Price Structure

In practice, prices for colors depend on competition between leading firms. Artists should therefore be wary of unusually cheap materials. The main reason for buying powder pigments is that for certain paint systems such as fresco, lime-casein, and some kinds of tempera, no ready-mixed materials are available. The advantages and disadvantages of artists grinding their own oil colors have already been mentioned. It is understandable if young art students take the trouble to prepare oil colors in order to save about one-third of the price per tube. But artists in the midst of their career should not forget that with the higher price they are not only paying for the manufacturer's and dealers' expenses for organization, social insurance, distribution, etc., but also for the accmulated experience in supply and processing.

As long as the painter has the necessary technical knowledge and makes no excessively demanding or absurd requests, he may be sure of getting a fair deal when buying well-known brands. Should there be grounds for complaints, no serious manufacturer will refuse to listen to a technically well-founded objection. However, the writer, as an unbiased expert, has noticed that the reasons for unjustified complaints are often attributable to the artists' inadequate knowledge of their materials. In this context, a word of warning to artists testing their own materials without sufficient knowledge of chemistry or testing experience is relevant. Anyone who has ever ground colors knows the difficulties one can encounter even with good, expensive pigments. Some knowledge of materials and gradually acquired practical experience will enable the artist to help himself and will make his complaints more credible. [pp. 67-68]