The Paints, Past and Present Details and Descriptions of Colours This section gives assessments for certain determinable characteristics of all the colours presently in my range, as well as a few informal remarks on their qualities and idiosynchrasies when used. Following the pattern already laid out on all my tube and can labels, and on my more recent colour charts, I give: (1) The Colour Index Number: This is an international system for classifying and identifying pigments solely by their (often very complex) chemical formulae( e.g P(igment) R(ed) 106, Mercuric Sulphide known as Genuine Vermilion). The use of vague traditional or invented colour names is thus clarifi ed, and so, in theory at least, is the vexed matter of what pigments manufacturers actually put into their paints. If a colourman is honest, each constituent pigment in a paint can be specifi ed precisely, and the practice of secretly adulterating or even completely substituting cheaper alternatives is made impossible. Assuming, that is, the colourman is honest…I can certainly state that there are no secret additions to any of the paints in my range. What you read as the C.I number on the label is what you get. (2) Estimated Relative Drying Speed: Bearing in mind that all drying speeds will be affected by temperature, humidity and light levels, these give a broad calibration of comparative speeds, from the Very Fast, such as the Umbers, many of which, if used neat, will be touch dry within a hot summer day, to the Very Slow, which in unmixed state, might take up to a week. (3) Transparency: This characterizes the ability of a given paint to cover over the substrate onto which it is painted. At the extreme of opacity there are the Cadmiums, at that of transparency, the Indian Yellows. Transparency should not be confused with sheer strength of colour, or tinctorial/ tint power, as it is revealed in mixes. Some transparent paints, e.g. the Phthalo Lakes, are ferociously strong when mixed with sturdily opaque ones. (4) Lightfastness: This gives some indication of the resistance of a pigment to fading when exposed to very high light levels. Though the commonly used numerical system for this is the scale devised by the American Society of Testing and Manufactures (ASTM I-V), in practice the fade resistance of pigments is greatly affected by their concentration, or lack of it, in paint mixes. Thus an excellently lightfast pigment (ASTM I), if dispersed in a paint by addition of fi llers, will in consequence show increased tendency to fade. As I have said before, there are no fi llers added to the pigments in my paint range. (5) Oil Content: This indicates broadly how much oil has to be ground in with the dry pigment or the lake dye in order to make it into a workable paint. A paint with high oil content will generally, but with exceptions, dry to a glossier surface; that with a low oil content will be leaner. (6) Toxicity: This should be taken seriously if you want a long and healthy relationship with my paints. More advice is given in the Health and Safety section of Our website. Tel: +44 (0) 20 7702 8338 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7791 0060 [email protected] Whites (Unless otherwise stated, all paints are bound with Refi ned Cold-Pressed Linseed Oil) Titanium White No. 1 bound with the less yellowing Poppyseed oil, has now been discontinued. Recent sharp rises in the bulk price of this oil prevent me from offering this paint at a realistic price. But I have begun manufacturing as an acceptable substitute: Titanium White ( Saffl ower Bound). PW6. Slow Drying. Very Opaque. Lightfastness Excellent. Low Oil Content. Saffl ower oil dries to a more robust fi lm than Poppyseed, which means that this paint can be overpainted with less risk of later cracking than the latter. It yellows comparably to Poppyseed, and handles in a similar way. This is the most brilliant White in my range, suitable for cool, opaque light hues, and generally as a highly keyed mixer. Titanium White No. 2. PW6& PW4. Average Drying. Very Opaque. Lightfastness Excellent. Low Oil Content. This paint is bound with Linseed Oil and contains a 25% addition of Zinc Oxide White in order to avert the tendency of pure Titanium Dioxide pigment to express or exude oil to the surface whilst drying, which then causes a more pronounced appearance of yellowing. Zinc Oxide incorporates this free oil more effectively, as well as adding a cooler brightness to the white. If you want a strong mixer which tends to lighten hues conspicuously, as well as making the Cadmiums rather chalky in appearance, then this is it. The handling qualities are not overly subtle, but this is the white most suitable for a bright and largely cool palette. It forms a strong fi lm when dry. Foundation White (Primer Alternative) PW6 & PW1. Dries in 2-3 days. Very Opaque. Lightfastness Excellent. Very Low Oil Content. TOXIC. I was asked by a well-known artist to create a very lean, robust, fast- drying white which did not rely on extenders and siccatives for its qualities. So I made this 50/50 blend of Titanium and Lead Whites bound with linseed oil which combines a measure of the virtues of each. Since sizing alone can function as a priming on a surface, there is no specialist paint we can call an “oil primer” for artistic purposes. You simply have to mix this paint evenly with whatever proportion suits you of genuine artists’ quality turpentine, and you have an oil primer which dries to a very strong fi lm, and, under normal conditions, can be extensively overpainted within 4-5 days, unlike some more oil rich traditional Lead Whites which require weeks to six months to dry adequately for this purpose. It can also be used as a normal oil paint throughout a picture, and the addition of varying quantities of turpentine discloses a range of very interesting, smooth surface effects, which this paint displays. Tel: +44 (0) 20 7702 8338 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7791 0060 [email protected] Zinc White. PW4. Slow Drying. Slightly Transparent. Lightfastness Excellent. Low Oil Content. Perhaps the most under-appreciated of the Whites, Zinc Oxide was fi rst used in 18th century France, and its early misuse as a canvas primer seems to have frightened artists away from examining its unique qualities. It has a cool transparency and a subtle power ena- bling one to create slightly hued mixes which retain their chromatic intensity and brightness, unlike those made by the blasting strength of the Titanium Whites. The softness of its surface when dry is not a disadvantage when it is used in this way, as the better drying paints will strengthen the mix. Flake White No.1 bound with Poppyseed oil, has been discontinued for the reason given above, rapid increases in the price of the oil. Flake White. (Formerly Flake White No.2) PW1& PW4. Fast Drying. Slightly Transparent. Lightfastness Excellent. Very Low Oil Content. TOXIC. This is a blend, in Linseed oil binder, of 67% Lead Carbonate with 33% Zinc Oxide, which is added to increase the brilliance of the Lead White, as well as to mop up the surface oil which, on its own, it tends to exude on drying. The fi ne handling qualities of Lead White are also supplemented by the way in which the Zinc White constitu- ent retains the brightness of a colour with which Flake White is mixed, preventing the hue from appearing excessively chalky. Since French colourmen began to add Zinc White to Lead in the later 19th century, this has become the most widely used of the Lead Whites today, whose strong paint fi lm makes it suitable for use throughout a painting, in varying thicknesses, and in dilutions with turpentine. Cremnitz White. (Linseed Oil Bound) PW1. Fast Drying. Slightly Transparent. Lightfastness Excellent. Very Low Oil Content. TOXIC. Pure Lead Carbonate in a binder which makes a heavy, tactile white with a very robust surface. So called because it was originally made in the Bohemian town of Kormeriz, called Cremnitz under the Hapsburgs. The ideal white for furrowed, granular or impasto mark-making. Sometimes called a “silver white” as a description of its mild luminosity, when used unmixed it tends to dry with a slight expression of oil to the surface, giving it a warmer, parchment-like effect. A wonderful all round mixer for middle-value hues, which supports colours without annulling them. Tel: +44 (0) 20 7702 8338 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7791 0060 [email protected] Cremnitz White in Walnut Oil. PW1. Average Drying. Slightly Transparent. Lightfastness Excel- lent. Very Low Oil Content. TOXIC. The use of walnut oil in paint can be traced back even further than that of linseed. When 15th century artists began to add oil to their tempera colours it was walnut oil that seemed the obvious choice. Jan van Eyck in Flanders and Antonello da Messina in Italy both knew of its handling properties; from that time on it was widely used by just about all the great artists, being more a question of who did not use it rather than who did. I thought it would be interesting to bring back this oil as a binder for lead white. It survived as the binder for the white made by French colourmen selling to the Impressionists, but it seems to have fallen out of use by the end of the 19th century.