covered with
Advancing colors A term used mainly in watercolor canvas or cotton, usually already CMYK
Colors that appear to move toward to describe an irregular, unwanted primed for use with oils or acrylics. Acronym for cyan, magenta, yellow
the front of the picture plane. These blotch that may occur when wet paint and black, the four colors used in the
tend to be the "warm" colors, such as is introduced into a previous layer Body color printing process. (See also Four-color

reds, yellows and oranges. (See also that has not completely dried. Opaque water-based paint, process.)
Receding colors.) particularly gouache, also known as
Balance designers' color. "Body" can also Cockling
Aerial perspective The overall arrangement and refer to the density of a color. The unwanted wrinkling or puckering
This is the technique of using cooler, distribution of shapes, colors and of a paper support when too heavy a
lighter colors toward the back of the tones in a painting. Broken color wash is painted on. It particularly

picture plane to give an impression of Applying color so that previous layers occurs with watercolor when the
recession and depth. Sometimes also Base coat of other colors show through for paper has not been stretched.
known as "atmospheric perspective." Layer of paint that acts as a ground maximum optical effect.

for a painting. Cold-pressed paper

Alizarin Brushwork Watercolor paper that has a slightly

One of the constituent dyes of the Bice The characteristic way that an artist textured surface. Also known as CP
madder root, produced synthetically Descriptive word pertaining to colors applies paint with a brush. or Not paper (that is, paper that is not
from the 1860s. obtained from combining copper hot pressed).
carbonates with silver. Used in the Canvas
Alkyd resin seventeenth century, these blue Traditional ground or support used for Collage
A synthetic resin, usually clear, used or green colors were also referred oil painting and acrylics. The term Artwork composition in which pieces
in paints and mediums. Alkyd resins to as "ashes." may refer to the actual fabric used, of paper, fabric or other items are

are soluble in most solvents. such as linen, cotton or jute canvas, pasted onto a support.
Binder or calico, or it may be used for the

Alia prima A liquid medium mixed with whole support of stretched canvas Color
(Italian for "at the first") powdered pigment to form a painting on a frame. The visual sensation and attributes
Used to describe a painting made in or drawing material. In watercolor of distinguishable wavelengths of

one session, with no underpainting. and gouache, the binder is gum Cartoon refracted or reflected light.

arabic, in oil paints it is oil, and in A full-size drawing from which a final

Aniline pigment acrylics it is acrylic resin. fresco or tapestry is copied. The term Colorcast
A dye synthesized from coal tar. particularly applies to Renaissance Mainly a printing term referring to a

Aniline dyes first produced in the Bleeding fresco works. particular bias of color in an image.
1850s were in the mauve, purple A color moving past its required
and red range. limit or leaking into another color, Charcoal Color field painting
sometimes from a previous layer Carbonized, burned wood specially Style of abstract painting developed
Archive-quality prepared for art use. Charcoal sticks by American Abstract Expressionist
A term particularly applied to paper Blending produce a dark mark and are artists of the 1950s. Artists such as
that is acid free with a neutral pH Merging the edges of two adjacent available in different grades and Mark Rothko painted large areas of
rating that ensures it will not yellow colors together to create a smooth sizes. The best quality is soft and pure color to give the sensation that
with age The term may also be gradation where they meet. nongritty, often made from willow, the field of color seemed to go
applied to paints and inks with but also from vine wood. Charcoal beyond the picture plane.
eel to their permanence. Blocking in is also available in pencil form.

The initial process in painting a This medium smudges easily and Color swatch
quality colors picture when the basic shapes of drawings made in charcoal need to A small sample of a particular color
. ith the best-quality color and tone are broadly placed. In: spmycd with [Link]! .i that can be used for matching,

/ contain maximum This provides a foundation for experimenting or reference purposes.

md binders. refining the composition.
 183
Color temperature Cyan Encaustic Four-color process
Colors may be described as "warm" A bright greenish blue that is used A technique in which the pigment is The printing process that uses three
or "cool." Colors within a hue may with magenta, yellow and black in the bound with wax. When melted the process colors - cyan, magenta and
also be described as warm or cool four-color printing process. (See also wax binds the pigment to the ground yellow - and black to produce a full-

in relation to each other. (See also CMYK and Four-color process.) or support. color effect. (See also CMYK and
Warm colors and Cool colors.) Dot screens.)
Dead color Etching
Color wheel Sometimes used to refer to the A print or impression produced from a Fresco
The arrangement of primary and underpainted colors in a painting. drawing scratched into a metal plate. (Italian for "fresh")

secondary colors into a circle in the Areas of tone and texture may be A method of painting using water-

order of the spectrum. Intermediary Diluent added by dipping the plate into acid. based colors applied to wet plaster.

colors may be added to enlarge the A liquid used to thin down paint. For The plate is then inked and passed
circle. Used as a basic device to oil paints, liquids such as turpentine through a printing or etching press. Fugitive
explain color theory. and mineral spirits are used; for Description given to pigments and
water-based media, water. Fat dyes that are liable to fade with
Complementary colors Used to describe the oil content of oil exposure to light. Modern methods
Colors that are opposite each other Dot screens paint, particularly when it has not of manufacture have reduced this

on the color wheel. Red is the Screens from which regular patterns been thinned. Fat, oil-rich paint takes problem considerably. (See also
complementary of green, yellow of of dots are produced for each a long time to dry and shrinks as it Lightfast and Permanence.)
violet, and blue of orange. Similarly, separate color in the four-color does so. To prevent the problem of

on the enlarged color wheel, red- printing process. (See also CMYK the surface cracking, fat layers are Genre
orange is the complementary of blue- and Optical mixing.) traditionally applied on top of lean, (French for "kind")
green, yellow-orange of blue-violet, thinned paint that is likely to dry first. The type of painting that a picture

and yellow-green of red-violet. Dry brush (See also Lean.) can be categorized as by its subject
A technique in which a minimum matter, such as still life, landscape
Composition amount of paint is brushed lightly Faux or portrait. The term "genre" is

The arrangement of subject matter across the painting surface for a (French for "false") particularly applied to paintings that

within a picture. It involves the slightly textured effect. Can be used A paint effect that gives the illusion have domestic subjects.
planning of color, use of light and in any medium, but with watercolor of being real.

shade and considered placing of the brush is literally kept dry. Gesso
the various elements. Fixative A mixture of chalk whiting and glue
Dye A thin varnishlike solution that is size used traditionally as a ground
Conte crayons A coloring agent that dissolves in sprayed by aerosol or mouth diffuser and primer in tempera and oil

Similar to pastels, conte crayons water, used for coloring fabrics. Dyes onto pictures worked in a medium painting. The term is also used to
are sticks made from pigment and are also used to color white powder likely to smudge, such as pastels, describe modern acrylic primers.
graphite bound with gum and a to produce pigment "lakes" and charcoal or graphite. It enables the
little grease. They have a harder "pinks." (See also Lake and Pink.) particles of pigment to adhere fully Gilding
consistency than pastels. to the support. The application of thin gold leaf,

Earth colors which may be burnished to give a

Contrast Colors traditionally produced from Flocculation high sheen.

The degree of difference between naturally occurring pigments, such as An effect particularly found in

the light and dark tones in a drawing oxides, ochres, umbers and siennas. watercolor where particles of Glaze
or painting. Low contrast has fairly Although regarded as the most stable pigment settle in groups. The A transparent or semitransparent
even tones throughout, while high pigments, many earth colors are now appearance of the dried paint is layer of color painted over another
contrast has bright highlights and replicated by synthesized ingredients. grainy rather than evenly dispersed. color to modify or enhance its effect.

dark shadows.
Egg tempera Form Gouache
Contre-jour Pure pigment bound with egg yolk and The three-dimensional appearance of Opaque water-based body color,
(French for "against day") distilled water. As the paint dries it a subject that produces its shape. alsoknown as designers' colors.
A photographic term, meaning a leaves a hard, silky surface, and, In inexpensive student ranges,
painting or drawing in which the traditionally, this paint was applied to Format also known as poster paint.

light is behind the subject. wooden panels over a gesso ground. The size and proportions of a painting
The term "tempera" actually refers to or drawing. The two most popular are Granulation
Cool colors binder, and it is also sometimes used traditionally landscape and portrait, An effect particularly found in

Colors in the green/blue/violet sector for other bound paints, such as but square and round are frequently watercolor where coarse particles of
of the color wheel are generally gouache, or "body" color. also chosen. (See also Landscape pigment give a speckled appearance
described as cool. format and Portrait format.) when dry.

En plein air
Crosshatching (French for "in open air") Found colors Graphite
A method of indicating tone and Used to describe a painting made Colors that may be obtained from A form of carbon used in pencils,

shading by crisscrossing close outdoors, usually directly from the nonpaint sources, such as natural graded from soft to hard. Also
parallel lines. (See also Hatching.) subject in the landscape. materials, liquids and foodstuffs. available in solid stick or as powdei
1 84 Glossary of terms

Gridding up Icon Landscape format Masking

s of transferring a drawing or A stylized image of Christ, the Virgin A painting or drawing where the The covering of an area in a painting
isition to another support. By Mary or a saint, particularly as height is narrower than the width. to protect it or reserve it for further

rawing a grid over the original and painted in Byzantine style. Now also This is the traditional shape for applications. In watercolor a rubbery
a larger or smaller grid onto the new used to describe a figure who has painting a landscape or vista. (See solution called masking fluid is often
surface, the drawing can be copied become symbolic or representational also Portrait format.) applied to reserve the white paper as
section by section to an enlarged or of a particular era or fashion. highlights. When the paint is dry, the

reduced size. Also sometimes called Lean protective coat is simply rubbed off or
squaring up. Impasto Used to describe thinned oil paint, peeled away with the fingers.
A technique of painting in oils or applied in the underlayers of an oil

Ground acrylics where the paint is applied painting. (See also Fat.) Medium
A layer of priming or preparation thickly to create a textural surface. The type of drawing or painting
that protects the support and Mediums may be added to the paint Lifting out material used, such as oil, acrylic,

provides a surface for painting It to enhance the effect. This technique relates particularly to watercolor or pastel (plural "media").

may be colored to set a key for the watercolor and involves removing Medium is also used to refer to
subsequent painting. Impressionism paint from the paper with a damp the various substances that may
A movement in painting in France brush or a tissue. It can be used to be added to paint to change its

Ground color that developed in the 1870s. Among create highlights or to soften edges, character in use (plural "mediums").
A color applied to a prepared the principal artists were Monet, or to create effects, such as clouds.

support to give a more sympathetic Renoir, Sisley and Pissarro, all of Mica
background to a painting instead whom were interested in painting Lightfast Silicates used in particle or flake form

of brilliant white. the changing impressions of light Description of pigments that are not in metallic and iridescent paints. The
perceived when working outdoors. liable to fade after exposure to light. paint is coated onto the mica to give
Gum arabic a varying effect when viewed.
A water-soluble gum made from Imprimatura Limited palette
certain acacia trees, added as A coat of diluted color applied to a Term applied to a particular choice Mixed media
a binder for watercolor pigment. primed surface to tone down its of colors that an artist chooses to The use of two or more different

It can also be used as a medium brightness prior to painting. use, usually a small number of media in a painting, such as
for watercolor to increase gloss colors, so that there is control over watercolor with pastel or ink.

and transparency. Intensity the color balance in a picture. Also

The brightness and strength of a known as a "restricted" palette. Monochrome
Harmonious colors color, also called saturation. Intensity (See also Palette.) An image made using different
Colors that are near each other on also links to purity of color. tones of either black and white
the color wheel, generally involving Local color or a single color.

no more than two primary colors. Interference colors The actual color of an object with
Paints that disperse the light in such no added effects of light or shade Munsell scale
Hatching a way that they give a varying effect or reflected color. A three-dimensional scale used in

A method of indicating tone and as the viewer moves. specifying color, developed by Albert
shading, using close parallel lines. Luminosity Munsell (1858-1918), where color is

Iridescent colors The quality of reflecting light, shown in both degrees of saturation
Highlights Paints that mimic the effect of particularly in watercolor, where of hue and brightness.
The lightest areas of tone within a iridescence typical of an insect's areas of white paper show through
painting or drawing, generally wing or bird's feather. Also known the layers of paint. Mural
describing reflected light. as interference colors, they produce A painting made directly on a wall,
a pearlized effect. (See also Magenta as with fresco.
Hot-pressed paper Interference colors.) Bright violet-red aniline color,
Watercolor paper that has a smooth named in 1859 after the battle in Negative shapes
surface. Also known as HP paper. Key Italy. It is one of the three primary The shapes around or between the
(See also Cold-pressed paper.) The dominant tone of a painting, colors used in the four-color printing main objects in a drawing or painting.
whether light or dark. Key may also process. (See also CMYK and Four- (See also Positive shapes.)
Hue refer to the process of abrading the color process.)
The general name for a color, such as surface to receive a heavier layer, Not paper
red or green. Hue may also be used such as for mural painting, when the Maquette Slightly textured watercolor paper.

to describe the comparative character wall must be prepared by adding a Initial sketch or model for a painting (See also Cold-pressed paper)
if a color; for instance, Vermilion layer of plaster. or sculpture.

mium Red maybe said to Oilbars

hue. Modern color Lake Mars colors Oil colors in solid stick form, made
rers also use the term to The pigment color produced by Applied to colors with iron oxide by combining pigment and oil with
.'ithetic pigment has dyeing a white inorganic mineral as their source. Mars was the waxes. Also called oil-painting sticks.

no the color of a powder such as gypsum or chalk with alchemical name for iron. They may be applied as drawing
traditiM organic coloring matter through the instruments, but the oil worked into

use of a mordant. (See also Pink.) with knife or brush.

 Glossary of terms 185
Opacity Phthalocyanine Primer Rough paper
The degree to which a medium or A pigment synthesized from copper A base coat, usually required for oil Unpressed watercolor paper, perhaps
color can obliterate what is in the 1 930s. It provides the base for and acrylic painting, to protect the handmade, which has a rough,
underneath. Different media and a number of modern blue colors, support and to provide a suitable ted surface texture.

colors within them vary in their mainly greenish, but sometimes foundation for paint. Gesso is

covering power. with a reddish bias. traditionally used to prime surfaces Saturation
for oils, but synthetic preparations The degree of vividness and purity of

Optical mixing Picture plane are now available for both oil and a color. A light color or tint may be
The technique of painting small areas The vertical surface or area of a acrylic paints. regarded as of low saturation, while
or dots of color close to each other so drawing or painting in which the pure color is ti "net fully saturated or
that they appear to mix when viewed composition is placed. Process colors of high saturation. (See also Chroma
from a distance. This is the method The colors used in the four-color and Intensity.)

used in four-color printing where Pigment printing process. (See also CMYK.)
colors are screened to be reproduced The coloring agent in drawing and Scumbling
in dot form. (See also Dot screens and painting media. Originally from Receding colors A technique originally applied to oil

Four-color process.) natural plant and mineral sources, Colors that appear to move into the painting, but now used with all

most pigments are now synthetic. distance within the picture plane. opaque media. It consists of dragging
Palette Pigment also refers to pure color in These tend to be the "cool" colors, dryish paint over the surface of a
The tray or surface on which colors powder form. particularly blues. (See also painting so that the layers
are arranged and mixed. Palette also Advancing colors.) underneath show through.
refers to the particular selection of Pink
colors that an artist chooses. A color produced by dyeing a white Recession Secco
inorganic powder, such as chalk, with The impression of depth in a picture. (Italian for "dry")

Pantone® natural materials, such as berries and This can be achieved both through A wall painting made on dry plaster
A proprietary system of color plants. Many yellows were produced linear perspective and aerial or plaster that is slightly dampened.
standards and quality that describes by the this method, and the term perspective, involving the use (See also Fresco.)
each color in terms of its composition "pink" was used to describe them. of lighter, cooler colors.

in percentages. The system, therefore, (See also Lake.) Secondary colors

provides a method that enables Reduction Colors obtained by mixing two
the printer to match an exact Pointillism Mixing a color with white paint. primary colors. Orange is produced
specified color. A style of painting in which dots of from red and yellow, green from
color are juxtaposed so that they Reflected color yellow and blue, and violet from
Pastels mix optically when viewed from a The light reflected from a colored blue and red.
Sticks of color made from a hardened distance. The nineteenth-century surface onto another object, so
paste of pigment bound together French artist Georges Seurat used the modifying the object's own local Series no.
with chalk or clay and gum. They are technique successfully (see page 23). color. (See also Local color.) A number that denotes the quality
available as soft (chalk) or hard sticks, and price range of the pigment.
or in pencil form. Oil pastels are made Poliment Relief
from pigments, fat and wax, so they A red iron-oxide pigment that is Usually a sculpture or carving in Sfumato
have a different character in use. applied as a base for gilding. which the image stands proud of its (Italian for "smoked" or "misty")

background, described as high or low A gradual transition from light to dark

Permanence Portrait format relief, depending on the extent to with no noticeable change from one
The degree to which a pigment is A painting or drawing where the which this is apparent. The term may to the other.

lightfast or liable to fade on exposure height is taller than the width. As its also be used to describe the effect of
to light. Art materials' manufacturers name suggests, this is the traditional paint applied thickly, as with impasto. Sgraffito
supply details about the permanence shape for painting a portrait. (See (See also Impasto.) (Italian for "scratched")
of individual colors in their ranges. also Landscape format.) A technique where the top layer of
(See also Lightfast.) Renaissance color is scratched or incised to reveal
Positive shapes A period of history in Europe that the layer or ground beneath.
Perspective The actual shapes of the objects lasted from the fourteenth to the
A method of establishing space and in a drawing or painting. (See also sixteenth centuries. The Renaissance Shade
depth in a painting or drawing by Negative shapes.) was a rebirth and flowering of the A color that has been darkened by
describing objects in the distance as arts, science and culture, much of the addition of black.
smaller than those in the foreground. Primary colors which was associated with the great
Parallel lines converge to a vanishing The three primary colors - red, master Italian painters. Shaped canvas
point as they meet the horizon (eye yellow and blue - are so-called A canvas that is not rectangular.
level). Also called linear perspective. because they cannot be mixed from Resist
(See also Aerial perspective.) other colors. In theory, however, A material, such as wax, placed on a Sinopia
all other colors can be mixed from support to repel water. The technique A red iron-oxide color used by
primaries. All three primaries mixed is used effectively in watercolors for Renaissance artists to make a

together produce "black." (See also texture and highlights. preliminary drawing prior to painting,
Subtractive mixing.) itself referred to as the sinopia.
186
Size Thinner Trompe I'oeil Watercolor
ke liquid that is applied A liquid added to paint to dilute it and (French for "deception of the eye") The term mainly applies to pigment
.invas support to make it make it easier to apply to the support. A painting that is so realistic that the bound with a water-soluble
mpermeable before applying a Many are available, depending on the viewer is fooled into thinking the substance, such as gum arabic, which
layer of gesso or primer. medium used and the consistency objects or a scene are real. produces a transparent color when
required. The traditional thinner for dry. However, opaque watercolors,
Sketch oil paint is turpentine. Underdrawing known as gouache or "body" color,

A rough drawing, sometimes made as A drawing made on a surface or which contain fillers, such as chalk,
a preliminary to a composition Three-dimensional support to indicate the basic positions are also applied by diluting with
The impression given in a drawing or or guidelines for the composition. water. (See also Gouache.)
Solvent painting of objects having depth or
Agent or medium that thins or volume, as well as height and width. Underpaying Water-soluble pencils
dissolves undiluted paint or pigment. The early stages of a painting Colored pencils and crayons that
Tint when the color balance, tone may be used with water to produce
Spectrum A color that has been lightened by and composition are laid down. watercolor effects.
The arrangement of colors produced the addition of white.
when white light passes through a Undertone Wet-in-wet
prism. Seven separate colors are Tinting strength The underlying tone of a color, which A technique in watercolor in which
distinguished - red, orange, yellow, The degree to which a pigment can may veer toward another hue. For a wash is applied on top of another
green, blue, indigo and violet. dominate in color mixtures. instance, a blue may be reddish or while the first is still wet.
yellowish. (See also Top tone.)

Split complementaries Tondo Wet-on-dry

These are colors that are adjacent A circular easel painting or Vanishing point A technique in watercolor in which
to the true complementary of a relief carving. In perspective the point at which a wash is applied on top of another
color. For instance, the split parallel lines converge as they meet after the first is completely dry.

complementaries of blue are red- Tone the horizon. There may be several
orange and yellow-orange. The lightness or darkness of an vanishing points in a picture. Wetting agent
element in a drawing or painting, A liquid, such as ox gall, added to

Staining colors irrespective of its local color. Also Varnish watercolor that enables it to flow

A term that refers particularly to called value. The term tonal value is A transparent liquid applied to the more easily on the paper.
watercolors. Some colors are made also used to describe the relation of surface of a painting, which dries to
from very finely ground particles of one tone to another. form a transparent protective film. White light
pigment and may not be completely Varnishes are available in matte This effect is produced when red,

"lifted out" from the paper. Tonking or glossy finishes, and specific blue and green light are combined in

A means of removing surplus paint by formulations are available for the equal proportions. (See also Additive
Stretcher pressing a sheet of paper over the medium used in the painting. mixing and Subtractive mixing.)
The wooden frame on which canvas surface of the painting, used
is stretched and fixed to provide a particularly in oil painting. Vehicle Whiting
support for painting in oils or acrylics. A liquid, including the binder and Ground and washed white chalk used
Tooth additives, which holds pigment in to make whitewash and gesso.
Study Term used for the surface texture or suspension so that it can be applied
A detailed drawing or painting of a interweave of fibers of the paper. A to a surface in the form of paint. Yellowing of paint
part or parts of a composition. paper with pronounced tooth is An effect of yellow discoloration on
required when painting with pastels Vignette oil paintings that may occur too if

Subtractive mixing so that the dry pigment may be held. A painting or drawing of which the much linseed oil is added to the
The mixing of pigments. When the edges are shaded off or fade away, paint. Some varnishes may cause a

three primary pigment colors of red, Top tone often in the shape of an oval. painting to take on a yellow tinge or
blue and yellow are mixed together, The obvious hue of a color, such as the surface of the varnish may
they produce black. red or blue. (See also Undertone.) Volume become grimy. Oil paintings kept
The space filled by an element oi in the dark also tend to take on a
Support Torchon object in a drawing or painting yellowish look.
The surface on which a drawing or A tightly rolled paper stump used for

painting is made, such as paper, blending pastels and charcoal. The Warm colors Yellowing of paper
canvas, board or wood panel. [jointed end can be used for detail. Colors in the red/orange/yellow Gradual darkening of paper toward a
sector of the color wheel are yellowish or brownish shade. This is

tiary colors Transparency generally described as warm. especially noticeable in acidic papers,

rs produced by mixing equal The degree to which light can pass such as those made from wood pulp.

I primary color with through a color Watercolor is a Wash

ondary color. For transparent medium, but thinned A layer of transparent or thinly diluted

ixed with green glazes of oils and acrylics may also paint or ink, usually applied in broad
creati allow transparency. sweeps. Color may be built up by
layering one wash over another.
 Bibliography and further reading 1 87
Much of the material contained in

this manual was formed by firsthand

experience, curiosity and experimenta-
tion, and through talking to practicing
artists and manufacturers of artists'

colors. Many hundreds of books have

been browsed through, too, and the
following were of particular interest.
Some are standard works of reference
on color, and some just tell a fascinating
story. Many of the older works contain
practical information on coloring
techniques from bygone ages and may
encourage more curious readers to
experiment for their own amusement.

Advice to Artists Color for the Artist The Materials and Techniques of Painting
Leonardo da Vinci A Pocket How to Do It Jonathan Stephenson
Edited/Annotated by Emery Kelen Hans Schwarz Thames and Hudson, London, 1989
Running Press, Philadelphia, 1990 Studio Vista, London, 1980
Mauve
The Art of Color Color and Culture How One Man Invented a Color That Changed the World
Johannes Ittens & Meaning
Practice from Antiquity to Abstraction Simon Garfield
Van Nostrand/Reinhold, New York, 1961
John Gage Faber & Faber, London, 2000
(Original German Edition, Kunst der Farbe,
Thames and Hudson, London, 1993
Studienausgabe, 1961)
Methods and Materials of Painting
Color and Meaning of the Great Schools and Masters
The Artist's Handbook of Materials & Techniques
Art, Science and Symbolism Sir Charles Lock Eastlake
Ralph Meyer
Fifth Edition, Faber & Faber, London, 1991
John Gage (Two volumes bound as one, paperback)

Revised and expanded by Steven Sheehan

Thames and Hudson, London, 1999 Dover Publications, New York, 2001

(Original edition, Materials for a History of Oil Painting,

Artists' Materials Concerning the Spiritual in Art Longmans, London, 1847)

Which, Why and How Wassily Kandinsky
Emma Pearce Dover, New York, 1977 Notes on the Composition and Permanence
A&C Black (Publishers) Limited, London, 1992 (Original edition, trans, from German, 1914) of Artists' Colors
Winsor & Newton
Artists' Pigments
The Elements of Color ColArt Fine Art & Graphics Ltd, 1997
[Link] A Treatise Based on the Art of Color
Van Nostrand, New York, 1923
Johannes Ittens The Oxford Companion to Art
Bright Earth
Edited by Faber Birren Edited by Harold Osborne

The Invention of Color

John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2001 Oxford University Press

Philip Ball
First published 1970, nineteenth impression 1999

Viking, London, 2001

Interaction of Color
Josef Albers The Painter's Handbook
The Craftsman's Handbook Yale University Press, 963 A Complete Reference
// Libro dell 'Arte, Cennino d 'Andrea Cenmni Mark David Gottsegen
Translation: Daniel V. Thompson Jr. Lights and Pigments Watson Guptill, 1993
Yale University Press, 1933 Color Principles for Artists
Dover Publications Inc. (paperback), New York, 1960 Roy Osbourne Painting Materials
John Murray, London, 1980 A Short Encyclopedia
Color
Rutherford J. Gettens & George L. Stout
How to Use Color in Art and Design
Living Colors Dover Publications, New York, 1966
Edith Anderson Feisner
The Definitive Guide to Color Palettes Through the Ages (Original edition, D. Van Nostrand Co. Inc. New York, 1942)
Laurence King, London, 2001
Margaret Walch and Augustine Hope
Color Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 1995 The Primary Colors
Making and Using Dyes and Pigments Three Essays

Francois Delamare & Bernard Guineau The Materials of the Artist and Their Use in Painting Alexander Theroux
With Notes on the Techniques of the Old Masters Picador, London 1995
Translated by Sophie Hawkes
Thames & Hudson, London, 2000 Max Doerner (Original edition, Henry Holt & Co Inc., New York, 1994)

(Original edition, Gallimard, Paris 1999)

Harcourt Brace & Company, 1949
Harvest Paperback edition, 1984 What Every Artist Needs to Know
Color German edition, Maltmaterial und seine
(Original about Paint & Colors
Travels Through the Paintbox Verwendung im Bilde, 1934) David Pyle
Victoria Finlay Krause Publications, Wisconsin, 2000
Sceptre/Hodder and Stoughton, London, 2002
1 88 Index
charcoal 82 indigo 51
chiaroscuro 79 Indigofera tinctorum 51
Breuil 12 CMYK industrial technology cadmium
21 52 12, 13, 59, 60, 64
let Expressionism 59 coal tar 81 International Klein Blue 53 Caesar, Julius 50
Abstract Painting No. 5, 1962 Color index 176 Isatis tinctoria 50 calico 138
(After Ad Reinhardt) 79 dark hues 83 lapis lazuli 15, 50-52 canvas123, 148
Elephant Black 77 lazurite 51 Caravaggio,
acrylics experimenting with 78 Leyden Blue 51 Michelangelo Merisi da 79
artists' colors 156-79 Flame Black 77 Manganese Blue 53 carbon black 84
brushmarks 33 Gilsonite 75 Middle Ages 50, 51 Cardinal Grapes and Silken Shawl
diluents 33 granulation 80 Monastral Blue 14, 15 (Sue Fitzgerald) 118-19
Douglas Wilson 38 Grape Black 77 Mountain Blue 50 carmine 15, 58
drying times 33 gray scale 81 obsessions 53 Carnevale di Venezia
flow improvers 37 history 77 Paris Blue 52 (Jackie Simmonds) 38
impasto 33 intense darks 82, 83 Phthalo Blue 14, 52-53 Carr, Jessie 136-39
industrial development 33 Ivory Black 30,32,77,78 pigments 50-53 cars 14
liquid 33 Kernel Black 77 Primary Blue 53, 146 Cartoon Paint 150
mediums 33. 37 Lamp Black 77, 78 Prussian Blue 13, 32, 52 cave paintings 12, 72, 144
mistakes 33 London colors 82 Renaissance 50, 51 Cel Vinyl 150
palettes 40 making 76 Romans 50, 51 Celadonite 67
permanence 33 manipulating 105 Smalt 51 Cennini, Cennino 57, 61, 62, 63, 68,
portable 147 Mars Black 77, 78 Ultramarine 13, 50-53, 77 72,73,77,112
resin 33 mixing 82 woad 50 ceramics 30, 35
starter palette 33 nearly black 83 chalk 35, 56
Sue Fitzgerald 118-23 Oil Black 77 Blue Horse 1, 1911 charcoal 82, 84. 139. 144, 152
versatility 33 Payne's Gray 77, 78, 80 (Franz Marc) 53 charcoal pencils 35
pigments 76-83 blue jeans 51 Check Headband
additive color mixing 25 ready-made darks 83 Blue Rider group, The 53 (Tim Riddihough) 38, 107
additive primary colors 25 shades 76. 78. 81 boat paintings 104-05 chemistry 13, 14, 15
additive secondary colors 25 staining power 80 BookofKellsbQ Chestnutt, Judith 38, 140-43
additives 36 tints 76, 78, 81 Bowering Nick 104-05 chiaroscuro 79
Adriatic Sea 74 transparency 80 brick dust 145 chili powder 144
Afghanistan 51 undertone 78 British Standards Institute 17 Chinese 12, 56, 68
alkyd oils 31 variations 80 Britons 50 chlorophyll 68
alkyd resin 36 Vine Black 77, 78 broken prismatic effect 132-35 chrocoite 69
alia prima 30, 31 watercolor 32 bronze 88 chromium 58, 60, 64, 69
Altamira cave paintings 62 working without 104-05 Chrysanthemums
American Society for Testing brown (Marina Yedigaroff) 125
and Materials (ASTM) 17 Black Suprematist Square, Bistre 75 Churchill, Winston 74
aniline pigments 58, 81 1914-15 (Kasimir Malevich) 79 bitumen 75 Cinabrese 112
animation 150, 151 blackberry 145 Brown Madder 74, 75 cinnabar 12, 57, 69, 112
applique 148 blancfixe 34 brown ochre 72 clay 72
aquarelle pencils 35 bleeding 16 Burnt Sienna 12, 72, 75 CMYK
Armenian stone 50 Blind Girl, The Burnt Umber 13, 72, 75 (cyan/magenta/yellow/black) 21
arsenic 14. 68. 70 (John Everett Millais) 24 Caput Mortuum 74 coal ash 145
art masking fluid 32 blood 144 Cassel Brown 74 coal tar 70, 75. 81
artists' colors 30, 156-79 Cologne Earth 74 cobalt 51. 54
ash 144 blue crocus mart is 74 cobalt aluminate 52
Asia 68 Alexandrian Blue 50 history 72-73 cobalt oxide 13
Asia Minor 67 Antwerp Blue 52 Kassel Earth 74 cochineal 15, 58, 144
asphaltum 75, 83 azurite 12. 50. 51. 68 Mars Black 74 coffee 144
atmosphere 42, 43, 98 azzurro della magna 50 Mars Brown 72, 74 cola 144
Australian Birds (Chris Perry) 149 Berlin Blue 52 Mars colors 74 Coldstream, Sir William 102
azo dyes 64 Blue Bice 55 Mars Violet 74 collages 143
Aztecs 54, 58 Cerulean Blue 13, 52, 53 Mars Yellow 74
azurite 12. 50. 51. 68 chemical blues 53 Mummy Brown 75 color
cobalt 51 pigments 72-75 additive color mixing 25
Cobalt Blue 13. 52. 53 Raw Sienna 72, 75 animal sources 144
B Color index 166-69 Raw Umber 72, 75 artists' 156-79
backdrops 136 core 53 Rubens' Brown 74 atmosphere 42, 43
/ill. Ray 38, 98-101 71,50,53 Rubens' Madder 75 bias 16, 26
/ Boats (Nick Bowering) 105 Egyptian Blue 12, 50 Sepia 74 bleeding 16
ten 75, 83 I '|/|iti,m\ !)() Spanish Brown 72 blending 96
French Ultramarine 13, 52 Vandyke Brown 72, 74 broken 132-35
h
frit 50 Violet Oxide 74 cadmium 12, 59, 60, 64
al Black 77 fugitive 51 clean 123
in 83 Greeks 50-51 brushes 123, 138 cloth 148-49
history 50 51 brushwork 132, 135 code 42-43
Indanthrene Blue 52-53 Building Fascias (Simon Jennings) 1 51 communication 42-43
 Index 189
complementary 26, 27 themes 128, 130 Elliott Bates, Joan 102-03 gumarabic 37
complementary three-dimensional 43 embroidery 148 Marina Yedigaroff 125-26
primaries 110 top tone 27 en plein air 146 poster paints 34
contained 128-131 traditional 14 enamel paint 151 Tun Riddihough 106
contrast 122, 133 transparency 16, 31, 32, Euston Road School 102 students'-quality 30
control 21 36,37,124-27 Graebe, Carl 58
cool 27 twelve-color division 26 Graham, Peter 28-29
creative directions 96 undertone 27 granulal '16,32
designers' 30, 34, 37 vegetable sources 67, fabric paints 148-49 graphic i

luction 20—21
diagrammatic 26 144-45 fabrics 30, 35, 51,70, 118, 148-49 graphite 84, 152
dry 152 warm 27 fast work 108-09 grass 145
earth 14, 56, 72 wheel 25, 26-27 fat 144 Graves, Roben
experimenting 26, 45 Color field painting 59 "fat over lean" 36
fabric 35,148-49 Color index 156-79 Fauvists 59, 133 gray
fast work 108-09 Color Index International 16, 18-19 felt tips 35 Color inch 76-77
flesh 90-93, 106-09 Color samples ferric ferrocyanide 52 Cool Gray 85
for free 144-45 (Judith Chestnutt) 140, 143 Field, George 15, 58 Davy's Gray 84
fugitive 51, 56, 58 color wheel 25, 26-27 Field's Chromatography^ Gerhard Richter 85
ground 131 colored pencils 30, 35, 152 Fitzgerald, Sue 118-23 graphite 84
harmony 27, 128 columbine 67 grisaille 84
household paints 136-39 communication 42, 43 flesh colors guazzo 84
identification 26 composition 110, 123, 132 combination pigments 93 history 84
information 42-43 Constable, John 58, 180 Green Earth 67 homage to 85
inspiration 118 contrast 122, 133 Jaune Brillant 90 Neutral Gray 84
intensity 130 conte sticks 34 mixing 92 Payne's Gray 84
interference 88 copper 68, 69, 70 Naples Yellow Reddish 90 pigments 84-85
interpreting 44-45, 131 copper carbonate 50, 51 pigments 90, 92, 93 veneda 84
iridescent 25, 88 copper phosphate 54 prepared 93 Warm Gray 84-85
juxtaposition 133 copper silicates 50 ready-made 90
language 42-43 corrosion 74 Renaissance Greeks 12, 43. 50, 56. 57
large scale 114-17, 138 crimson 15, 58 skin tones 112-13 Green-outlined figure
light-scattering 88 cuttlefish 74 Tim Riddihough 106-08 (Tim Riddihough)109
limited range 110-11 cyan 21, 50, 53 Unbleached Titanium 90
luminosity 124-27 Cyprus 67 warm neutrals 90 green
manufacturers' arsenic 13, 68, 70
color charts 156-79 flint 37 Cadmium Green 70
media 96 floral artists 33 Chrome Green 70
mediums 36 Daler-Rowney156, 180 flow improvers 37 Chromium Green 69
metallic 88, 178 dammar resin 31 four-color printing 20-21 Chromium
mineral sources 144-45 Dark Side of the Moon, The France 66, 72 Oxide Green 69, 70
mixing 23, 26, 35, 121,128 (George Hardie) 24 fresco 72 chrysocolla 68
modern 14 darks 27, 83, 104-05 Freud, Lucian 82 cinnabar 69
mood 42, 43 da Vinci, Leonardo 76 Friedlander, P. 12 Cinnabar Green 70
natural 146 Dead Sea 75 frit 50 Cobalt Green 13, 70
nonart 136-39 Delacroix, Eugene 72 From Castel Plage Color index 169-71
opaque 150, 151 Delftware 51 (Simon Jennings) 147 complementary 71
optical mixing 23 Derain, Andre 59 fuchsin 58 copper 69, 70
organizing 122 designers' colors 30, 34, 37 fugitive color 51, 56, 58 copper green 68
paper pulp 140-43 Diesbach 13, 52 Creta viridis 67
pearlizing88-89 digital scanning 150 Emerald Green 13, 70
portable 14, 146-47 Doerner, Max 20 experimenting 71
practical use of 42 dot screen 22-23 Gauguin, Paul 70 Green Earth 67, 70
prehistoric primary 62 drawing 152-53 Germany 74 Green Umber 67
printing 20-21 Dresden 74 gesso 34 history 68-69
process 20-21, 23 dry painting media 34-35 gilding 88-89 Hooker's Green 70
Renaissance drying times 16, 30, 31, 33, 36, 37, 40 Gilsonite 75 Hungarian Green 68
skin tones 112-13 Dunsterville, Lucy 136-39 Girlfriends, 1965-66 malachite 68
reproduction 20-21 Dust to Dust (Simon Jennings) 1 45 (Sigmar Polke) 23 Mineral Green 68
selection 96 dye 51, 56, 58, 64, 148 glass painting 30, 35, 104 mixing 71
six-color division 26 Glauconite 67 Mountain Green 68
smooth 150-51 glazing 31, 34, 36, 58, 77, Munich Green 70
special-effect 88 glycerine 37 Naphthol Green 68, 70
spectrum 24 earth colors 56, 72, 172-75 gold leaf 63. 88, 123 Olive Green 70
subdued 102-03 earth pigments 12, 14,72,73, 144 Golden 156, 180 ParisGreen 70
subtractive East Anglian Estuary Permanent Green 70
color mixing 25, 26 (Joan Elliott Bates) 103 gouache Phthalo Green 68, 70
techniques 96 egg tempera 30, 34, 84 artists' colors 30,156-79 pigments 66-71
tertiary 27 Egyptians 12, 34, 50, 56. 68, 75, 86 body color 34 Royal Green 69
texture 130 El Greco 144 design studios 34 Sap Green 69, 70
1 90 Index
Scheele's Green 68 alkyd 36 drying times 30
Schweinfurt Green 70 K color 36 George Rowlett 38, 114-17
TerreVerte 13,67. 112 Kandinsky, Wassily 51 , 53, 60, 61 , 65 drying 37 Joan Elliott Bates 102-03
vegetable greens 69 kermes insect 56, 58 flint 37 John Reay 132-35
verdigris 69 Kiss of Judas, The flow improvers 37 linseed oil 30, 31, 34, 36,
Verona Green Earth 67 (Giotto di Bondone)57 gloss 37 40
Vert-antique 69 Klee, Paul 9 gouache 37 Marina Yedigaroff 38,
Vienna Green 70 Klein, Yves 53 gum arabic 37 126-27
Viridian 68, 71 knifework 37, 132, 134, 135 impasto 37 mediums 36-37
Viridian Green 70 interference 37 NickBowering 104-05
Winsor Green 15 iridescent 37 oil pastels 35, 153
Yellowish Green 70 marble dust 37 oilbars 30. 31. 132. 153
Zmnober Green 69 56
lac insect matte 37 oil-painting sticks 132,153
lakemaking 12-13, 56 oils 36 palettes 30, 40
Gries, Patrick 25 landscapes 102-03, 131 oxgall 37 resin oil colors 31
ground color 131 lapis lazuli 13, 15,50,51,52 paint characteristics 36 saff lower oil 31, 37
Guimet. J.-B. 13, 52 Lascaux cave paintings 62 pearlescent 37 solvents 31
gum arabic 37 layering 104 retarding 37 starter palette 30
;ypsum 56 LeChahut, 1889-90 sand 37 students'-quality 30
(Georges-Pierre Seurat) 23 special-effects 37 sunflower oil 30, 37
lead chromate 69 texture 36 thinners 36
H Lemon (Douglas Wilson) 38 texture gels 37 walnut oil 37
Hand of Nature, The (Patrick Gries) 25 Levinson, Henry 180 texture pastes 37 water-mixable 31
hard pastels 34 Libri Colorum, Jean Lebegue 52 watercolor 37 white 31
hardboard 34 Liebermann, Carl 58 yellowing 36, 37
Hardie, George 24 Lichtenstein, Roy 22 Mesopotamia 56
Haughton, Desmond 96, 110-11 life painting 106-08 metallic colors 88, 178 Old Holland 156, 180
Helios 63 light 86, 134. 146 mica 86, 88 optical illusions 20
hematite 72-73 lightfastness Micaceous Iron Oxide 88 optical mixing 23
highlighting 31, 32 13-15,16-17,35,66,70,84,180 Michelangelo Buonarroti 12, 1 12 Orange Boat Essaouira
Hirst, Damien43 limonite 66, 73 Millais, John Everett 24 (Nick Bowering) 105
Hoechst 15. 64 linear techniques 104, 152-53 mineral spirits 30, 36
Homage to Paul (Chris Perry) 149 linseed oil 30, 31,34, 36, 40 minerals 66, 72 orange
Homage to Vincent (Chris Perry) 149 Liquin 31 mistakes 30, 33 Benzimidazolone
Hooker, William 70 Liquitex 156, 180 mixed media 39, 45, 98-99, Orange 60
Hbpfner 52 London colors 84 106,119,125-26,152 cadmium 60
Hopi mdians 54 Lowestoft Beach John Reay) 133, 135
( molding 37 Cadmium Orange 60
Horadam, Josef 180 low-odor thinners 30, 36 Monet, Claude 55 Chrome Orange 60
household paints 136-39 Lowrie, Daphne Jo 96, 128-31 Monfreid, George Daniel de 70 chromium 60
hue 14. 27, 156 Lukas 156, 180 monochrome painting 104 Color index 161
Hunt, William Holman 58 luminosity 124-27 mood 42, 98 history 60
Hymn [Damen Hirst) 43 Morning Mist (Ray Balkwill) 38 Mars Orange 74

M
madder 15, 58. 74, 75
Mussini, Professor Cesare 31, 180
mustard powder 144
Perinone Orange 60
pigments 60-61
Pyrrole Orange 60
ICI14 Madonna, Child and St. John realgar 60, 61
illustrators 33, 34 with Angels (Michelangelo N
impasto 31, 37. 153 Buonarroti) 12, 112 Naples 75 Oranges, 1863 (Antonio Mensaque)
•mpasto gel 37 magenta 14,21,58 Napoleon Bonaparte 13 orpiment 62, 63, 64
Impressionists 30, 70, 133 magnetite 73 Navajo Indians 54 Our Lady of Czestochowa (Anon) 83
India 51. 56. 66. 67 Maimeri, Gianni 156, 180 Neutral Gray 146 oxgall 37
Indigo 51 malachite 12, 68 Newton and the Prism
industrial paints 136 Manhattan Graham) 29
(Peter (After George Romney) 24
Industrial Revolution 13 manufacturers' color charts 1 56-79 Newton, Henry 180
information 42-43 marble dust 37 Newton, Sir Isaac 24
Ingres paper 35 Marc, Franz 53 Newton's Rings 24 paint
ink 74. 107, 108. 125-26 Mars colors 14, 74 Night Cafe (Vincent van Gogh) 71 acrylics 33, 118-23
iridescence 25. 88 massicot 62 nonart colors 136-39 eel 150
Iridescent Stainless Steel 88 Masterpiece 1 962 characteristics 36
iron oxide 14. 66, 67. 72. 73, 74 (Roy Lichtenstein) 22 egg tempera 30, 34,
Italian Girl, 1887 (Vincent van Gogh) 91 materials' suppliers 180 O enamel 151
i6, 67 Matisse, Henri 59 ochre 12, 14, 62, 63, 65, 66. 72-74 fabric 148-49

mauve 81 fat 31

mauvine 13 oils flow 36

media 30-35, 39, 45 alkyri 31 generic name 137
artists' colors 156 gouache 34
Jennif >,,
145, 151 mediums cracking 36, 37 household 136-39
"Judas hair" 57 acrylic 33, 37, Daphne Jo Lowrie 128-31 industrial 136
junkmail 140. 14? ;irlrlitives36 diluents 31 long 115
 Index 191
oil 30-31 pastel 34, 35 poliment 89 Permanent Madder 57
short 115 watercolor 35, 153 Polke, Sigmar 23 Permanent Rose 14
trade name 137 Perkin, William Henry 13, 58, 81 polychrome sculpture 43 Perylene Red 59
watercolor 32 permanence 12-14, 16, 33, Pompeii 12, 67 pigment 56-59
35,66,70,72,74,180 poppy oil 37 primary color 58
palette Perry, Chris 149 Portrait Fragments Pyrrole Red 59
acrylics 40 Persian Gulf 72 (George Underwood) 113 realgar 56
choosing 40-41, 102 perspective 132 Portrait of a Woman (Anon) 12 red lake 13
color range 41 pewter 88 poster paints 34 'I lead 12, 56,62
core 114, 122 photography 150 Post-Impressionists 70 red ochre 72
homemade 41 phthalocyanine 54 potash 13, 52 Renaissance 56
kidney-shaped 40 Picasso, Pablo 53, 71,84 primary colors 25-27 Ro 57
layout 96, 102 printing 20 Rose Madder 57, 58
light to dark colors 41 pigment prism 24 Rubia "iimbS
I

limited 104 aniline 58, 81 process colors 20, 21, 23 Scarlet La

linseed oil 40 arylide 14 projected light 25 symbolism 56-57
mahogany 40 black 76-83 pumice 37 toxicity 56, 59
management 41 bleeding 16 Vermilion 57, 59
mixing area 40 blue 50-53 wavelength 57
"mud" 27 brown 72-75 Q WinsorRed57
muffin-tin style 40 cadmium 14 Quayside (Ray Balkwill) 100
nonart colors 137 characteristics 16-17 quinacridones 14, 32, 59 red earth
oils 40 Chinese 12 Alizarin Crimson 75
plastic 40 chrome 13 Burnt Sienna 72, 75
priming 40 cobalt 13 Burnt Umber 72, 75
prismatic layout 134 color bias 16 rabbit-skin size 34 hematite 73
seven-color 110-11 drying rate 16 rainbow 24 Italian Earth 75
spectrum order 41 earth 12, 14, 72, 73, 144 realgar 60-61 iron ores 73
starter 30. 32, 33, 41 Egyptians 12 [Link] 96,132-35 Mars Red 74
Stay-Wet Palette 40 flesh 90-93 recycling 140-43 pigments 74-75
tear-off paper 40 granulation 16 Pozzuoli 75
thumbhole40 gray 84-85 red Raw Sienna 72, 75
traditional 40 Greeks 12 Alizarin Crimson 14, 15, Raw Umber 72, 75
travelling 147 green 67-71 30, 32, 57, 58, 59 reddish browns 73
warm to cool colors 41 Hansa yellows 14 aniline 58, 81 Rubens' Madder 75
watercolor 40 history 2-14 cadmium 59, 60, 64 Sinopia 73
white porcelain 41 inorganic 14 Cadmium Red 13, 57, 58, Terra di Siena 75
paper pulp 140-43 lake 12-13,56 59
paperworks 140-43 lightfastness 13-15,16-17, Cardinal Red 56 red-hot poker 145
parsley 67 35,66,70,84,180 carmine 15, 58 red lake 13
madder 58 chemical pigments 59 red lead 12, 56,62
pastels natural 144-45 China 56 Red man crossed legs, leaning back
buying 35 natural organic 14 Chinese Red 58 (Tim Riddihough) 109
charcoal pencils 35 opacity 16 Chrome Red 58 Red man, standing
color choice 35 orange 60-61 cinnabar 57 (Tim Riddihough) 106
color mixing 35 permanence 12-14, 16,33, cochineal 15, 58 red poliment 89
conte sticks 34 35,66,70,72,74,180 Color index 161-65 Red Tulips
fixing 35 perylene 14 crimson 15, 58 (Marina Yedigaroff) 38, 126-27
hard pastels 34 pyrrole 14 Daemonorops draco 57 red wine 144
Ingres paper 35 quinacridones 14 Dragon's Blood 57 reflected light 25
Jackie Simmonds 38 red 56-59 dye 58 Reinhardt, Ad 79
linear techniques 153 red lake 13, 56 earth reds 56, 73-75 Rembrandt,
oil 35 Renaissance 12, 13 Egyptians 56 Harmensz van Rijn 74, 79, 148
paper 34-35 Romans 12 Fauves 59 Renaissance 12, 34, 43, 50, 56,75,84
pastel pencils 34-35 staining properties 16, 32 fuchsin 58 resin oil colors 31
pastel sticks 34 standards 16-17 fugitive 56, 58 retarding mediums 37
starter palette 35 synthetic iron oxides 14 Genuine Rose Madder 15 Richter, Gerhard 85
tooth 34, 35 synthetic organic 14 Greeks 56, 57 Riddihough, Tim 38, 96
transparency 16 history 56-57 Riley, Bridget 85
Paul and Ringo [Hem Edelman) 150 turquoise 54 India 56 Romans 12, 43, 50, 57, 67, 74
Payne, William 77, 84 violet 55 lightfastness 59 Romney, George 24
Pearce, Emma 12 white 86-87 madder 58, 74, 75 rose hip 145
pen and ink 107 yellow 62-66 Madder Lake 58 Rothko, Mark 59
zinc 14 magenta 14,21,58 Rowlett, George 38, 96, 114-17
pencils Mars Red 74 Royal Talens 156, 180
aquarelle 35 Pissarro, Camille 23 Mesopotamia 56 Royal Watercolor Society 35
charcoal 35 Plate of Fruit (Anon) 44-45 Middle Ages 56 Rubens, Peter Paul 74
colored 30, 35, 152 Pliny 57, 62 Naphthol Red 59 rue 67
graphite 152 pointillism 23 Permanent Carmine 15
192 Index BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

(lilWlllllUll
3,9889:03952 63611 1
Bathers and CraD boat, 1 99 /-98 boxes 32

-aff lower oil 31.

saliva 144
37 JSf^Wte^ property of theJo Lowrie
eld
!
100

boxes 32
128-31 Yedigaroff Marina 124-27

sand 37 Sce'lM Boston Pu Wic Library^,tazmg 32 yellow

sandstone 145 Antimony Yellow 64
Sardinia 75
material beneffl®dt|s;»#ry Arsenic Yellow 62
Scheele, Carl Wilhelm 68 mediums 37 Aureolin 64
Schmincke 156. 180 mixed media 98-99 azo dyes 64
Schmincke, Herman 180 tea 144 mood 98 Azo Yellow Medium 14
Schoenfeld, Dr. Franz 180 terra-cotta 145 opacity 32, 100 Cadmium Yellow 13, 64
Science of Art, The Terre Verte 13, 67. 112 palettes 30, 40, 100 Chinese Yellow 62
(Winsor& Newton) 15 tertiary colors 27 pans 32 Chrome Lemon 64
secondary colors 25-27 textiles 30. 35. 51. 70. 118. 148-49 paper 99, 100 Chrome Yellow 13, 64, 65
Self-portrait aged 34 (Rembrandt) 79 texture 36. 37, 1 23. 1 30. 1 50, 1 53 pencils 35, 153 Cobalt Yellow 13
Self-portrait with Yellow Waistcoat Thenard, Louis Jacques 13, 52 permanence 32 Color index 158-60
1994 (Desmond Haughton), 111 Theophrastus- Ray Balkwill 38, 98-101 Crocus sativus 62
Sennelier 156, 180 The History of Stones 57 spontaneity 98, 100 Earth Yellow 62
Sennelier, Gustave 180 tints 27, 31,32 staining 32 Egyptians 62
Sepia 74 tonalism 102-03 sticks 35 four-color printing 21
SeMsK/e|HelenDougall)148 top tone 27 texture 100 Gamboge 63
Seurat, Georges-Pierre 23 trade 13, 51 transparency 32, 100 Gamboge Genuine 65
Seydelmann, Professor Jacob C 74 transparency wet-in-wet 100 gold 63
shades 27 16,31,32,36,37,124-27 Golden Yellow 65
Sheltered Moorings. Tri-Art 156, 180 wavelength 24 Greeks 62
(Ray Balkwill) 99 Trinidad 75 wax crayons 35 Hansa14, 64
Shoreline, 2001 T-shirt designs 149 "wet-in-wet" 37, 121 Helios 63
(Judith Chestnutt) 38, 141 Turkey 54 whelks 12 history 62-63
Siberian Red Lead 69 Turner, Joseph Mallord William India 63
Siblings. 2001 white Indian Yellow 14, 15,
51,180
(Daphne Jo Lowrie) 129 turpentine 30, 31, 36 artists' 14 63,65
Sicily 75 turquoise 54 baryta white 87 King's Yellow 62
siderite 73 twelve-color division 26 bismuth white 87 Leipzig Yellow 64
Sienna 72, 75 Two Dragons (Sue Fitzgerald) 120-21 blanc fixe 87 Lemon Yellow 14, 65
silk paints 33, 35 Tynan Purple 12 China 86 manuscript illumination
silver 88, 123 Chinese White 13. 86, 87 62-63
silver leaf 123 Color index 179 Mars Yellow 62, 74
Simmonds, Jackie 38
Sinope 73
U Cremnitz White 12, 86 massicot 62
Mineral Yellow 62
underpainting Dutch White 86
Sinopia 73, 112 84,104,110,112-13,132 Egyptians 86 Naples Yellow 13, 64, 146
six-color division 26 undertone 27 Flake White 12, 86 ochre 72
skin tones - see flesh colors orpiment 62, 63, 64
Underwood (George) 113 glazing 86
Slade School of Fine Art 102 Oxford Ochre 66
USA 66 ground work 86
Smalt 12, 51,52 history 86 Paris Yellow 64
"smike"(CMYK)21 Iridescent White 86 pigments 62-65
soot 145
South Africa 66
V lead white 13 "pinks" 64
prehistoric primary 62
van Dyck, Sir Anthony 74, 75 mica 86
Southern Sun (Peter Graham) 28 van Gogh, Vincent 65, 71,91, 180 Mixing White 86 realgar 63
Spain 72 saffron 62
vanilla 144 oils 31
special-effect colors 88, 178 Vauquelin, Nicolas 64, 69 Permanent White 87 Stone Age 62
special-effects mediums 37 vegetable dyes 12 pigments 86 symbolism 62
spectrum 24 reserved white 87 turmeric 62
verdaccio 112
spontaneity 98, 100 Vermilion 12. 57, 112 resists 87 van Gogh 65
stained glass 84 Titanium White 14,31, Winsor Yellow 14, 64
Verona 67
staining properties 16,32 Vessels (Helen Banzhat) 148 67,86 Yellow Ochre 62, 65. 66
still life 44-45, 128-30 Vesuvius, Mount 64 underpainting 86
Still Life with Bottles violet 55. 165-66 Underpainting White 86 yellowing 36, 37
(Daphne Jo Lowrie) 130 Virgin Mary 89 watercolor 32 Young Bison (Abbe Breuil) 12
51, 83,
Still Life with Orange Flower
Vladimli Madonna, c 1 125 (Anon) 89 white lead 12, 86 Young Scientist Anatomy Toy
(Daphne Jo Lowrie) 130 Zinc White 31, 86
(Joustra/Humbrol Ltd) 43
Straight paint [T\m Riddihough) 109
/•jr.

-ictive color
Friedrich 13, 59
mixing 25, 26
w
walnut oil 37
white light 24
Wilson, Douglas 38
Inn Storm over Thames, washes 152 Winsor & Newton zinc oxide 14

Rotherhithe Pier. 1996 Zuni Indians 54

waste-paper collages 143 13,15,58,69,70,86,156,180
(Geoi '(38.115 Winsor, William 64, 180
sunflower <

watercolor woad 50
sunligl 156-79 Wnvnn Basket \knon) 42
artists' colors
Sunlit Walmer Beach Deal Pier, atmosphere 98
I m
*, fc J

trained as a graphic

artist and is a graduate of the Royal College of

Art in London. In addition to his professional

experience in design and graphic art in New

York, Chicago and London, Jennings has had a

lifelong interest in painting and the visual arts

and has taught at several art schools. He is the

author of many art and design titles, including

Art Class, and Artist's Manual, both published

by Chronicle Books.

ALSO AVAILABLE:

mm

BSE
Bf

COVER DESIGN Julie Vermeer

COVER PHOTOGRAPH Ben Jennings/Studio D

I
 The definitive and creative guide to the

fascinating world of color.

4
is one of the primary tools for any visual

artist, yet few reference books thoroughly explain

'
the techniques for effectively using color. Artist's

Color Manual is the essential visual reference for I

A- «*i
r
*». artists and anyone interested in using color in a
>* * 1'W,

variety of applications. With more than 1000 color

illustrations, photographs and color swatches, this

comprehensive sourcebook is a work of art in itself.

/

*te

ISBN 0-8118-4U3-X

rM'65 H5" 10351 9

lllllipii!
780811
7 K
II fl»841436
116"1 II Hi. 1 I.
mi
' '
' '

[Link]