Notebook

Notebook, 1993-

MATERIALS & METHODS - Pigments

What the Artist Expects
of His Pigments
The color industry today can produce more than 40,000 pigments. About 2,000 are used commercially. Only a limited number suit the artists' requirements, and of these, only a relatively small selection is necessary. The choice depends on the one hand on the paint system, and on the other, on the artist's working discipline and individual manner. "Paint system" in this case means mixtures of pigments and certain binding media. One distinguishes among glue-, casein-, emulsion-, oil-, wax-, silicate-paints, and so on. However, not all pigments are equally well suited to all paint systems, and in murals especially, restrictions in the choice of a range of colors become necessary. Moreover, the purpose often determines the required degree of quality. Fresco and silicate techniques on exterior walls demand particularly weatherproof pigments. Cheap, students'-quality oil paint can never equal the yield and permanence of high-quality artists' oil paint. Vivid, brilliant shades and ease of handling when large areas are to be covered evenly are more important in poster colors than light-fastness , for the printer will subsequently transfer the painted designs into printing inks of completely different composition, which need not be particularly light-fast. Similarly, one could compare the interior decoration of a cinema or restaurant with that of a church or secular building of equal cultural importance. In times when an artist does not enjoy the easiest economic circumstances, the question of price will often overrule considerations of quality. While it is understandable that artistically perceptive people are primarily guided by the beauty of a color when confronted with numerous color samples, it cannot be overstressed that artists need some knowledge of materials to make a technically sound choice. This book is meant to help in that respect. When it comes to a choice of colors, by what standards is a pigment to be judged in order to fulfill a particular purpose? [p. 55]

[Wehlte, Kurt. The Materials and Techniques of Painting. Translated by Ursus Dix. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company. 1975.]









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