These same pigments should also be strictly avoided in pastels and for use in any other method where their dust is liable to be breathed or swallowed. The poisonous colors in liquid paints should, of course, always be handled with a normal degree of care and cleanliness by adults. [pp. 159-160]
SELECTION OF SCHOOL COLORS
The author suggests that the list be restricted to the regularly accepted artists' palette, so that the beginners' training in the mixing and handling of color will promote familiarity with the materials they will encounter in advanced work. To this end, the fancy or brilliant aniline colors and imitation pigments should be avoided; they are made for sign display, and decorative work and not intended for general artistic or pictorial use. Handling of the more brilliant aniline colors used in artwork designed solely for reproduction can easily be mastered later by the student whose training is based on manipulation of the more subdued permanent colors; habitual reliance on the brilliant lakes and toners at the start will only be harmful to the future production of permanent pictures in the field of creative art. Standard pigment nomenclature and pigment index numbers should be used in place of the fantastic names of the simple hue designation often employed. [p. 160]
RECOMMENDED PALETTE FOR SCHOOL POSTER COLORS
The first six pigments in the following list constitute a basic, elementary palette; the rest are listed in order of their general usefulness and value. Individual preferences will vary, however, and selections made according to an instructor's preferences and opinions can very well alter their positions on this list. A full palette of 12 or 14 colors will not always be called for, since that is about the average of the professional artist's palette. The list follows:
Black: Ivory black or Mars black
White: Zinc or titanium white
Earth yellow: Ochre or Mars yellow
Earth red: Indian red or light red
Bright reds: Cadmium-barium red or light alizarin red
Blue: Ultramarine blue
Green: Viridian or Phthalocyanine green
Bright yellows: Cadmium-barium yellow, medium; cadmium-barium yellow, pale
Brown: burnt umber, raw umber, raw sienna, or burnt sienna
[pp. 160-161]
MAKING SCHOOL COLORS
Because of its educational value, as an economic measure, or for some other reason, it is occasionally desirable to make some or all of the paints used in school work. The following notes on binding vehicles will be found useful for this purpose.
Manufacturers of poster colors alter the proportion and composition of their vehicles to suit the requirements of each pigment, and a manufacturer's recipe may show completely different materials and proportions for different colors. However, this is, in general, too fine a point for amateur paint-grinders to consider.
The binding-vehicle requirements are somewhat different in nature from those that govern the making of the fine paints for professional artists' use; permanence, working, and visual qualities are subordinated to economy, ease of mixing and handling, and other factors. As a general rule, homemade poster colors will be found adequate, but they seldom will equal the quality of the best commercially made products unless a considerable amount of care and study go into their preparation.
All homemade products must be tested to see if they work satisfactorily; therefore, after the colors are made, they are examined to see if the proportion of pigment and adhesive is correct. When painted out on paper in the usual way, the color should not rub or dust off easily; on the other hand, the layer should not be so hard and brittle that it will crack. If the binder is too strong, more pigment and some water are added; if too weak, a stronger or more concentrated binder is used.
For this type of paint, rather generous additions of precipitated chalk or other fillers or inert pigments are allowed, and in the case of school colors this means that genuine, full-strength pigments [p. 161] can be used, since even with the more expensive colors the difference in cost between making a paint with them or with cheap substitute colors will seldom be an important consideration. It is not essential that pigments be of the ultimate degree of quality, brilliance and strength--but if they are genuine, they will afford a better introduction to the later use of artists'-grade painting materials than the imitation or synthetic colors.
It will be found that mars black is easier to mix into the water mediums than the other black pigments and, in most cases, will give a sufficiently intense color; its grain, however, is coarser than that of ivory black.
A binding solution made by dissolving white dextrin in boiling hot water to a creamy consistency will be found satisfactory for most poster and school paints. If circumstances warrant it, the more professional gouache or gum tempera binder can be used. In the case of paints for scenery and other large-scale decoration, a simple glue-size solution is customarily employed.
Fine grinding is usually unnecessary; the pigment, with its addition of precipitated chalk [or other inert pigment], is simply stirred to a smooth paste or batter consistency with the white dextrin or glue solution. A little preservative or mold preventive is then added and also perhaps a few drops of oil of cloves or other odorant. [pp. 161-162]
[Mayer, Ralph. The Painter's Craft. An Introduction to Artist's Methods and Materials. Revised and updated by Steven Sheehan, Director of the Ralph Mayer Center, Yale University School of Art. New York: Penquin Group. 1948. 1991.]
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